Sunday marked a year since James Harden’s debut as a Brooklyn Net when he posted a triple-double against the Orlando Magic to signal the start of the NBA’s latest superteam.
But the team the Nets envisioned when they traded for Harden has rarely come to fruition. Because of injuries, quarantine and personal matters limiting their time together Brooklyn’s big three have played in just 16 games together.
The Nets’ decision to trade a bounty of draft picks and young and promising players signaled the end of the reconstruction project after the post-Celtics trade years and put the Nets in full “championship or bust” mode. Harden’s acquisition also created a domino effect as other big names saw Brooklyn as an attractive destination. Harden reflected on his own first year as a Net after the team’s win in Chicago and admitted the team’s vision of what it could be hasn’t come together the way it was designed after the trade.
周日是詹姆斯-哈登作為籃網球員的一周年。那場比賽他對陣奧蘭多魔術砍下三雙，标志着NBA最新的超級隊伍正在啟航。
然而籃網交易來哈登時夢想中的那隻超級球隊并沒有實作。傷病，新冠和個人原因把他們一起打球的時間限制在了區區16場。
籃網交易走了大量選秀權和年輕有未來的球員，這标志着他們在和凱爾特人交易之後的重建計劃結束 ，走上了“不奪冠就散夥”的模式。得到哈登也導緻了一系列多米諾效應，讓其他名聲響亮的球員把布魯克林視為極具吸引力的球隊。在球隊在芝加哥獲勝後，哈登回顧了他作為籃網球員的第一年，并承認球隊沒能實作計劃中的理想情況。
“It’s been a crazy year,” Harden said. “A lot of craziness a lot of ups and downs but hopefully going into this year we can kind of create something special and do what I came here and Kevin (Durant) came here and Kai (Irving) came here to do. What basically (GM) Sean (Marks) and (governors) Joe and Clara (Tsai) put this team together for.”
As The Athletic reflects on the first year of the big three era, here are the 10 most important aspects to arise since The Beard came to Brooklyn.
“這是瘋狂的一年。”哈登說。“很多瘋狂的事，我們經曆了很多起起伏伏，但希望進入這一年後我們能做些特殊的事，做到我，杜蘭特和歐文來到這裡想做的事。也是（總經理）和（老闆）蔡崇信，吳明華組建這支球隊時想做到的事。”
The Athletic回顧了籃網三巨頭時代的第一年，并列出了以下十個自從哈登來到布魯克林後發生的最重要的事件。
Injuries/Attrition
Durant’s MCL sprain, which could keep him out four to six weeks, is the latest health adversity the Nets have to confront, but Brooklyn’s attrition problem last season started before trading for Harden.
Spencer Dinwiddie’s partial ACL tear at Charlotte in the third game of the 2020-21 season started an injury bug that stayed with the Nets. The Nets had 27 different players suit up for them (anyone remember Norvel Pelle?) and nearly 40 different starting lineups. Harden’s debut came without Kyrie Irving, who was away from the team for personal matters. The big three debuted in Cleveland on Jan. 20, 2021 but Durant would go into quarantine shortly after because of contact tracing and then come out of it to strain his hamstring and miss half the season. Harden would strain his own hamstring later in the season, an injury that flared up again in the postseason.
傷病/身體損耗
杜蘭特的膝蓋扭傷可能讓他缺席4到6周。這是籃網最近遇到的健康方面的麻煩，但他們的健康自從交易來哈登之前就已經開始。
丁威迪在2020-21賽季開賽第三場在夏洛特遭遇十字韌帶撕裂，開啟了球隊揮散不去的傷病陰影。籃網共簽下了27位球員（還記得諾維爾-佩萊嗎？），使用了接近40套首發。哈登的首秀歐文就沒有在場，當時他因個人原因離開球隊。三巨頭2021年1月20日在克利夫蘭才完成合體首秀，但杜蘭特之後很快就因密切接觸新冠患者而被隔離，回歸後又傷了腿筋并缺席了半個賽季。哈登則在賽季末也傷了腿筋，季後賽又再傷一次。
The Celtics series
Injuries aside, Steve Nash was able to guide the Nets to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference as the team got healthier toward the end of the regular season. Maybe the best display of what the Nets could be when fully healthy, Brooklyn disposed of Boston in five games to win the franchise’s first playoff series since 2014.
The Celtics weren’t the conference finalists of years past, but the series marked the first, and perhaps the only, time the Nets were healthy all year. Brooklyn’s Game 1 lineup against Boston — which included the Big Three, Joe Harris and Blake Griffin as starters, and Jeff Green, Bruce Brown and Landry Shamet as reserves — marked the first time that lineup had played together all season. It didn’t last long as Green injured his foot in Game 2 and missed the rest of the series. Green returned in the next round, but his injury proved to be an omen for what was to come. Even without Green, Brooklyn’s offense was clicking as Harris torched the Celtics from deep in Game 2 and Irving stomped on his former team both literally and figuratively.
和凱爾特人的系列賽
撇開傷病不談，随着球隊在正常賽末尾球隊愈發健康，史蒂夫-納什成功把籃網帶到了東部第二。也許最能展現完全健康的籃網實力的就是和凱爾特人的系列賽，布魯克林在五場内解決了波士頓，赢下了2014年以後球隊的第一個系列賽。
凱爾特人已經不是幾年前的那支東決球隊，但這輪系列賽是那個賽季内籃網第一次，也可能是唯一一次健康的時候。籃網G1對凱爾特人的出賽名單包括三巨頭，喬-哈裡斯和格裡芬的首發以及替補的傑夫-格林，布魯斯-布朗和蘭德裡-沙梅特，這是這套陣容一整個賽季第一次一起上場。這種情況并沒有持續多久，傑夫-格林在G2腳部受傷，缺席了系列賽的剩餘比賽。他在下一輪回歸，但最終他的受傷也預示了接下來發生的事。即使沒有格林，籃網的進攻也極為流暢，喬-哈裡斯在G2用三分撕碎了凱爾特人，歐文也将他的前東家踩在腳下。
The Bucks series
The Nets ability to weather injuries caught up with them against Milwaukee. Brooklyn lost Harden to the hamstring strain a minute into Game 1 and Irving to an ankle sprain in Game 3. Prior to Irving’s injury, the Nets were up 2-0 in the series and Milwaukee wasn’t competitive in either game.
Even without Irving, Brooklyn nearly won the series, with Durant’s 49-point triple-double in Game 5 becoming instantly legendary and his game-tying shot at the end of regulation in Game 7 was inches from being a 3-pointer and sending the Nets to the conference finals. Milwaukee went on to win the NBA title and Durant said this preseason that he felt exhausted at the end of the Bucks series and didn’t think the Nets success was sustainable had they advanced to the conference finals.
和雄鹿的系列賽
籃網的傷病讓他們在對陣密爾沃基時嘗到苦果。他們在G1開場1分鐘就失去了扭傷腿筋的哈登，在G3又失去了腳踝扭傷的歐文。在歐文受傷之前，籃網以2-0領先，兩場比賽裡密爾沃基都無力抵抗。
即使沒有歐文，籃網也差點赢下了系列賽。杜蘭特在G5傳奇般砍下了49分+三雙，在G7把籃網帶進東部決賽隻差了一個腳指頭的距離。雄鹿則保持勢頭赢下了總冠軍，杜蘭特在休賽期說他在打完和雄鹿的系列賽後感到精疲力盡，并且不确定如果他們進入了東部決賽是否還能延續勝利。
The latest Kyrie saga
Last season, Irving was Brooklyn’s most reliable star. He played in 54 of 72 games and put up the first 50-40-90 season of his career, joining an elite club of which both Durant and Nash are members. This season, he’s been their least reliable. A New York City mandate requiring citizens to be fully vaccinated to enter entertainment forums and businesses has caused Irving to miss all but three of the Nets’ first 42 games.
Irving hasn’t indicated any interest in changing his vaccination stance and Harden has joked that he’s going to give Irving a shot to get him eligible for home games. Irving’s situation puts more emphasis on the Nets’ ability to win this season. Both Irving and Harden have player options this summer. They could decline them, which would make them free agents.
Gauging Irving’s market is difficult given his limited playing time this season and in recent years. Of the 202 games the Nets have played since Irving signed with them, he has played in just 88 of them or 43.5 percent. His short time in Brooklyn has been defined by both his greatness (he had a 50-40-90 season last year) and his lack of appearances.
歐文的肥皂劇
上賽季，歐文是籃網最可靠的球星。他打了72場比賽中的54場，生涯第一次進入180俱樂部，加入了這個杜蘭特和納什所在的精英俱樂部。而本賽季，他是最不靠譜的。紐約要求市民接種疫苗才能參加大型娛樂活動，這讓歐文缺席了籃網前42場比賽中的39場。
歐文目前還沒有表現出任何接種疫苗的興趣。哈登開玩笑說他打算給歐文來一針，讓他能打主場比賽。歐文的情況讓籃網本賽季赢球的目标更加艱難。歐文和哈登在這個夏天都擁有球員選項。他們可以選擇成為自由球員。
考慮到歐文這賽季以及最近幾年有限的上場時間，他的市場價值很難衡量。自從歐文簽約籃網以來，202場比賽裡，他隻打了88場，隻有43.5%。他在籃網的短暫時光是水準優異（去年的180俱樂部）和出勤率堪憂的結合體。
Did the Nets get the Harden they thought they were getting?
Prior to the Milwaukee series, the answer was an unequivocal yes.
Last season, Harden looked like an MVP candidate in Brooklyn as he piled up triple-doubles as if they were $1 slices of New York pizza. Then the hamstring issues came, marking the first time in his career that he was injured. Harden played the last three games of the Milwaukee series essentially on one leg to try and aid Durant, and he had to opt out of the Tokyo Olympics in order to recover.
This season, Harden has had to adapt to the new officiating rules after mastering the previous ones to draw fouls. As of Sunday, Harden is averaging 8.1 free throw attempts per game, up from his average of 7.3 from last season. But Harden isn’t beating defenders off the dribble as regularly as he used to and his game appears to be more contingent on getting to the line than before.
Saturday’s win over the Pelicans marked just his second game in which he’s scored more than 20 points this season without shooting 10 or more free throws. Harden is eligible for an extension this year that could pay him a max of $270 million and would make him the first NBA player to make $60 million a season. NBA contracts tend to reflect a player’s past performance instead of projecting their future. As Harden goes further into his career, giving him the max must be the subject of serious conversations happening in the Nets’ front office given the luxury tax bill and the roster restrictions it would place on the Nets, who are already operating with limited options.
籃網是否得到了他們想要的那個哈登？
在和雄鹿的系列賽之前，這個問題的答案毫無疑問是“是”。
上賽季，哈登在籃網打得像個MVP候選人。他拿三雙就跟喝水一樣簡單。然後腿筋問題就找上了他，這是他生涯第一次受這傷。和雄鹿的系列賽最後三場基本上是用一條腿打球，試圖幫助杜蘭特，然後他退出了東京奧運會去恢複身體。
這賽季，熟練去造犯規的哈登需要适應聯盟的新規。直到現在，哈登場均8.1次罰球，比上賽季的7.3次有所提升。但他不再像過去那樣頻繁用運球殺傷防守者，他的比賽也比過去更依賴罰球。
周日戰勝鹈鹕的比賽是他本賽季第二次在罰球不到10個的情況下得分上20 。哈登本賽季能夠獲得最高2.7億美元的續約合同，這将會讓他成為NBA曆史第一個單賽季薪水超過6000萬美元的球員。NBA的合同往往是因為他們過去的表現，而不是未來的預測。随着哈登在聯盟中待的時間越來越長，是否給他一份大合同一定是籃網高層一個嚴肅的問題，因為這會給籃網帶來奢侈稅和球員簽約限制，他們現在的操作空間已經很有限了。
Patty Mills filling in
Perhaps Brooklyn’s saving grace this season, Mills has been the Nets’ biggest offseason addition as his shooting has helped offset Harris’ injury as well as Irving’s absence. Now he’ll be needed to step up again with Durant out of the lineup.
Mills signed a two-year deal through their taxpayer’s exception giving the Nets another Spurs disciple in Brooklyn. Mills is averaging a career-high 13.4 points per game and shooting 42 percent from 3 in the process. The 6-foot-1 guard has provided a veteran presence on the floor and has been a strong presence in the Nets’ locker room, doing everything from playing emergency point guard to taking the rookies on a coffee run on road trips. Mills’ experience has already helped the Nets halfway through the season and he will be leaned on more as the postseason approaches and his championship experience is needed.
帕蒂-米爾斯的加盟
這可能是籃網本賽季唯一的亮點。米爾斯已經是籃網休賽季最大的補強了，他的投射能力幫助球隊抵消了哈裡斯受傷和歐文缺陣的影響。但他還需要更進一步去彌補杜蘭特缺席的麻煩。
米爾斯通過交易特例和籃網簽了兩年合同，為籃網增添了又一位前馬刺球員。他本賽季場均得到生涯最高的13.4分，三分命中率42%。這位6尺1的老将在場上打出了優異的表現，在場下的更衣室裡也産生着影響。他做着所有能做的事，包括出任控衛到在客場帶着新秀打球。米爾斯的經驗在賽季前半程對籃網幫助巨大。随着季後賽的臨近，籃網會對他更為倚重，球隊需要他的冠軍經驗。
Blake Griffin and the buyout market
Griffin joined the Nets in March 2021 after being bought out by the Pistons. His addition showed just how far the organization had come. Years earlier, Jordan Farmar and Anthony Morrow were the Nets’ prized offseason additions in the franchise’s final years in New Jersey. And, yet, here they were adding a former No. 1 overall pick through the buyout market.
Griffin became a secondary scorer and brought his ability to draw charges with him, a trait that spread throughout the team. Currently, he’s co-founder of the Blue Collar Boys Club, a select group he founded with Harris that invokes a construction worker-esque dress-up as a celebration for taking a charge. Mills is the only other known member while Durant has made guest appearances in the past.
布雷克-格裡芬和球員買斷市場
格裡芬在被活塞買斷後于2021年3月加入了籃網。他的到來讓球隊取得了大的進步。幾年之前，在籃網還在紐澤西的最後一個賽季，他們最珍視的季後賽新援是喬丹-法瑪爾和安東尼-莫羅。然而，現在加入他們的變成了通過買斷市場簽來的前狀元。
格裡芬不再擔任主要得分手。他為球隊帶來造犯規的能力，并讓這一特質在球隊中傳播開來。現在，他是藍領男孩俱樂部的共同建立者之一。這是一個他和哈裡斯一起建立的組織，專以模仿勞工作為造犯規的慶祝。米爾斯是唯一已知的另一位成員，盡管杜蘭特過去也作為嘉賓出現。
Griffin’s addition also helped label the Nets as villains in the NBA for having such a loaded roster, which made for an interesting case study in perception when the topic was brought up to him.
“It’s kind of funny to me because for the last couple years all I’ve heard is how bad I am,” Griffin said a few weeks after signing. “You sign with this team and everybody’s like, ‘That’s not fair!’
“People say whatever they want. I don’t put a whole lot of value in other people’s opinions. I trust the people I trust. If I don’t go to you for advice then I’m probably not gonna take your criticism. So I have that circle of people and I have that group of people that I trust, real basketball people. That’s who I listen to. I just think it’s funny, I guess you could say it’s amusing. I can’t speak for LaMarcus, I don’t know what people have been saying about him. That’s how I felt when I came here. I was hearing how bad I was and now people care for some reason.”
格裡芬的加盟也讓籃網成了NBA新的大BOSS。這也是上賽季的一個有趣的案例。
“對我來說這有點滑稽，因為過去幾年我一直聽别人說我有多差，”格裡芬在簽約幾周後說。“我和這支隊伍一簽約，每個人就開始說，‘這不公平！’”
“随人們怎麼說。我并不特别重視别人的意見。我相信那些我相信的人。如果我沒有來找你詢問意見，我可能就不會聽你的批評。是以我有那麼一圈人，有一群我信任的，真正的籃球人。他們說的才是我會聽的。我就是覺得這很滑稽，你也可以說這很好笑。我沒法為拉馬庫斯說話，我不知道人們是怎麼說他的。那就是我來這裡之後的感受。我來着之前一直聽人們說我有多差，而現在人們因為我簽約籃網又關心起我來了。”
LaMarcus Aldridge’s path to Brooklyn and back
As Griffin touched on above, he wasn’t the only major addition to join the Nets through the buyout market. Aldridge signed with the Nets shortly after Griffin, giving them two former top-two picks in the frontcourt. Aldridge had numerous connections to the Nets. He hosted Durant on his recruiting visit to the University of Texas, played with then-assistant Ime Udoka in Portland as well as GM Sean Marks.
But as quickly as Aldridge’s tenure in Brooklyn started, it came to an abrupt end after he experienced an irregular heartbeat in April against the Lakers, which led him to retire. Aldridge came out of retirement in September after receiving clearance from numerous doctors and has been an integral part of the Nets’ rotation this season.
“The mid-range specialist” as Harden calls him, Aldridge has thrived off pick-and-pop actions to get off his signature shot. At age 36, he is shooting a career-high 57 percent from the field. Aldridge has missed the past five games due to right foot soreness, but is expected to return to the lineup as early as Monday. With Durant out, Aldridge’s scoring will be needed to offset his fellow Longhorn’s absence.
拉馬庫斯-阿爾德裡奇來到籃網和回歸
正如格裡芬提到的，他不是籃網通過買斷市場得到的唯一補強。在格裡芬之後，阿爾德裡奇也很快和他們簽約，組成了兩位前場前二順位的組合。他和籃網有着千絲萬縷的聯系。他曾組織了杜蘭特到德克薩斯大學的招募，和當時的助理教練埃梅-烏度卡以及總經理肖恩-馬克思在一起在波特蘭打過球。
他的籃網生涯迅速開啟，但結束也很匆忙。他在四月對陣湖人的比賽後感到心律不齊，這最終導緻他退役。他在收到了無數醫生的許可後在九月複出，并且在本賽季成為了籃網輪換陣容中不可或缺的一部分。
“中距離專家”，正如哈登對他的稱呼一樣，阿爾德裡奇擋拆後在外線的标志性中投日漸爐火純青。在36歲的年紀，他的命中率來到了生涯新高的57%。阿爾德裡奇由于右腳受傷缺席了過去的五場比賽，但預計最早會在周一就回到陣中。杜蘭特不在，球隊會需要他的得分來彌補他德克薩斯前隊友的缺席。
This season’s defense at the expense of offense
Last season the question that followed the Nets was if they’d be able to be the first team to win a title with a defense that ranked outside the league’s top 10, a feat that hadn’t been done since Shaquille O’Neal/Kobe Bryant Lakers in 2001.
This year it has been the opposite. Brooklyn has a top-10 defense and ranked as high as the top-five, but has regressed in recent weeks. The Nets’ defensive success has been two-fold. The effort to guard has been more consistent and the team has featured more defensive-oriented players in DeAndre’ Bembry, Jevon Carter, Bruce Brown and Nic Claxton. But the offset has been that the Nets’ offense hasn’t even anywhere near the historic efficiency it was last year. Irving’s absence and Harden’s injuries have played a factor, but some of the Nets’ newer additions are offensively limited, causing Nash to deploy lineups that aren’t ideal for floor-spacing or dynamic scoring.
本賽季以犧牲進攻為代價的防守提升
上賽季圍繞着籃網的問題是他們能否成為第一支防守效率沒能進入聯盟前十的冠軍球隊。自從2001年OK組合的湖人以來，還沒有球隊能完成這一成就。
今年的情況相反。籃網的防守進入了前十，而且是高達前五，但在最近幾周有所滑落。他們防守端的成功是雙向的。他們為防守付出的努力看得到，球隊也有了更多精于防守的球員，包括德安德烈-本布裡，傑文-卡特，布魯斯-布朗和尼克-克拉克斯頓。但相應的問題是他們的進攻完全不如去年那樣曆史級别的效率。歐文的缺席和哈登的傷病是一因素，籃網的一些新援在進攻端能力有限，導緻納什會擺出一些球場空間不足和運動得分能力不佳的陣容。
The Bulls game
Picking one signature game since Harden arrived in Brooklyn is hard. He’s notched triple-doubles and last season every game felt like a passing clinic. There was the come-from-behind win in Phoenix last season without Durant and Irving. There were the Lakers and Clippers games this past December and Durant’s 49-point triple-double against Milwaukee in the last postseason.
Maybe one of the most recent is the easiest because it was the latest reminder of the vision Marks traded for, albeit without Harris. Brooklyn’s big three overwhelmed the Bulls as Nash was able to stagger his star trio. The result was Chicago’s defense never got a break and a big third quarter from the Nets put the game away. The win marked the first appearance of Brooklyn’s big three this season because of Irving’s part-time status with the team.
And now, with Durant hurt, we don’t know if we’ll see another performance like it as who knows when KD, Harden and Irving will be together on the court again
和公牛的比賽
想要挑出一場哈登交易後籃網的代表作并不容易。哈登得到了很多三雙，過去的一年他都是傳球大師。有杜蘭特和歐文都缺陣時對陣太陽的以弱勝強。有過去的十二月對陣快船和湖人的比賽。還有杜蘭特在去年季後賽對雄鹿的49分三雙。
也許最容易的選擇是最近的一場，因為這場是最近一次我們看到了馬克思當時做交易時的理想球隊的樣子，盡管沒有哈裡斯。籃網的三巨頭依舊壓制了公牛，納什錯開了三巨頭的時間。結果是公牛的防守一刻不能停歇，籃網在第三節一波帶走比賽。這場勝利也是在歐文兼職狀态下籃網三巨頭本賽季的首次共同出場。
而現在，杜蘭特受傷，我們不知道是否還能見到我們所了解的杜哈歐的聯合表演了。