After the away loss to the Rockets, the Nets were almost beaten back to their original form, and although they currently rank first in the East, they believe that they know their own hearts. Today, they are already typical of bullying and fearing hard, and their strength seems to have not yet reached the level of winning the championship. Compared with last season, even if Durant and Irving are truce, Harden can still lead the team to kill four sides, and now, Harden's state has declined significantly, even if Durant does not have a truce game, the power of the two is far less powerful than last season, let alone Harden alone. So, after a quarter of the schedule, the Nets should obviously clearly realize that there is no way back for the team at present, and if they want to win the championship, there are only two possibilities!
First, Irving returns
The current Harden, almost only last season's 60% state, so the Nets' double super super combination, in fact, only one and a half, the team's offense compared to last season, there is a huge gap, if Mills and Ade can play well at the same time, they can fill the gap to a certain extent, but if one person plays poorly, when facing a stronger opponent, the Nets' performance is enough. So, only when Irving returns and brings another super scorer who averages 25+ per game to the team, they can greatly improve the team's offense, Harden's pressure is reduced, and the bad offensive status can be covered up, and more energy can be put into the organization. If Irving can return as desired, the Nets' current lineup is still promising, and when Mills returns to the bench, their offensive firepower from the starter to the bench will definitely be among the top gears of the league, and the hope of impacting the championship will be rekindled.
But Irving is currently "repairing the immortals", completely disregarding the team's life and death, and from the current environment in New York, it is very unlikely to change the policy so that Irving can return to the game if he meets the requirements, and it can even be said that the possibility of expecting Irving to return after compromise is less than waiting for Harden's state to recover.
Second, trade Owen
The Nets are currently open to Irving's trade, and as the season progresses, there will be plenty of teams in the league that will begin to explore the possibilities of the trade market before the trade deadline, such as the Pacers are ready to rebuild, putting several main players on the shelves, the Blazers are currently making some discordant voices within the team, Lillard seems to have the signs of forced management, and the farce between Philadelphia and Ben Simmons is still continuing, etc., when more and more teams are looking forward to making changes before the mid-season trade deadline, The likelihood of Irving being traded will also increase. Despite the risks of trading Irving, as long as there is a team that will not limit Irving's appearance, Irving is still the Irving, a super scorer who can help the team tremendously on the offensive end.
If the Nets can exchange Irving for another scorer, even if not the same level, but as long as it is a quasi-star level offensive firepower, then Durant and Harden will be much less stressed, and under Nash's tactics, which rely entirely on the talent of the player, the Nets may once again attack the championship. At the end of the day, the key to supporting the Nets' top spot in the East is Durant's personal ability, and if Durant takes a few more games off, the Nets will soon decline wildly.
Therefore, after losing to the Rockets, the Nets management should be soberly aware of the reality, they are not the Nets last season, the team is worried about internal and external troubles, if you can't accelerate the Irving trade, and can't convince Irving to make a comeback after compromise, this season, basically will accompany the run, and the ending will be more unacceptable than last season.