Durant returned to the game from isolation to score 66 points with Harden, but the Nets lost 102-110 to the Sixth-Place 76ers in the East.
The regular season is long and losing games is normal, especially given the Nets' recent pandemic, and occasional misses may not be a fuss.
However, the game can explain some problems after all, after all, this game the Nets are relatively abundant, especially Durant and Harden are in and play well, but they still lose, it is necessary to seek the crux of the problem.
The Nets mainly lost in three aspects, one is that they can't prevent Embiid, the second is that the 76ers outside Embiid are strong, they have not defended, and the third is that the Nets players outside Duha are collectively dumb.
Embiid scored 16 points in the first quarter and 34 points, piercing the nets' all-Star big man's weakness. Maxi and Seth Curry scored 42 points, a sign of the Nets' defensive instability on the outside. Ader and Mills' 6-of-20 shooting was an intermittent downturn in the Nets' auxiliary firepower.
The inside and outside lines are not defended, and the output of offensive points outside the superstar is not very common for the Nets, but it is relatively easy to appear in high-end innings.
The Nets are currently in first place in the East, and they have combined 0-4 against the Second- to Fourth-place Bulls, Bucks and Heat of the East this season. The top four in the West are the Warriors, Suns, Jazz and Grizzlies, and the Nets have not yet played the Jazz and Grizzlies this season, and they are 0-2 against the Warriors and Suns.
That is to say, the Nets have lost all 6 games against the top four teams in the East and West this season.
In these six games, the Nets have conceded an average of 115 points per game, which is nearly 9 points higher than their season average. The Nets didn't hold back The Alphabet (32 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists), curry (37 points), and LetRozan and Lavin score 60 points on a single occasion, and Booker scored 30 points.
The Nets' defense has improved a lot compared to last season, but when they face elite players from elite teams, the problem of insufficient quality defensive resources is still evident.
The Nets are first in the east, and they are very stable, which is a sign of a strong team, but if the Nets can't play a multi-point flowering effect in the confrontation and achieve fire suppression, it is difficult for them to be stronger when they encounter strength.
That's why, the Nets need Irving back.
Personality factors aside, in terms of offensive level alone, Irving is undoubtedly at the top of the league, averaging 26+ per game last season and a combined three-point shooting rate into the "180 club".
"Master." Durant had this to say about Owen's ability to attack.
It's no exaggeration, Irving and Durant share the same traits, that is, indiscriminate singles, no regular version restrictions, and the more critical the moment, the more reliable.
The Nets Big Three have formed a more ideal coordination model last season, Harden is responsible for organizing the offense, Durant and Irving are responsible for attacking, the lineup rotation can maintain the configuration of the two giants to lead the team, and when the game needs to be closed, the three of them are on the same page, and it is difficult for the league today to find a team that can suppress the Nets Big Three at the same time in the defensive manpower reserve.
Durant is still the basketball death god, Harden is getting better, Irving is back, the Nets can pull the offense full, even if their defense will still leak in the high-end game, but who can suppress the Three-Star Nets in the attack?
Irving has resumed training, and his performance on the training ground has been rated by Harden as "elite level". Throughout Irving's career, you don't have to worry about his training, and the controversy about him is focused on personality, not business ability.
Irving returns, that is the strongest Nets, even if Irving can only play away games allowed by epidemic prevention conditions for the time being, it is far better than not playing at all.
Besides, if you play away, is it really impossible at home?