On January 8, Beijing time, the Nets lost 109-121 in a home game against the defending champion Bucks, after which the Nets' record so far this season has slipped to 24 wins and 13 losses, which also makes the Nets 2.5 wins behind the Bulls, who currently have the best record in the East.
Since Kyrie Irving is not vaccinated, even though the Nets have allowed Irving to return to the game, the latter can only play away games for the Nets.
In this game against the Bucks at home, Kevin Durant played 37 minutes and had 29 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists, which are the Nets' best performance in the game, as for Harden, who only scored 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting, but he could also contribute 9 rebounds and 7 assists. It was only because the Nets did not feel ideal throughout the game, which also allowed them to eventually lose this game against the defending champion Bucks.
In the whole game, the Nets' biggest problem is the performance outside the three-point line, their whole team is only 6 of 27 shooting outside the three-point line, 22.2% three-point shooting rate compared to the Bucks 45.6% of the 35.6% three-point shooting rate is still not a small gap.
It's important to note that the Nets have had 15 games this season in which they've shot more than 35 percent from three-point range, and they've had a 14-1 record in those games. In the other 22 games where the three-point shooting percentage is below 35 percent, the Nets have a record of just 10 wins and 12 losses. There's no doubt that stability beyond the three-point line is largely a problem the Nets need to address this season.
Kyrie Irving's comeback will indeed give the Nets a better scoring ability, but Irving, who refuses to be vaccinated, can only play away games, such an away advantage is certainly not enough for the Nets to get closer to the championship trophy, and the return of a sharpshooter like Joe Harris in the next few weeks will also allow the Nets to have a better three-point performance outside the three-point line.
So theoretically, Joe Harris' comeback and Irving's presence will be two of the Nets' conditions for solving stability outside the three-point line, but since Irving can only play away games, the Nets' best solution is to find a shooter who can fill the gap in Irving's outside projection in the home game before the trade deadline, and the shooter does not need to be able to play Irving's level of offensive performance, he only needs to provide a stable threat to the team on the outside to help the Nets.