The Brooklyn Nets are arguably the most extravagant super-team of the season, with two MVP-caliber players, Kevin Durant and James Harden, as well as perennial All-Star and super-scorer Kyrie Irving, who have faced some off-court problems, and Irving has missed almost all of the games this season so far, but the Nets still rank second in the East with a record of 24 wins and 13 losses.
But such a stellar record can't hide the embarrassing fact that they have a hard time winning against the league's top teams, and after losing to the Milwaukee Bucks last Saturday, the Nets have lost eight games against the top four teams in the division. That includes two losses to the No. 1 Chicago Bulls in the East, and despite Durant scoring 38 points, the Bulls have easily beaten the Nets before, while the Warriors, Grizzlies and Bucks have all won the Nets by more than 14 points.
This is definitely a worrying trend for the Nets, and if they want to go further in the playoffs, then they need to improve their performance against strong teams, although the Nets have previously blamed the team's struggle against strong teams on Irving's vaccination farce, which has caused them to be unable to form a holistic and fixed style of play, but after Irving's return, the Nets should no longer use this as an excuse.
Harden must also step up his performance against strong teams, because in these 8 games, except for the game against the Warriors, Harden scored more than Durant, and the remaining 7 games were all Durant's first scorer, which will lead to their offense being easily targeted by the opponent's defense, which will be another worry for the Nets. The Nets' next game against the top teams will be against the Bulls on Thursday, and winning this game now begins when Durant, Harden and Irving lead the Nets back to confidence.