In the second game of the Big Three, the Nets won again. And, today they beat the Bulls, who are currently ranked first in the East, with a huge margin of 138-112!
Considering that this is the first time this season that the Nets have defeated the top four teams in the East and West, this victory naturally has a very significant meaning. They have reason to be excited and encouraged by this, but the result is another reminder of how important Irving's presence is to them.
The Nets traded James Harden in January last year to form a luxurious big three with historic offensive talent and became a popular candidate for the championship.
Led by three superstars, the Nets scored 117.3 points per 100 rounds in the regular season, setting a new record for the league's offensive efficiency. The division semifinals faced the later championship Bucks, the Nets had the advantage in the first two games, if it were not for the continuous injuries of Harden and Irving, it would probably be them who finally stood on the championship podium.
However, this season, because of Irving's vaccine storm, the Big Three survived in name only, and Durant, who experienced a serious injury to the Achilles tendon rupture, tried his best to help the team rank at the top of the Eastern Conference standings, but the overall performance of the Nets was not satisfactory.
It's particularly embarrassing: The Nets without Irving seem to be a paper tiger that can only brush points on weak brigades. Before today, their overall record against the top four teams in the East and West was 0-8, including two losses to the Bulls.
The dilemma forced the Nets to compromise, allowing Irving, who still refused to be vaccinated, to play only away games. And since Irving returned, this is the second game of the Nets' big three, on January 6, they achieved a big reversal after trailing by 19 points, beating the Pacers on the road, today's Top Battle in the East, it is a big victory over the Bulls, raising their eyebrows.
What has changed with Irving's return? What is the difference between the Nets, which now beat the Bulls, and the Nets, which faced the top four eight losses in the East and West?
In fact, in terms of tactical content, Irving's return has not brought any changes to the Nets. This is still a team that is highly dependent on the individual ability of the stars, based on singles, and the style of play is simple and rough. It is only because of the difference in the individual ability of the players that it has brought about an increase in offensive efficiency.
In today's game, the Nets made 35 assists in the whole game, setting a new season high. However, if these assists are broken down in detail, most of them are the simplest two-person blocking and dismantling combinations, holding the ball single to attract the clip and then passing out the empty opportunity, or the fast attack counterattack in more than one hit.
In fact, not only this game, the Nets' assist statistics this season have always been very good: they averaged 25.6 team assists per game, ranking 6th in the league, with 62.2% of assists and points, and 8th in the league. The reason why today's new high is related to Irving's return to improve the morale and confidence of the whole team, and it also has a certain degree of accident.
But the number of assists is large, does not mean that the whole is strong, and the mobility of the ball is good.
The data shows that the Nets have averaged 263.2 passes per game this season, ranking third from the bottom among the 30 teams in the league, and the reason why there are many assists is because the ball is concentrated in the hands of superstars, and the passes initiated by the launch are more purposeful and the probability of forming assists is also higher.
The classic team at the other extreme with the Nets is the Warriors: The Warriors have averaged 28 assists per game this season, the highest in the league, but they have averaged 316.6 passes per game, which is also the first in the league. The percentage of passes that form assists (8.9 percent) is significantly lower than that of the Nets (9.7 percent).
Since today's game has just ended, the relevant tracking data has not yet completed the statistical update, but the previous game against the Pacers, although with the addition of Irving, the Nets have 264 full-court passes, forming 28 assists, which is basically the same as their season average.
This is the Nets-style superstar basketball, simple and rough. When the big three are all there and the talent is crushed, they can achieve the effect they want without too complicated. The Warriors' system basketball is gorgeous and smooth, making people invincible, but the Nets' superstar basketball is also direct and effective, and it is difficult to stop. Either way, as long as you win, you can't blame it.
But the question is, did Nash take the initiative to choose a simple and rough superstar style of play, or could not change other tricks?
This season, despite missing Irving for most of the time, Harden's personal form is not ideal, and the Nets still rank first in the league in singles per game (12.8) and singles (11.6%), and both figures are far ahead of the other 29 teams.
While the data shows that the Nets' singles efficiency is 1.11 points per game, ranking second in the league, this only proves that they are more efficient than the other 28 teams, and it does not mean that their offensive efficiency is equally good. In fact, the Nets have scored 110.6 points per 100 possessions this season, ranking only 11th in the league in offensive efficiency.
In contrast, the Nets' opponent today, the Bulls, is the league's number one in singles efficiency this season (1.16 points per game), but they don't rely too much on star singles like the Nets, averaging only 7.8 singles per game and a singles frequency of 7.2 percent, both of which rank only 12th in the league. Because of this, their overall offensive efficiency (112.5 points per 100 possessions) is third in the league.
As for the impact of Irving's return on the Nets' defense, because he has never been a defensive player, it is negligible and may even play a negative role.
Although the sample is limited, the Nets have conceded 121 points per 100 rounds in the previous battle against the Pacers, and although they have won a big victory against the Bulls today, they still lost 109.8 points per 100 rounds. If you don't have a concept of these two stats — the Rockets, the league's worst defensive player this season, conceded 114.6 points per 100 possessions, and the 109.8 points conceded per 100 rounds, which is just the same as the Spurs, who are 20th in the league in defensive efficiency.
Obviously, the Nets can win in both games of the Big Three, and it is definitely not defense.
But anyway, so far, the Nets' total record in the game where the big three are all together has reached 13 wins and 3 losses. The Nets didn't play the most reasonable basketball, but as long as Durant, Harden and Irving were on the floor at the same time, they had the ability to beat any team.
The question is: If Irving has been unwilling to be vaccinated and can only play as a part-time player in away games, what will the Nets do?
Today's head-on win over the Bulls narrowed the gap between the two teams to 1.5 wins, and if that ultimately affects both sides' standings in the standings and helps the Nets win home advantage in the playoffs, I don't really know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
After all, the Nets haven't proven that they can beat opponents like the Bulls without Irving.