On February 24, Beijing time, the team that disappointed fans the most this season was the Nets in addition to the Lakers. The team has already formed a luxury triumvirate of Durant + Harden + Irving last season. And the team relied on the play of the big three to successfully reach the Eastern Conference semifinals. Because of the impact of the injury, the Nets eventually fell to the Bucks led by Alphabet Brother, but even then the teams also had great expectations for the Nets in the new season.
At the beginning of the season, the Nets did not have a lot of personnel changes, and the Nets still ranked at the top of the league in terms of team strength. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, Brooklyn, where the Nets are located, need players to be vaccinated. Under normal circumstances, players will be vaccinated even for their own physical reasons, but Irving has his own ideas. He was reluctant to get vaccinated, which put the team in a dilemma. On one side are the league's top guards, and on the other side, there is no way to play at home without vaccination.
Now that the regular season is more than halfway through the season, the Nets have not achieved the desired results, and currently rank eighth in the East with only 31 wins and 28 losses. Under normal circumstances, the strength of the Nets can be in the top three or even win the Eastern Conference championship, because of Irving's willfulness and selfishness, the team's record is also the same. Even the persuasion of the team's stars Durant and Harden cannot affect Irving's determination. At present, the reason why the team has been able to achieve such results is because of Durant's super performance, he can average 29.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this season, including a shooting percentage of 52%. Death is as stable as ever.
The performance of the team's main point guard Harden is somewhat struggling, as the league's scoring king, MVP level players, this season Ha has only been able to get 22.5 points, 8 rebounds and 10.2 assists, from the data point of view, Harden's performance is still excellent, but his shooting rate is only 41.4%, which is lower than the shooting black hole Wei Shao. And Harden's three-point shooting percentage is only 33.2%. Apparently, Harden is still disgusted by Irving's behavior.
Force Harden away! The team was forced to compromise, the team manager was helpless, and in the end it was you who won. Forced to do so, the Nets management also hoped that the team could change, and finally traded Harden in the middle of the season, in exchange for Simmons, who had almost no shooting ability. Such a trade is obviously a loss for the Nets, but fans can see that Harden's heart is no longer with the Nets. His peak period is not a few years away, and he deserves all the honors he deserves now only needs a championship to prove himself.
Let's look at Irving's performance this season, because he can't play in the home game, he has only played 14 games this season. He averaged 24.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. His strength has always been online, but his behavior is indeed a little difficult to understand, and harden's departure can be said to be the culprit. However, Irving's insistence eventually allowed the Nets to compromise, according to NBA reporters, New York City is expected to cancel the mandatory vaccination seedlings, which also means that Irving can play in the home game without vaccination. The good news is that Nets general managers Sean Max and Irving are optimistic about a return to normal play.
This wave of confrontation between Irving and the Nets management is clearly a success for Irving. Team coach Nash also has nothing to do with Irving, fortunately, now Irving can play smoothly in the Nets home game, no longer a "part-time player". The Nets' current roster is still excellent, and the luxurious lineup of Durant + Irving + Curry Jr. + Simmons + Aldridge is still a presence that other teams dare not despise. In terms of rotation, the team has stable players such as Griffin, Chuang Shen, Mills and Joe Harris.
The most serious problem in front of the Nets now is undoubtedly the injury problem, and there are not many players who can play on the team, but as long as these players can recover their health, the Nets will still be in many big favorites this season.
The 76ers, who just got Harden through a trade, have also performed very well this season, and after Simmons left, Harden also successfully entered D'Antoni's team. Although he has not yet played for the ball, I believe harden's strength remains very stable. Embiid naturally needless to say, this season can average 29.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, steals and 1 block per game, including the first score in the league. Harden's addition is undoubtedly the icing on the cake for the 76ers. Simmons' overall strength is good, but he has a fatal flaw is that he does not have the ability to shoot. Harden is called a superstar because he scores all over, breaks through, shoots, and organizes the entire team's offense. Now it's hard to imagine if the Nets meet the 76ers in the playoffs, which of the two teams will win the final victory?