The key to the Nets' loss
Tatum's whistle-pressing kill made the Brooklyn Nets' entire effort meaningless. Kyrie Irving played a fantastic performance, 18 points in the final quarter, 39 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals, and even LeBron James continued to praise on social media. However, the Nets eventually lost, not so much to luck as to expose their problems in this game. One is rebounding, one is defensive, and the other is a bad assist-to-turnover ratio.
These three problems are the key to the Nets' loss, and of course, Durant's downturn is also the reason, but it is not the main reason. A player on the pitch will always be in good shape, but a team operating on the pitch needs to always be competitive. The key to these three problems may have to go back to harden's original deal.
Drummond didn't work
At that time, due to Irving's various reasons, Harden lost confidence in this team and chose to leave. The Nets didn't hold him back, sending him to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons and Drummond and Curry Jr. At that time, many Nets fans were very happy, Simmons strengthened the defense, Zhuang Shen strengthened the inside line, and Curry Jr. made the outside line have a more stable output, which really enhanced the strength of the team in all aspects. Maybe it does in the regular season, but don't forget that this is the stage in the playoffs.
The playoffs are the place where the superstars are examined, and players like Zhuang Shen and Curry Jr. naturally don't have many opportunities, and the help to the team is minimal, even Ben Simmons has collapsed in the playoffs, because the opponent will constantly compete for you to lay out a defensive strategy. As for a player like Harden, as long as he is on the court, whether he can shoot or not, the opponent does not dare to be careless, because the strength is there, he can not only score, but also connect the team, and the defense does not suffer losses.
In the first game of the 76ers against the Raptors, Harden showed his strength, every time the Raptors tried to narrow the point difference, Harden was able to step forward, the whole game sent 14 assists, only 1 turnover, the 76ers team also only had 3 mistakes, unparalleled team performance. As for the Nets' first game against the Celtics, Curry Jr. had 9 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists on 3-of-7 shooting, all from the first quarter, and Chuang Shen was 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, with the first plus-minus.
Harden should not be traded
2 turnovers, 4 fouls, only played for 17 minutes! The Nets' shortcomings emerged, and don't say that Zhan Huang delayed him. Zhuang Shen's bad does not stop there, this game, he only played 17 minutes, got 2 turnovers and 4 fouls, and was directly abandoned by Nash in the last quarter. Drummond can still brush the data in the regular season, but when it comes to the playoff stage, he really only has a negative effect. Many fans feel that the Lakers and James delayed him at the beginning, but this is not the case, and players like Zhuang Shen are really worthless in the playoff stage.
As for Ben Simmons, it was said to be coming back, but at that time, and at the moment of the Nets' life-and-death battle, would Nash dare to use a player who had missed a year of games? And this player has never played with Irving Durant. So, this season, the Nets are counting on Ben Simmons as they are counting on Nash to be a little more flexible.
Finally, looking back at the Harden trade, the Nets got three players, this game, Ben Simmons 0 points, Johnson 8 points, Curry Jr. 9 points, to be honest, it is better to keep James Harden. If the Nets don't trade, then Harden will come to the playoffs and will definitely go all out, and such a Brooklyn Nets is definitely more competitive than it is now. Believe this, no one will doubt.