It has been a busy and crazy offseason, but the Nets are finally back tomorrow on their road to a championship title run. Here is a breakdown of each player (ordered in initial rotation importance) with my expectations for them this season.

Team Breakdown:

1.      Kevin Durant

Perennially heralded as a top 3 player in the league, but there were always questions if he could singlehandedly carry a team to victory. I think this was settled during the playoff series against the Bucks where Durant went NUCLEAR and was a big toe away from reaching the NBA Finals. KD should be the Nets focal point on offense. I would like to see more aggressiveness this season, with an emphasis on increasing FT attempts.

2.      James Harden

One of the best passers in the league, Harden is the cog to the Nets engine. His efficiency took a huge step forward upon joining the Nets and at this pace, he will be catching up to Jason Kidd’s triple double record in no time. Harden’s basketball IQ is off the charts, and is always looking to setup his teammates, almost to a fault. He should unlock Claxton as a rim runner and help Joe Harris reach new career highs in shooting. Harden is the vocal leader of the team. He will take the media criticism away from KD and Kyrie. As the only member of the Big 3 without a ring yet, Harden is determined to win and cement his legacy as one of the greats.

3.      Kyrie Irving

My bold take coming into the year would be that Kyrie Irving would be this year’s League MVP. Yeah, that’s not happening. At first I figured Kyrie would eventually get the vaccine, but all indications seem to be that he is anti-vax (for reasons unknown) and is willing to sit out. If Kyrie does not get the shot, the most likely scenarios are that either he gets an exception, the new Mayor lifts the vaccine mandate, or the Nets trade him. The Nets have reportedly pulled their $180 million extension off the table, and things must not be great behind the scenes. This is so unfortunate because we saw Kyrie take a huge step last year in the development of his game. Kyrie has always been a walking bucket, but we saw him grow into a winner. In the past, I had never seen Kyrie put a team on his back and pull off wins without another star. This applies to Cleveland, Boston, and his first year with the Nets. Last year we saw Kyrie really grow into a distributor and get teammates involved to achieve wins. I really hope this situation works out.

4.      Joe Harris

The ever controversial $18 million man. Joe missed some open shots in the Bucks series that have resulted in him getting the ire of Nets fans. Fortunately, Joe does not have social media and will not succumb to bullying. Joe has always been an elite shooter, but in previous years he would only shoot when he was open and could set his feet. We saw Joe take a huge step forward last year with a much quicker trigger and shooting off of screens. On a fully healthy Nets team, Joe is the ultimate luxury that forces defenses to stay honest on the stars. He led the league shooting 46% from3. I would like to see Joe increase his FT% as that was the only thing preventing him from joining Kyrie in the 50/40/90 club. Defensively, Joe is a liability. He stays in front of his man pretty well, but players are able to easily get shots over him as he does not have the requisite wing span to contest shots. In close games, I do not think we can have both Joe and Kyrie on the court at the same time due to their defensive shortcomings (also Harden, but he is thicker).

5.      Blake Griffin

Blake looked good last year and I hope he dips further into his well of athleticism. His defensive IQ is very high, able to call out matchups and slide in front of defenders for a charge. This will be the last year we will realistically have him on the team as the Pistons are still paying his salary from the buyout. Off the court, Blake is a locker room glue guy. He makes things lighthearted and makes smoothies for the whole team.

6.      Lamarcus Aldridge

In a small sample size, Aldridge was a beast for us last year. He is a hefty 7’0 tall center with a 7’6wingspan, able to matchup with the bigs in the league. A gifted scorer in the paint and the midrange, we saw Aldridge command double teams in the post, and kick out for open 3s. This will help slow down the pace at times and mix up the Nets shot selection as we have not had a post presence since Brook Lopez. Defensively, Alrdige is a neutral, possibly a negative. If you see him lumber down the court, he is SLOW, but with his girth and wingspan, he should hold up decently on defense while keeping opposing bigs off the glass.

7.      Nic Claxton

Claxton finally got minutes last year, and it was a delight. Offensively, he is a prototypical lobs guy, catching alley-oop dunks from pick and rolls or camping out in the dunker spot. Defensively, he completely shuts down guards when switched onto them. Against bigs, he holds up well, but oftentimes gets pushed around(needs to bulk up). Would like to see him take the next step in his development where he can consistently get 28+ minutes per game and contribute on both offense and defense. Some red flags on maturity last season (partying, got covid) and during this preseason(did not attend summer league). If Claxton takes the next step, he will be an X factor.

8.      Patty Mills

Backup guard with international and NBA championship pedigree. Undersized, but has high IQ, a motor, and is a winner. He will quickly become a fan favorite and probably my wife’s favorite once she hears his Australian accent.

9.      Bruce Brown

Nothing about his stats pop out on the box score, but Brown is a glue guy that plays a unique role in the offense. His ability to attack the basket, convert on floaters, and crash the boards with hustle makes Brown our pseudo Center on offense. I would like to see him develop a more consistent 3 pointer (35%+) and be more reliable on defense during crunch time.

10.  Deandre Bembry

If you don’t know Bembry, trust me you will. I believe Bembry’s defensive upside is All NBA 3rd team+, and that is being conservative. Bembry started to earn minutes last year with the Raptors and was closing out games guarding the best player. Defensively, he will be what we expected Bruce Brown to be, but better. See below clip of Bembry locking down Kawhi in a one possession game in the 4th.

11.  Jevon Carter

Jevon is an underrated signing, But I wonder if he will be able to crack the rotation. He is an above average/elite defender who won college basketball’s NABC Defensive Player of the Year award, Twice, averaging 3+ steals per game. But that was college, and this is the NBA. He is undersized and limited offensively, but the Nets don’t need more offense. Jevon can hound opposing ball handlers into turnovers, but it was interesting to see that he could not sniff the court last year during Phoenix’s playoff run. If he can play elite defense and hit his open 3s, we should be able to find minutes for him.

12.  Cam Thomas

If it were up to me, I would replace all of Kyrie’s minutes with Cam’s. Cam is an ELITE scorer that can hit tough shots and draw fouls at a rate that is on par with Harden. He still has much to learn, but I rather him learn and mess up with meaningful regular season minutes. Based on Nash’s preseason rotations, I do not expect Cam to play at all until garbage time, which is unfortunate. When given the opportunity, I think Cam will be able to start earning more meaningful minutes week by week(hopefully).

13.  James Johnson

At 33 years old, I am not sure how much James Johnson has left in the tank. He is a big body that can play wing or small ball big. Appearance wise, he doesn’t seem to be in basketball shape, but hopefully he can be serviceable on defense and hit some open 3s. What he does bring to the team is toughness. James Johnson has a background in karate and MMA. He is loyal like no other and will stand up for his guys. This will be especially useful against the known instigators in the league such as Dwight Howard, Morris twins, PJ Tucker, etc.

14.  Dayron Sharpe

Very young, very raw, also VERY BIG. Dayron is gigantic and is a monster on the offensive glass. Based on his Elite offensive rebounding alone, he can be used in emergency situations. Seems to have butterfingers though, and will need to secure the ball better in order to get minutes. Most likely will be a G League project this year. Will get minutes in back to backs when starters are resting. Ceiling is sky high.

This Nets team is loaded in scoring and packed with depth. With Kyrie, the Nets are the overwhelming favorites. Without Kyrie, Nets are still a top 2 seed in the East (this is based on last year's ranking with minimal games from the big 3). When the Nets lose games, it will because they beat themselves (most likely Nash's fault).