If you're trying to figure out how good the Brooklyn Nets can be when and if they actually have their full roster playing, Thursday's loss the Miami Heat didn't tell you much. Irving can't play at home. Simmons? Well, you know. Kevin Durant, who was making his return after a six-week absence, isn't enough, even scoring 31 points.
Thing is, when will Simmons play? And when he does, how good will he be right away? The Nets don't have a lot of time here, and the dude hasn't played in an NBA game in almost nine months. Meanwhile, Brooklyn has 18 games left and Irving is only eligible to play in seven of them.
It's easy to say "The Nets aren't worth evaluating until they have all their guys," but the reality is they're tied in the loss column with the No. 10 Hawks and own just a one-loss lead over the No. 11 Wizards. There's going to be nothing to evaluate except their draft odds if they're not careful. They've lost 16 of their past 19 games and a few more L's could drop them straight into the lottery.
Indeed, these games that don't tell us anything about what the fully-formed Nets can be are, in fact, extremely important. When the Nets have a chance at a win, they need to actually win. They blew a 16-point lead against a Heat team playing on the second night of a back-to-back with Jimmy Butler, P.J. Tucker and Kyle Lowry all in street clothes. Miami threw its zone at the Nets and they went in the tank.
Brooklyn couldn't stop any penetration; the Heat pretty much got any shot they wanted. Bam Adebayo, who finished with 30 points and 11 boards, rolled and dove to the hoop more or less unabated. Tyler Herro added 27 and is an official stud. He's going to be the Heat's most important and probably their go-to scorer in the playoffs, I'm telling you.
What you saw in the Heat was a team that knows how to win, even undermanned. They are extremely well-coached. They get the same shots no matter who's on the floor. They play the same kind of defense. They're deep.
The Nets are the opposite. They look lost without their best players, and with no indication when, or if, they'll ever have their best guys playing together on a consistent basis, things have gotten really dicey. When the Nets entered the season with Durant and James Harden, even with all the Irving drama, it was unthinkable that they might end up as anything other than a title contender.
But this season is starting to feel cursed. Harden bailed. Irving won't take a shot off the court, and Simmons might still be scared to take one on it. Joe Harris is done for the season. Durant is going to do all he can, but if Brooklyn wants a chance to see what it can be in the playoffs with Simmons rolling and Kyrie at least playing road game, then these other guys better step up and quit blowing 16-point leads against sitting-duck opponents.
Otherwise, this is going to be three Durant seasons in Brooklyn completely down the drain. And that's the part of this that really stings. Durant came to Brooklyn to dominate with Kyrie. It was championship or bust. As soon as Harden joined the fray, it was LeBron-Wade-Bosh all over again. A compilation of talent perhaps never seen before. Perhaps it's an indictment on super teams being too empty under the stars to absorb much turbulence. The Lakers are finding that out as well.
But that doesn't make it any easier to fathom the possibility that Durant might very well go through his entire four-year contract with the Nets without ever contending for, let alone winning, a championship. The first season he didn't play. The second season Irving got hurt, Harden could barely run, and the Nets lost in the second round despite Durant averaging 34 points on 51 percent shooting in the playoffs. The third season, so far, is a disaster.
Durant has done everything he can when he's been able to play. He always does. But nobody else has proven to be as reliable, on or off the court, and the time they're trying to buy as a team is rapidly running out.
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