Is this really surprising anymore? The Brooklyn Nets have overcome all of their offseason turmoil and struggles…to only get blown out by Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans 130-108 on their own home court.
The Brooklyn Nets are truly an abomination of a basketball team. Everything about this team and the franchise just looks and feels wrong. From the ugly court design, the terrible black-and-white jerseys, to the lack of effort the Nets players had last night, everything just felt wrong.
This team should not have been forced to stay with one another.
Not only are they EXTREMELY top heavy, but they also have some of the most incompatible franchise superstar players playing with one another. I mean, would any sane GM really have Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons fill up three of their team’s five starting spots for them? I know I wouldn’t.
Now, I’m not saying that these three are bad players because they certainly are not and have proven themselves (well, more KD and Kyrie than Simmons) more than once during their illustrious careers. Yet, I am saying that they have no business being on the same court together while playing for the same team. They simply don’t gel, which causes these lopsided blowouts to happen.
KD and Kyrie were never great defenders to begin with, while Ben Simmons and Royce O’Neale looked lost on that court. Every time the Pelicans were on offense, they looked like they were going to score.
Aside from KD (32 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST), nobody else on the Nets roster played well. Not even Kyrie Irving could reach over 20 points as he only finished the night with a pedestrian 15 PTS, 3 REB, and 5 AST.
As for the Pelicans, they looked like a brand-new team from last season with Zion Williamson finally playing for them. The combination of Williamson (25 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST) and Brandon Ingram (28 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST) has the potential of turning into one of the best duos in the league. These two looked in-sync all night as they sliced through the Nets defense time after time again, making it look easy.
If Zion Williamson can stay healthy and hungry for the full NBA season, then this team could seriously challenge the Warriors for the West.
The Nets, on the other hand, may be challenging the Hornets or the Knicks for a Play-In Round spot if they play like they did last night for the rest of the season. These players better start to gel quickly, or else there’s going to be a fire sale in Brooklyn come February.
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