3 Reasons why the Brooklyn Nets are struggling early into the 2021-22 NBA season

Even without Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets were considered by many basketball analysts as the favorites to at least reach the NBA Finals. Four games into the 2021-22 NBA season, the Nets are sitting at an even 2-2 record. It’s quite clear that the depleted team that pushed the defending champion, Milwaukee Bucks, to a Game 7 is struggling.

The Brooklyn Nets are not pushing the panic button, though. They have a talented and experienced core that has been through years of war in the NBA. Most of all, they have Kevin Durant, who proved last year that on his own, he can push this team to great heights.

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There are possible reasons why the Brooklyn Nets have come out of the gates a little disjointed. These issues could resolve themselves over time, or they could turn into something significant down the road.

Without Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets’ window for errors and inconsistencies will be considerably smaller. They’ll need everyone to hum, particularly in a grinding season for those pre-tournament predictions to become real.

Potential reasons why the Brooklyn Nets have been shaky in the first few games of the season

#3 Steve Nash is still tinkering with his lineup

Steve Nash is tryng to lead the Brooklyn Nets out of an early funk.

Failure is a great teacher, particularly if it's a playoff failure in the NBA. Although the Brooklyn Nets were a big Kevin Durant toe away from possibly reaching the East Finals, Steve Nash most likely gained new ideas leading into this season.

Those ideas might have become necessities after the Brooklyn Nets decided to sideline Kyrie Irving unless he becomes a full participant in team events. Without Kyrie Irving, the most important task for Nash was to keep Kevin Durant as fresh as possible, even when he suits up for the team.

Playing Kevin Durant in the small forward position keeps him, for the most part, from the endless jostling and pushing in the shaded lane. Durant has had several months of continuous basketball, including the Tokyo Olympics. The Brooklyn Nets have to protect him and at some point, maybe manage his minutes.

Before the game against the Washington Wizards, the Brooklyn Nets’ most-used lineup featured Nic Claxton, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, Joe Harris and James Harden. Steve Nash opted to use a double-big combo for rim protection and to do the dirty work in the painted area.

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The scheme has resulted in an uneven performance by the Brooklyn Nets. Claxton has been shaky. Griffin is no spring chicken anymore and has regressed in his performance. The Nets still had to incorporate other pieces like Patty Mills and Paul Millsap into the play.

#2 Joe Harris and Blake Griffin have regressed or are in a slump

Could Joe Harris and Blake Griffin be in the middle of a slump for the Brooklyn Nets?

Last season, Joe Harris averaged 14.1 points on 47.5 shooting from three-point land which led the entire NBA. The sharpshooter also normed 50.5% from the field. Most notably, his true shooting percentage was 66.3%, which was the 8th best in the league.

In four games this season, the drop in TS% is so dramatic. He’s only at 47.9% on average, which would drop him from eighth to 190th in the rankings last year. The drop is also evident in his three-point shooting and overall marksmanship. The Brooklyn Nets will need the Joe Harris from last season to compensate for the scoring slack that Kyrie Irving could have provided.

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Blake Griffin is another integral part of the Brooklyn Nets who have fallen off a cliff in terms of performance. In 26 games for the Nets in the regular season, he tallied 10 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 2.4 APG. He shot 49.2 from the field and 38.3 from rainbow territory.

Those averages have shrunk to 4.6 points a game on 30.86% shooting from the field. His TS% also took a marked downgrade. From 54.6, it’s now down to an abysmal 29.7 TS%.

Joe Harris and Blake Griffin are averaging 30.2 MPG and 20.8 MPG, respectively. Their struggles are making a dent in the Brooklyn Nets' normally fluid and explosive game.

#1 James Harden is only showing flashes of James Harden

James Harden's struggles with the Brooklyn Nets this season are so apparent after years of dominance.

The 2017-18 MVP could still be rounding into form after battling his recurring hamstring issues. He was visibly hobbled last season because of the same injury.

That being said, James Harden’s numbers are so incredibly different from what the NBA has been accustomed to.

In his last five seasons of impeccable basketball, including last season’s stint with the Brooklyn Nets, "The Beard" is averaging 31.4 points, 9.0 assists and 6.9 rebounds. He shot 36% from deep and converted 44.6% of his field-goal attempts. The former three-time scoring champ added 10.5 FTAs and made nine of them.

The scoring is down to 17.3 points this year, with 8.3 assists and seven rebounds a game. Those are excellent numbers for anyone other than the James Harden, who terrorized the league with his out-of-this-world offensive exploits.

Last season, he was 37th in the league with 61.8 TS%. It’s now at 48.4 TS%, which would bring him to 189, a spot above Joe Harris if the rankings last year were used.

The stat that jumps out the most is Harden’s free throw attempts and conversion. He is only attempting three free throws per game and hitting 2.8 of them. The drastic drop in his scoring is directly related to his sudden measly trips to the free-throw line.

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Before the 2021-22 season, the NBA announced a new rule where non-basketball moves will not be called fouls. The mandate has already seen a league-wide decline when it comes to free throws. Harden, being one of the most prolific free throw shooters ever, seems to be affected the most.

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