Brooklyn Nets easier to guard with more of the star power, claims anonymous NBA assistant coach

Brooklyn Nets' stars Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving have played just 7 games together so far this season.
Brooklyn Nets' stars Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving have played just 7 games together so far this season.

The NBA season has been scratched by injuries throughout its course and continues to impact all teams on a large scale. Several NBA insiders recently sounded off about it, explaining how much of an effect it has had on teams. This report was published earlier today by Jake Fischer of the Bleacher Report.

Questions keep piling on the Brooklyn Nets' big-three and their lack of playing time together

A common complaint made by several insiders was how teams have had to play with incomplete lineups because of Covid protocols and injuries. Both these factors have led to teams being inconsistent this season. The best example would be the LA Lakers, who are yet to play Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Andre Drummond together in the same lineup.

LeBron James (L) and Andre Drummon (R) haven't played together yet for the LA Lakers
LeBron James (L) and Andre Drummon (R) haven't played together yet for the LA Lakers

The Brooklyn Nets could also be considered in that bracket to some extent as they have played Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden together just seven times this season. Harden has been the more regular of the three but was recently the only one to be out injured, with both Kyrie and KD fit and available.

Because of this, there has been constant speculation about the Brooklyn Nets' chances of going all the way as they haven't experimented much with the three players playing in the same lineup. Anything could happen in the post-season, and there is a sense amongst rival coaches that it could be the shortcoming for this Brooklyn Nets' super-team.

However, Fischer made a great point on why they are still lethal, mentioning how effective the Brooklyn Nets trio can be when played together, he mentioned:

"The Nets are in fact 23-8 in games within five points in the last five minutes—a league-best 20-4 since a certain bearded man’s arrival. And when healthy, their Durant-Harden-Irving triumvirate has indeed been awesome, blitzing opponents to the tune of 122.4 points per 100 possessions in that limited sample size, a whole four points better than the Clippers’ ridiculous 118.5 offensive rating that would be the best full-season mark in league history."

But despite this, there are still doubts about the team chemistry during crunch situations. For a team that includes three stars of KD, Kyrie, and Harden's caliber, one of them will have to step aside to make a specific strategy work. This led to one of the veteran coaches claiming that the Brooklyn Nets could be easier to guard when the big three are on the floor. Here's what the report said:

“The star players aren’t as good with spacing off the ball as other role players. In the regular season, you can even argue that Brooklyn is easier to guard when they have more of the starpower.”

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Edited by Prem Deshpande