Dave Early Articles - Page 8

Despite not having Kyrie Irving around, the Brooklyn Nets still sit atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 15-6 record through 21 games. That is, of course, thanks in no small part to the efforts and brilliance of one Kevin Wayne Durant. It was announced that the Nets’ MVP candidate is the KIA Eastern Conference […]

We’re now into December, and there has been no progress on the Kyrie Irving front. It was back in late September around Brooklyn Nets training camp when we first began to hear rumors he was not vaccinated. That was an especially big deal since New York City has local vaccination mandates which apply to venues […]

The New York Knicks hopped a subway to visit the Brooklyn Nets in a battle of the boroughs, with both teams convening to provide an exhilarating reminder that New York City is absolutely obsessed with roundball. The energy at Barclays Center reached a fever pitch as a record 18,081 packed into the arena. The Nets […]

The New York Knicks and a sizable cohort of blue and orange faithful hit up Barclays Center for a subway series against the Brooklyn Nets. The superstar duo of Kevin Durant and James Harden emerged victorious, however, and sent a lot of ‘Bockers fans home feeling dejected. The Nets are now 15-6, and for the […]

The Brooklyn Nets are a bit shorthanded these days. But still, at 14-6, they find themselves in first place of the Eastern Conference ahead of a divisional showdown with the New York Knicks. They won’t be at full strength ahead of this battle of the boroughs, though. Steve Nash’s squad is down a few players […]

In the battle for borough bragging rights, the first-place Brooklyn Nets (14-6) will host the seventh-place New York Knicks (11-9) on Tuesday. A couple of years now removed from the fateful 2019 decision made by Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to sign with the Nets and not the Knicks in free agency, the big-market teams […]

We’re only 20 games into the season so it’s still a bit early to look at statistics and draw sweeping conclusions. But if we wait for a more robust sample, there will be less surprises. And what fun is that? Let’s comb through some statistics and find a few items that stand out to get […]

Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry are in a duel for the 2022 MVP award. According to the latest odds, Curry is the odds on favorite and KD is right behind his former teammate. Even if neither superstar is too focused on regular season accolades, even if both would say they’re simply doing what it takes […]

The Brooklyn Nets got some terrible news on Monday, with head coach Steve Nash announcing that sharpshooter Joe Harris is undergoing surgery due to an issue with a bone particle in his injured left ankle. The Nets’ all-time leading 3-point shooter is expected to return this season, but there will be an update following the procedure. […]

The Brooklyn Nets hosted the flaming-hot Western Conference champions from last season in the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. The Nets trailed the whole way, sometimes by more than 20 points. They climbed back because of a late-game barrage, but ultimately fell 113-107 as the Suns picked up their 16th straight win. The Nets are […]

The Brooklyn Nets were defeated by the Golden State Warriors at home earlier this month. On Saturday, with a record 18,071 turnout at Barclays Center, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Co. lost to another Western Conference powerhouse in the Phoenix Suns, 113-107. The Nets are now 14-6 while the reigning Western Conference Champions are now 16-3, […]

The first-place Brooklyn Nets are winning, but they may not have a lot to say to each other about it. Head coach Steve Nash has been trying to get his team (14-5) to communicate more on the floor. He often preaches “communication and connectivity,” especially on the defensive end of the court. But it sounds […]

Blake Griffin started every game for the Brooklyn Nets with the exception of one contest to rest during a back-to-back set. But after only logging nine total minutes in Cleveland during the team’s 117-112 win, coach Steve Nash made the switch to LaMarcus Aldridge in the starting lineup. The seven-time All-Star got the start against […]

Kevin Durant continues climbing the ladder on the all-time great’s list. Recently, he was honored as one of the top 75 players of all time. On Wednesday night in the Brooklyn Nets’ 123-104 road basting of the Boston Celtics, he passed another legend on the scorer’s list. Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson stands with 24,368 […]

LaMarcus Aldridge has been balling out this season – and the Brooklyn Nets have sorely needed it. They’re in first place through 18 games, thanks in large part to his white-hot shooting. Aldridge is in many ways the most pleasant surprise of the Nets season. Recall, he retired abruptly last year after joining the Nets […]

Through 18 games, the Brooklyn Nets sit atop the Eastern Conference at 13-5. The much improved East has a fierce middle-class it didn’t have in years past. It’s probably too early to make a definitive ranking but it’s more fun to try now before it’s all more clear. Quick note on this list. This is […]

The Brooklyn Nets are openly seeking an offensive identity. They’ve made no secret that they believe finding one will take some time. Kevin Durant and James Harden came into the season healthy, but their “continuity plan” was abruptly shattered with the whole Kyrie Irving absence thing. Nets coach Steve Nash has been experimenting with his […]

Once upon a time a two-time MVP point guard named Steve Nash spearheaded a frenetically efficient offensive attack that came to be known as “7 seconds or less.” A book was written about the approach (former Nets’ assistant) then head coach of the Suns Mike D’Antoni devised; a reference to how quickly into the 24 […]

The Brooklyn Nets improve to 13-5, and are now in sole possession of first place in the East. Nets head coach Steve Nash has spoken at length this season about the team’s “continuity plan” being disrupted when they learned Kyrie Irving wouldn’t be available to them. Because of that disruption, they’ve needed their stars to […]

While so many fans speculate about a Kyrie Irving for Ben Simmons trade, it sounds like the Sixers are more focused on acquiring James Harden. The moment Harden decided not to sign his extension with the Brooklyn Nets back in October, stories like this became inevitable. And they’re not going away. Sixers team President Daryl […]

The Brooklyn Nets (now 12-5) are in sole possession of first place. The Nets hosted the last place, (now 4-12) Orlando Magic, but Brooklyn was very short-handed so it was no cake walk. James Harden was able to lead a short-handed Nets squad by exorcising some of his early-season demons. He got to the free […]

Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash expressed his disappoint over the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict. On Friday, news came out that Rittenhouse was acquitted of charges related to the deadly Kenosha shootings he was involved in. The incident left two people dead and badly injured another during protests against racial injustice in 2020. Rittenhouse was found […]

The league’s leading scorer will miss his first game of the season. Kevin Durant played in 35 out of 72 regular season games a season ago. He’s already nearly halfway towards his 2021 season total, having logged 16 games played so far. However, after appearing to tweak his shoulder back on November 8th in a […]

At different times throughout the season, the Brooklyn Nets (now 11-5 and tied for first place with the Miami Heat) have talked about finding their identity. They were pretty honest in saying they didn’t have one at first and didn’t know what theirs would be during the season’s early grind. But it does seem as […]

Because of a mixture of personal reasons, return-from-injury, Health and Safety Protocols, new injuries, rest nights, conservative treatment of not-so-serious injuries, the 2021 Brooklyn Nets ran an absolute clinic in load management. The big three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden only appeared in eight regular season games. It wasn’t a surprise when […]

One player who fans expected to play an important role for the Brooklyn Nets during the early portion of the 2021-22 season was Nicolas Claxton. The 31st overall pick in the 2019 draft was actually who Steve Nash tapped to fill in for Kyrie Irving (unvaccinated) in the starting lineup to begin the year. It […]

Stephen A. Smith is not one to shy away from his feelings. He went in on Kevin Durant in his latest appearance on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday after the Brooklyn Nets got stomped by the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. He didn’t pull any punches against Kyrie Irving, James Harden or the Nets faithful either. Even […]

The Brooklyn Nets were humbled on their home floor by the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. The Nets fell to 10-5 and third place in the East behind the first-place Washington Wizards and second-place Chicago Bulls. They currently have the sixth-best chances of winning the NBA title based on FiveThirtyEight’s prediction model. It would appear […]

There’s a showdown on Tuesday night at Barclays Center, with the league-best 11-2 Golden State Warriors visiting the 10-4 Brooklyn Nets. Kevin Durant, James Harden and the rest of the squad are 4-2 at home, losing to the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat. They’ll look to stake their claim as the top team in the […]

The Brooklyn Nets set sail for a long six-game road trip earlier this month. At the beginning of it, they were 5-3 overall, fifth place in the newly competitive Eastern Conference. There has been a rising middle class in the East with improved play overall. But after going 5-1 away from Brooklyn, the Nets now […]

The Brooklyn Nets visited the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. OKC, surprisingly, has rattled off four wins in a row, giving a little added intrigue to this contest–although Brooklyn is still favored to win. The city of Oklahoma will surely bring up some memories for Kevin Durant and James Harden. Both players played their early […]

After knocking off the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Brooklyn Nets are now 10-4 and tied for first place in the East standings with the Washington Wizards. The game may have had a little something extra for Kevin Durant and James Harden since they both began their careers with the Thunder. Technically, KD was drafted by […]

The Brooklyn Nets (9-4) knocked off the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night. It was closer than they would have liked (120-112), as they let the now 1-12 Pel’s hang around. But they saw signs of life from James Harden who has struggled at times this season. But while fans were really excited for the breakout […]

So much has been made this season about James Harden’s slow start, so his exploding for 39 points, five rebounds and 12 assists on top of 6-of-10 from beyond the arc and 11-of-15 from the line must have made the Brooklyn Nets’ win against the New Orleans Pelicans extra sweet. Oh baby, James Harden is […]

It has been seven full seasons since Kevin Durant was named regular season MVP. Of course, the 2014 MVP also boasts two NBA Finals MVPs in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018. With 12 games under his belt, it appears KD has a realistic shot at some more hardware in his trophy collection next spring. […]

The Brooklyn Nets have had a few pleasant surprises so far this season. You’re probably already familiar with the former San Antonio Spurs duo of Patty Mills and LaMarcus Aldridge. Both have impressed through the season’s early portion. But there is another offseason addition who hasn’t been on the mainstream radar quite as often: DeAndre’ […]

When the Brooklyn Nets (8-4) first acquired LaMarcus Aldridge via buyout market last season, they probably didn’t expect this level of play from the 36-year-old. The seven-time All-Star abruptly retired after appearing in just five games for Brooklyn because of concerns related to an irregular heartbeat last season. At that point the possibility he might become […]

The Brooklyn Nets are not here to complain. But Steve Nash admitted something pretty intriguing about the impact Kyrie Irving‘s absence has had on his squad. Now of course, Brooklyn knows that they have a better roster than most teams in the NBA. But they also know that since assembling what many (accurately) labeled as […]

There is no Kyrie Irving around. James Harden has had significant struggles with his return to play from an injury and the new rules targeting non-basketball moves. But with those two seismic hurdles, the Brooklyn Nets cannot afford to slack in other departments. There’s one area where the Nets are really really slacking, and it […]