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The Brooklyn Nets will be battling it out with the Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference once the “bubble” games begin on July 30 in Orlando, Florida.
However, the Nets will be without their two best players. Two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant and superstar point guard Kyrie Irving are both recovering from injuries and won't be at Walt Disney World.
KD is still rehabbing from the Achilles tear he suffered in Game 5 of the 2019 Finals, while Irving is recovering from shoulder surgery.
If Durant and Irving were playing at Walt Disney World, the Nets would be one of the favorites to win the 2020 title. Since the two All-Stars are out, though, most pundits aren't giving Brooklyn a shot to win the ring.
Without Durant and Irving, the Nets face some tough questions going into the NBA restart. Let's take a look at three of them.
3. Can Spencer Dinwiddie handle the pressure of being a No. 1 option?
Spencer Dinwiddie will be the main focus of defenses once the “bubble” games begin. The guard was averaging 20.6 points per game in 2019-20 before the season was suspended in March.
For the Nets to clinch the seventh or eighth seed, Dinwiddie is going to have to play at a near All-Star level. He has the skills to do it, but it's fair to wonder if he can handle the offensive burden once defenses start game-planning for him.
2. Who takes the last shot, Spencer Dinwiddie or Caris LeVert?
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Dinwiddie is without question the No. 1 option on offense for the Nets sans Durant and Irving. However, Caris LeVert is one of the up-and-coming small forwards in the game and the “bubble” games are a good opportunity for the youngster to take on more of an “alpha” role since KD and Uncle Drew aren't playing.
If the game is on the line, who will Nets coach Jacque Vaughn give the ball to? Odds are neither Dinwiddie nor LeVert will get offended like Scottie Pippen did in the 1994 playoffs with the Chicago Bulls when Phil Jackson drew up a play for Toni Kukoc instead of him.
However, we have seen countless times players beefing behind the scenes when it comes to these things. Odds are that won't happen with Dinwiddie and LeVert, but Vaughn still has to think about who he trusts the most with the ball when the game is tight.
1. Who starts at center, DeAndre Jordan or Jarrett Allen?
In the two games that Vaughn coached the Nets after Kenny Atkinson was let go, DeAndre Jordan started over Jarrett Allen after coming off the bench for most of the season. Multiple reports stated that Jordan was upset with Atkinson since he signed with Brooklyn to be a starter.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if Vaughn continues to start Jordan or goes back to Allen, who is the future in Brooklyn. The “Fro” was averaging 10.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks for the Nets this season while shooting 64.6 percent from the field.
Meanwhile, Jordan was putting up 8.3 points, 10.0 boards and 1.9 assists prior to games getting suspended. DJ is a better lob threat than Allen. However, Allen is the superior defender at this stage of his career since he's much younger and has fewer miles on his legs than Jordan.
