The Brooklyn Nets are in first place in the Eastern Conference. At 23-9, they have a 1.5-game lead over the rival Chicago Bulls, who have swept that season series so far two games to nil. Brooklyn actually has the fourth-best record in the entire NBA, behind a few Western Conference powerhouses in the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, and Utah Jazz, respectively.

But the Nets now have a much higher gear to reach in the near future with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving coming out of the NBA's health and safety protocols, which should vault them to the top of the championship odds, even with Irving still limited.

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How return of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving will impact Nets' upcoming schedule

3) Improved spacing

The Nets rank just 26th overall in location effective field goal percentage, (52.1%) per Cleaning The Glass. Less emphasis has been made recently on getting as many dunks, free throws, and 3s as possible while avoiding contested mid-range shots. And a team with KD and LaMarcus Aldridge isn't going to shy away from a clean look at a 15-footer.

But it's still a good recipe for success to take an analytics-based approach. Without Irving in the fold, the Nets have given a chunk of minutes every game to some players who don't demand a defense's attention. And that has allowed teams to “junk up”a game with some box-and-1 or triangle-and-2 zones.

Teams like the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves have utilized some of these “exotic” looks, brazenly helping off the Nets' non-shooters and sending extra bodies at KD. Teams may still try that stuff, but there will soon be another star in the mix to stay glued to, plus busting said zones will be even easier for playmakers like James Harden (second in the NBA in dimes with 9.8 per game) and Durant (20th overall in dimes with 6.0 per outing).

Instead of sagging off DeAndre' Bembry, Bruce Brown or James Johnson, rival teams playing at home are going to have to devote all of their attention to three superstars. And unless you can play with seven or eight players, that's just not possible.

2) Opponents must now pick their poison: play at Barclays or face Nets' Big 3

Irving's return is not imminent. Kevin Durant figures to return sooner since he was in game shape before testing positive for COVID-19. Irving not so much, having missed the entire first third of the season. So for the immediate future, Brooklyn will get back to the first-place team it fielded before Durant hit protocols. This is the good news-good news dynamic they'll presumably enjoy the rest of the year.

The Nets will either be playing at home, or they'll have their three stars available, at least on nights they don't load manage anyone and as long as there's good health. They'll probably do some load management in order to stay fresh for the playoffs. All of these options will be better than the ones coach Nash has had thus far.

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If you were putting odds on it, the game against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 5, or the third meeting versus the Bulls on Jan. 12 might mark Kyrie's debut. We'll miss the reaction he would have got from a home crowd in Brooklyn. But they'll have some winnable home games for a brief stretch. Then they'll morph into a potential juggernaut once Irving has ramped up his conditioning to game readiness.

1) Lessening the scoring, minutes, defensive burden on Kevin Durant, James Harden

Everything the Nets said prior to the decision to allow Irving to return indicated concern for the minute totals they were asking from their top stars, Kevin Durant in particular. Everything they said about their controversial decision to bring Kyrie back included language about lessening the load one of the game's brightest stars has been carrying.

Durant ranks second overall in minutes per game, with 37.0 minutes per game. Harden is up there too, seventh overall with 36.5 minutes per game. That's far from ideal and Nash hasn't tried to dodge that fact.

Nash got candid on the subject and left us plenty of clues to decipher back on Dec. 17.

“I don’t know that we can continue to lean on him the way we have,” said Nash. “It doesn’t feel right. I know he’s enjoying it … but at the same time we know that’s not safe or sustainable. There’s going to be a lot of consideration and you want to figure out a way to give him breaks.”

“Confidence is through the roof,” said James Harden after the most recent pair of wins over the Lakers and Clippers at Crypto.com Arena in his hometown of L.A. Harden, Patty Mills, and Nic Claxon led a skeleton crew in those road wins.

“Now we just, you add KD, and LaMarcus [Aldridge], and Ky, and Joe Harris, I mean that's four of our best, four of our top players.”

It won't be long now.