The Brooklyn Nets have not had the season they had hoped for, and there are a number of reasons for this. The biggest reason for this Nets team's lack of success is because they've been dealing with the Kyrie Irving situation, and they've also suffered unlucky injuries to Kevin Durant and Joe Harris.

The reality is that the Nets would have a strong chance of winning an NBA title if Kyrie Irving played every game. Because of how good Kevin Durant is, he is still a player capable of leading a team to a championship if he can return to his prior level of performance. Despite the fact that they have lost James Harden, this might be a good thing for the Nets.

Brooklyn did a fantastic job of getting rid of Harden and then went out and acquired Ben Simmons, a superb defender. There are many questions about Simmons' ability to play the type of basketball that fans desire, but if he can still be that high-level defender, he can be a huge contribution to a championship team like the Nets.

The new-look Nets should be optimistic, given that they still have the best player in the world and were able to acquire an above-average defender in Ben Simmons, as well as Goran Dragic and Seth Curry, both of whom are capable three-point shooters.

Let's look at the three teams who potentially pose the greatest threat to the Nets in the playoffs.

Winning an NBA title is never easy. As we have seen with the past 20 champions, every team is going to need something significant to go their way. Whether that is an unfortunate injury to someone, or having guys on the roster step up more than they ever have. There is a reason why winning a championship is so hard, and a reason why we have seen crazy upsets in the past. If a team is going to win a title, they’re going to need everyone on their roster to be playing the best basketball they possibly can, and even sometimes that isn’t enough to get the job done. Matchups are always something that is going to play a major factor, and some teams just know how to get the job done against certain teams when it matters most.

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The top playoff threats to the Brooklyn Nets, ranked

3. Sixers

A clash with the Philadelphia 76ers would almost certainly be one of the most exciting playoff series in recent memory. The reason for this is due to the Ben Simmons scenario, and how he would respond if fans in Philadelphia booed him and perhaps threw objects at him. You can never predict what Philadelphia fans will do, and it will be fascinating to watch how Ben Simmons reacts to it.

In this series, Brooklyn will also have to consider if they have a player capable of slowing down Joel Embiid. At the moment, it doesn't appear that they'll be able to get any kind of stops against him, which is something that Brooklyn will need to fix before the playoffs.

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2. Heat

The series between the Miami Heat and the Brooklyn Nets would be very exciting. The series would be intriguing since Brooklyn boasts one of the top offenses in the NBA when healthy, and Miami has one of the best defenses in the league.

Given that there are certain guys on both teams who like to talk smack and play hard, this is a matchup that might turn a little chippy. This would be a fiercely competitive series, with the possibility of it being the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Brooklyn Nets have not looked good at times this season due to injuries, but if they can stay healthy, there's no doubting that they're a top-three team in the Eastern Conference.

1. Bucks 

The series between the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks will be exciting to watch. If things go as expected, both of these teams will meet in the playoffs, whether it's in the Eastern Conference Finals or sooner. These are still the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, and the Miami Heat is the only other team that should beat these teams in a playoff series.

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets aren't rivals, but when these two teams meet, the adrenaline rushes. The problem for Brooklyn is that they have no one who can even come close to slowing down Giannis Antetokounmpo, which will be a significant concern once again. Giannis Antetokounmpo was able to guide the Bucks to a series victory over the Nets last season because they just had no answer for him.

Milwaukee, on the other hand, opted to not resign PJ Tucker, the guy who made life difficult for Kevin Durant a year ago. It didn't make sense for the Bucks to not resign Tucker, but it was a choice they have to live with and they need to find a new player who might be able to get stops and make it difficult for Durant.