The Brooklyn Nets open the 2023-24 season Wednesday at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brooklyn boasts a revamped roster following the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and several offseason moves.

With that, we offer four bold predictions as the Nets begin their first season of a new era.

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Nic Claxton will lead the NBA in blocks

Nic Claxton emerged as one of the NBA's premier defenders in 2022-23. The fourth-year Net routinely overwhelmed the NBA's top scorers on switches and weakside rotations, tying Jaren Jackson Jr. for the league lead in stocks (steals + blocks) with 254 (per StatMuse) and finishing 10th in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Claxton finished second in the league in blocks per game (2.5), tying Brook Lopez and trailing only Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. (3.0). The 24-year-old's elite rim protection was especially impressive considering he was constantly pulled away from the rim in Brooklyn's switch-heavy scheme. The Nets are adjusting their pick-and-roll defense this season, incorporating far more drop coverage, a change aimed at improving their 28th-ranked defensive rebounding.

The new scheme will place Claxton near the rim far more often, increasing his opportunities to block shots. With the former second-round pick entering a contract year, many within the Nets organization expect Claxton to build upon last season's elite defensive performance.

Ben Simmons will attempt nine shots per game

Nets' Ben Simmons shooting a basketball

At this point, it's like beating the ground above where the dead horse is buried, but it must be said: Ben Simmons' level of aggressiveness will be the biggest variable in how the new-look Nets perform this season.

Simmons' inability to keep opposing defenses honest last season was a major blow to Brooklyn's offensive ceiling. The three-time All-Star ranked eighth on the Nets in shots attempted (5.6 per game) during the first half of the season. That lack of aggressiveness was most glaring in fourth quarters, where he attempted just 0.7 shots per game for the year.

The jury is still out on how much of that issue was mental vs. physical. However, Simmons took significant steps forward in his willingness to hunt his shot this preseason. The former number-one pick averaged 5.8 shots in just 22 minutes per game, frequently attacking on drives and cuts to the basket. There's still room for Simmons to finish more aggressively towards the rim rather than his tendency to fade away, but there's no denying his mindset's stark contrast to last season.

The Nets will attempt to play at one of the highest paces in the league, surrounding Simmons with three-point shooters and athletic rim runners. While they should be a high-level transition team, NBA games are often decided in the halfcourt as the pace of play slows late in games. Simmons' willingness to force the issue in those moments to open up his elite passing will be the main barometer of Brooklyn's success in 2023-24.

Simmons attempted 11.6 shots per game over four seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. He should move closer towards that mark with a clean bill of health and a more prominent role in Brooklyn's offense this season.

Cam Johnson will make 200 threes

Cam Johnson only played three games alongside Ben Simmons after joining the Nets last season. Entering 2023-24, the 6-foot-8 sharpshooter recognizes the benefit of sharing the floor with one of the game's best passers.

“I’ve watched for a while now somebody like JJ Redick was able to benefit so much from playing with him,” he said Saturday. “So I’m excited man. I could just get to open spots on the floor and he’ll find me, that sounds great to me. Flying off of handoffs and then just kind of coordinating that with the other three guys on the court, I think there’s a lot we can do.”

“He allows us to do some pretty cool things and for me, as a shooter, there’s nobody else really I’d rather play with.”

Johnson made a living as a spot-up threat in four seasons with Phoenix, shooting 39.3 percent from deep on 5.6 attempts per game. He'll now suit up alongside one of the best players of all time at creating open threes for teammates. The Nets are aware of their halfcourt offensive limitations with Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton sharing the floor. They're attempting to combat this by playing at one of the fastest paces in the league.

That means forcing turnovers and pushing the tempo off defensive rebounds. On those plays, expect Johnson to be fanning out to the wing for open threes.

Johnson made 166 threes (2.5 per game) in 2021-22. He matched that mark last season but missed an extended period early in the year while recovering from meniscus surgery. With Simmons' elite passing in Brooklyn's “run-and-gun” offense, Johnson could push above 3.0 made threes per game. If the 28-year-old can stay healthy, expect him to surpass 200 made threes in 2023-24, a mark only 20 players reached last season.

Nets win 40 games

After entering the last three seasons firmly in the title conversation, expectations aren't high for the Nets in 2023-24. Brooklyn opens the year with the fifth-worst odds to make the Eastern Conference playoffs and an over/under win total of 37.5, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Nets posted a 12-15 record with their new-look roster after trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving last season. That's just over a 36-win pace. However, 18 of 27 games were against playoff teams, and Brooklyn was without Ben Simmons for 24 of them.

The team enters 2023-24 with a healthy Simmons and a full offseason to implement new schemes around their personnel. Brooklyn is embracing a defensive identity, with eight players who ranked in the 80th percentile or better in defensive estimated plus-minus last season, per dunksandthrees.com. If the team buys in on that end and Simmons can remain healthy, they should be able to improve upon their performance late last season.