Unsurprisingly, getting Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together makes a team pretty hard to beat. However, their stellar play isn't the only reason for the Brooklyn Nets' blistering start to the 2020-21 season and why they suddenly look like title contenders.
Despite a revamped coaching staff led by first-year head coach Steve Nash, Irving and Durant, the Nets have looked like a seasoned, cohesive bunch through two games. Encouragingly, Durant has looked like his old self in his first action in 18 months since suffering a torn Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals.
When healthy, Brooklyn has the rare combination of two elite stars plus a deep roster featuring Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and a slew of quality role players.
The Nets' defense has been staunch as well, holding both opponents under 100 points.
After witnessing the new-look Nets first-hand, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens believes they might be the best team in basketball at the moment.
“I think it’s the deepest team in the NBA and quite possibly — certainly in the conversation for the best,” Stevens explained, via Alex Schiffer of The Athletic.
On Christmas Day, Irving—in his first (healthy) game back at the TD Garden since leaving Boston after two tumultuous seasons—dropped 37 points on Stevens' squad.
Irving shot 13-of-21 from the field, made seven of his 10 triples, and dished out eight assists. Of course, there were no fans on hand for Irving to silence with shots like this:
Kyrie from BROOKLYN 🔥 pic.twitter.com/i8cLBjoruZ
— ESPN (@espn) December 25, 2020
Durant added 29 points on 9-of-16 shooting, as the Nets blew out the Celtics 123-95.
The Celtics blowout came two days after Brooklyn roasted the Golden State Warriors, 125-99, at Barclays Center.
Irving, for his part, isn't about to get complacent about the Nets' impressive early-season performance. Instead, he's focused on the team's next matchup.
Brooklyn faces the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at the Spectrum Center.
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