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The Brooklyn Nets found themselves on the receiving end of tirades from the public after losing to a lowly Detroit Pistons squad on Tuesday night. The Big Three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden have yet to live up to expectations in the short amount of time that they have spent together. In turn, the Nets slander has begun to rear its head.
Despite their imperfections, the team isn't deserving to be blasted at this stage of the season just yet.
Looking back, the newly-formed trio has only played in a total of five games since the blockbuster trade. In that span, the Nets played as if they have been together for many months already en route to garnering a 4-1 record.
However, several hurdles have rocked the team as of late. Durant missed their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder back on Jan. 29 due to his Achilles tendon injury which resulted in a 147-125 loss.
In the following game against the Washington Wizards, James Harden was ruled out due to a left thigh contusion. A couple of late-game errors proved to be costly for the team as the Wizards carved out a rare win via a 149-146 decision. Five days later, a mysterious COVID-19 contact tracing situation surrounded the Nets in their game against the Toronto Raptors.
Nets Slander Gone Wild
Kevin Durant was relegated to come off the bench in the opening frame only to be pulled out in the third quarter of the game. His absence eventually led the Nets to succumb to a 123-117 loss. With a narrow defeat, the outcome would've been different if Durant managed to stay in the game and play until the final buzzer.
The next day, Irving was forced to sit out due to a sprain in his right finger while Durant didn't play as well due to the COVID-19 related concerns. Harden bannered the short-handed Nets as he chalked up 26 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists en route to a 124-108 loss.
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To sum things up, the team hasn't been given enough games to prove their capability as a complete unit. In fact, the reasons for most of their absences were things that are out of their control such as injuries and COVID-19 related concerns.
It would be unfair for the three All-Star caliber players to be judged at this stage of the season. Regardless of their unimaginable talent as a trio, they will still need to get more reps and develop their chemistry as the season progresses, just like any other team in the league.
However, upon assessing the five games that they have played together on the floor, it seems like they managed to co-exist with each other despite their egos and their similar ball-dominant playing styles.
They have successfully carved out commanding victories against a number of the league's best teams. Although their lack of defense as a team is entirely another issue of its own – a flaw that often caused their late-game collapses in several contests.
Realistically speaking, the trio has to bear the criticism of the public, considering that the Nets' roster was built to be a championship or bust team. In fact, other notable big threes of the league have already gone through a similar experience in the past, most especially LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh during their days with the Miami Heat.
In my opinion, the trio will have to hear the slander from the talking heads in order to improve themselves and find ways on how to make things work together. The sky will be the limit if Brooklyn can manage to use the Nets slander as motivation to successfully reach their full potential and achieve their ultimate goal by the end of the season.
