Tuesday’s Transfiguration
With all of the hullabaloo surrounding Kyrie Irving, there has been entirely too much on Kyrie’s decision, rather than what this Nets team will look like without Kyrie, or what the new rotation is. I’m sure the teams themselves aren’t entirely sure of their own rotations, adjusting to the influx of talent acquired through free agency and the draft during the offseason. We could see minutes restrictions placed on these teams all-stars. Opting instead to try and preserve the health of their stats leaders for the long NBA season ahead.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: Giannis singlehandedly decides slates. Too often, weeks are defined by whether or not you were able to fit Giannis into your lineup. Antetokounmpo is unstoppable with the ball in his hands. Opposing defenses often have to leave their posts or give spacing advantages to the Bucks role players. Deciding instead to build a three-person wall in front of the basket in hopes of either slowing down the Greek Freak or drawing fouls to get the big man taken out of the game.
Kevin Durant: Durant might be slow and lanky at this point of his career, but he’s still one of the most talented scorers in the league. His frame allows him to post up nearly any defender in the league while contributing on the defensive end as an impenetrable sea of hands. It doesn’t matter if he’s driving the ball up the court, or whether he’s playing off-ball on the wing, the fear he strikes into defenders is all the same.
James Harden: Harden obviously took Giannis shot during last year’s all-star game personally. After being criticized for not passing the ball enough, Harden changed his style of play from a ball-dominant shooter to a ball-dominant play-maker, leading the league in assists last year. It should be fun to see what Harden can do this season without Kyrie gumming up the floor and vulturing his numbers.
Bruce Brown: Brown replaced Kyrie in the Net’s promotional images for tonight’s home opener. Maybe the social media team knows something that we don’t. As it stands, Brown filled in nicely for Durant last year, but that wasn’t enough to prevent him from being buried in the depth chart. The Nets are an incredibly talented team, so I’m sure Brown doesn’t take this as an insult. In fact, he should be using the fact that he’s being used as a draw for this season as a reason to ask for the supermax.
Pat Connaughton: Pat will be coming off the bench with the second team. He’s a cheaper paydown option who has the chance to see 15-20 minutes tonight, especially if the Bucks find themselves outclassed through the first three-quarters of the game.
DeAndre Bembry: With my remaining cap I had a choice between Jeff Teague and Bembry. I couldn’t even find where Teague was listed on the depth chart, leaving my last pick as a sort of “non-decision”.
