The oddsmakers and NBA bettors have spoken and they’re sold on the James Harden trade.
With the addition of Harden, the Nets are now a 3-1 proposition to win the NBA title, according to VegasInsider.com. Only the defending champion Lakers have lower odds at 5-2. In terms of the Eastern Conference, the Nets are a clear favorite over the other main contenders, the Bucks (7-1 to win it all), Sixers (14-1) and Celtics (18-1).
The trio of Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving makes the Nets nearly impossible to guard, as long as they’re willing to make some sacrifices. The early returns on the Harden-Durant combo were promising, as they led the team to a two-point win over Milwaukee on Monday. They combined for 64 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds.
Irving is expected to return to action on Wednesday after missing several games for personal reasons. No one quite knows what to expect from Irving at this point or his level of commitment. Just a few days ago, there was speculation he might even retire.
If Irving is focused on pursuing a championship, the Nets can overcome a number of other issues. They have no depth in the middle at the moment, with DeAndre Jordan being the only experienced hand on deck. Their defense could be suspect – Jordan is the only veteran who has been named to the league’s All-Defensive First or Second Team and his most recent appearance was five years ago.
Brooklyn’s bench looks a lot less imposing than it did at the start of the season. They gave up Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince in the trade and lost Spencer Dinwiddie to a season-ending injury.
There’s also the volatility factor – will three headstrong stars like Durant, Harden and Irving be able to mesh their skills and leave their egos at the door during crunch time in the playoffs? And what happens when they face some adversity – will there be finger pointing or cohesiveness?
If the Nets win at least one championship with this group, the Harden trade will be considered the final piece to the puzzle and worth all the assets Brooklyn surrendered in the deal. If they come up short, they’ll be paying the price for the next decade with all the draft picks and players they sacrificed to bring in the former Most Valuable Player.
That leads us to our topic of the day: Will the addition of James Harden result in a Nets championship? Or will the combination of Harden, Durant and Irving turn out to be a toxic mix?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
I like those odds for Lakers
They gave up a great deal and the bench is indeed very light. In my opinion they are still behind Boston and Philadelphia in the East but moved ahead of Indiana and Miami. They definitely improved their chance at being a title contender either this year or next but if they don’t catch lightning in a bottle and at least make the finals, they will have mortgaged the future and put themselves in a salary cap hell that makes the Knicks look prudent.
Casual. Maybe you have an argument for the Celtics, but the Sixers??
The Sixers are at their ceiling as a 5th seed and a 2nd round exit at the VERY best with that roster.
If I was the Sixers GM I would be shopping Simmons and picks for Beal. Much much better fit.
Don’t see them making it to the finals. Because of the the roster is constantly. Jarrett Allen was their best rim protection and deandre Jordan just isn’t that same player. Also so giving up a good 3 and d player like Taurean Prince and Caris Levert was supposed fill in that six men role, now that he gone they have to wait until Spencer Dinwiddie recover from his injury next year.
Where’s the link to the oddsmaker article? Where’s the rest of the teams, I want to see something ;)
The answer you seek is 50-1. Houston is 100-1 to win it all.
Both the Warriors and Rockets have 30-1 odds to win the West.
Trickpony that’s Casual. Maybe you have an argument for the Celtics, but the Sixers??
The Sixers are at their ceiling as a 5th seed and a 2nd round exit at the VERY best with that roster.
If I was the Sixers GM I would be shopping Simmons and picks for Beal. Much much better fit.
Big 3 we better look out!
Just distance yourself from the inevitable implosion.
Stars win so they have a decent shot. KD Kyrie having rings already is a big plus. Really need to see if they can play playoff defense and how kyrie and harden are going to play with each other. KD can play off the ball hes proven that in his career but harden and kyrie have been ball dominant players the majority of their careers.
Irving If he can stay relatively close to being a team first guy, will make them impossible to stop. Can they stop anybody will be the issue. Definitely need help at the 5, If I was to bet,I would bet Irving will spit the bit and revert back to he really is.
All the NETS need right now is just a “solid” back up center. I see ppl mentioning their bench, but when you’re able to insert a superstar into the 2nd unit that is such a huge advantage. My main concern with this team is their defense. They either switch everything(gets unorganized at times) or play a deep drop with Jordan. Their games have been way to close because they’re not putting any effort on that end. Hopefully they can adjust that before playoff time.
They were really, really good scorer individually. Each one could be a real threat and will pose a defensive problem for opposing teams. Meaning to say, if KD or harden is double-teamed, joe harris, or deandre jordan will be open. This will be a problem that lakers, sixers, bucks, or clippers are going to solve to stop this nets team!
Can’t say they didn’t look the part last night against the Bucks. If Kyrie looks as revived as Harden did, they’ll be hard to beat as is. But I’m sure they’ll add a buyout or find another role player before the season ends.
If Dinwiddle wasn’t hurt… if the Nets do lose in the playoffs, that’s one of the points folks will have on repeat.
The only things we have seen so far is that KD + Harden is better than KD + Kyrie. Not super surprising.
Nets are the best team
Nobody can defend Nets
Indefendable and unguardable
Add 3 more top tier benches though
Bucks Clippers Lakers have traded all available picks next 7 years
These 3 teams can’t improve any more
Undefendable
And unable to defend
;)
I personally don’t think we should speculate how they will be together until they have a few games under their belt. For example, people had doubts about LeBron, Irving, Love together. Their first year in 2014, Cavs record started out 20-20 before they went on a 33-9 game run to end the season and finish 53-29.
Thing is, Love had to change his game to make everything work. I wonder if any of the Nets big 3 will have to alter their game.
Depends on them if they wanna win, they will.
They are unstoppable, too much star power for any team to stop.
Lakers are better.
It’s obviously impossible to know at this point. They are going to get more guys at buyout, there may be injuries, Lakers also could get guys at buyout. Any one of these guys could get coronavirus in the playoffs.
Who knows?
They won’t win a Championship. It’ll implode, just give it time.
I hate giving up homegrown young players, who the fans saw work hard and mature in their game. But I am not sure they were ever getting to the finals with Allen or Lavert. They gave up a lot for the Beard, but as a Nets fan I am happy with the results so far, and if the big three could avoid injury and friction for the next couple of years I think it could be a very successful move
They won’t make it through the season without a bench. Especially not this season.
I always thought with a healthy KD and Kyrie. Which they are. Nets had a deep team. And were a top 4 team in East. With real chemistry and time. They can be a true contender. Dinwiddie getting hurt I think sped things up. Cause now their depth was challenged. They probably go after Harden anyway. Nets window is what pushed this trade. Now they are much closer to true contender. And could be for 3-4 yrs. That’s worth taking a shot at. Still see a growing curve with team. Especially with Kyrie and Harden. And team D and depth. IMO they don’t come out of east this yr. Unless they add to their team and D by TD. I see Bucks, Celtics (making a big move), Sixers (making a move). All three as serious contenders by TD. Don’t count out Heat yet either. This is not the East of the big 3 in Miami days. The East is much better and deeper.
KI, KD & JH together… may have me rooting for teams in the playoffs that I don’t normally, esp BOS/Tatum. Even the cool BRK gray court no longer works for me.
I’ll stick with MIL winning the EC.