Nets’ training camp is set for Tuesday September 28th in San Diego. They begin
their preseason at Staples Center on the third of October when they’ll face the
Lakers.
There are a few questions on everyone’s minds as the team gears up for
the marathon regular season ahead. Let’s start with three questions we know many
will be wondering about.
1)How do James Harden and Kyrie Irving look?
Kyrie
Irving (ankle) and James Harden (hamstring) both had some extensive rest/rehab
programs to focus on this off-season.
We learned on Nets’ media day from General
Manager Sean Marks that both “look great,”
per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
We’re
curious to see how they’ll appear and how hard they might play when they first
return to the floor. Maybe once they commence practicing together, we’ll gain
word on how close to 100 percent each star is feeling.
Assuming everyone is in
the lineup for at least some preseason action, it’ll be very intriguing to see
what versions of themselves they are.
I wouldn’t expect much more than a
low-gear effort from the stars anyway.
We’re also wondering if Harden will have
any new tricks in his bag.
He always seems to come back after an offseason with
a new move or two.
What he did with the gather step or that double step back
changed the way lots of dudes play offense.
James is basically a mad scientist
and the gym is his lab. Hopefully, his hammy was feeling healthy enough to add
to his already deep bag of tricks.
2) Vaccination status
We’re not likely to
learn much during training camp about the team’s vaccination status. Because
they’re out in San Diego, they’re all eligible to practice and play.
But Marks
let it be known that a couple of players would not currently be eligible to
practice if they were back in Brooklyn.
New York City has local vaccination
mandates, and that will apply to the teams that play in cities like New York
(Knicks and Nets) and San Francisco (Warriors).
This could be a potential issue
for Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins’ eligibility. Per Bontemps:
“When asked
if he believed the issue would be resolved before regular-season games begin
next month, Marks simply said, ‘Correct.'”
That Marks expects his full team to
be eligible is exciting news. At least we’re not hearing any stories like the
one the Warriors are dealing with.
We still don’t know which players have not
been vaccinated or anything about their willingness to eventually comply in the
weeks ahead. But it’s certainly a theme that will hover over the team until we
do learn more.
The mere possibility that they could enter the season without a
key member of their rotation (or even a star) could threaten their standing atop
the league-wide power rankings. No news is good news on this front for the time
being.
3) Who will run point?
Perhaps one of the sweetest Valentine’s Day gifts
“The Beard” received last season came from his buddy and teammate Kyrie Irving.
On February 14th, Malika Andrews of ESPN reported Kyrie Irving saying the
following:
“I just looked at [James Harden] and I said, ‘You’re the point guard,
and I’m going to play shooting guard.’ That was as simple as that.”
We didn’t
get to see the big three of James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant play
much last year. But I would guess that not only will we see more of the trio
this year, we’ll see plenty of Harden at the point for the Nets.
James saw his
assists per game jump from 7.5 per game in 2020 with Houston up to 10.9 in
Brooklyn.
I’m sure Irving and Durant will both receive ample opportunity to play
the facilitator, especially since we expect Steve Nash to stagger their stars’
minutes and load manage throughout the year.
I would also expect Blake Griffin,
a very talented passer, to get some burn at point. But it’s our current
expectation Harden will be the primary initiator when the big three do share the
floor. Nets training camp may make that more clear.
-Clutchpoints
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