Former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick played 15 seasons in the NBA so it’s safe to say that he knows a thing or two about what a contender looks like. In a recent episode of his podcast, “Old Man and The Three“, he said that he considers the Brooklyn Nets a championship contender because of the things that he’s seeing from the team right now.
At the time of the episode, the Nets were playing the San Antonio Spurs later on that day while carrying an 11-game winning streak. Brooklyn had won 15 of their previous 16 games and were rolling on both ends of the floor. As predicted by most sportsbooks, the Nets made quick work of the Spurs and won 139-103.
What Redick sees from the Nets is that they’re playing well on both ends of the floor and are drama-free for the most part. Aside from Kyrie Irving’s infamous tweet, the Nets have made basketball the main thing and it’s showing on the court. Redick explained his reasoning for saying that Brooklyn is a tier-one team in the Eastern Conference:
“The best version of the Nets that we all thought was possible outside of the off the court drama, the coaching changes and all that, the best version of the Nets I think is what we’re seeing right here. Since 2000, every NBA Finals winner has been top five in either defense or offense. Sometimes both, but either defense or offense except for two and they were top 10 in both offense and defense. I mentioned earlier, the Nets are currently fifth in offense, 10th in defense. It’s hard for me given how they’ve played to not consider them a championship contender.”
Since the airing of this episode, Brooklyn is 2-1 with wins over the aforementioned Spurs and the New Orleans Pelicans.
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