The Brooklyn Nets will go for their fourth consecutive victory when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. The Nets will be looking to improve their record to 7-2 since acquiring eight-time all-star James Harden. Coming into the season, before Brooklyn knew that trading for Harden was even a possibility the Nets were seen as one of the teams that would be in the Eastern Conference Finals. Now that the 2018 Most Valuable Player is also in Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, many have already punched Brooklyn’s ticket for a potential NBA finals matchup in July with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. One of those people is Lakers big man Anthony Davis.
Anthony Davis Thinks Nets Are a ‘Threat’
“They are definitely a threat,” Davis said to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on Brooklyn’s new super team. “They are a team that can score at will. I think they’re the favorites to win the East since Harden went over there. It’s going to be a battle.”
1-on-1 with Anthony Davis: AD is going to be in a Super Bowl ad with Serena Williams, Peyton Manning & Jimmy Butler – and that's just his plans for next weekend. Great conversation about happiness, the cost of trying to repeat, and the team he thinks is most in the Lakers' way: pic.twitter.com/zqcnILdJtd
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) January 29, 2021
While Davis presently sees the Nets as a threat this wasn’t always his tone. When the trade for Harden was first announced he didn’t seem to be as impressed with the Nets roster as everyone else was. “He got to one of his destinations. He wanted to play there. We’ll see how it goes,” Davis said to reporters over Zoom via Ryan Ward of Lakers Daily. “They look good on paper. We’ll see how it goes when those guys get in between the lines and get a chance to play alongside each other.”
Anthony Davis' reaction on the James Harden trade: "He got to one of his destinations. He wanted to play there. We'll see how it goes. … They look good on paper. We'll see how it goes when those guys get in between the lines and get a chance to play alongside each other." pic.twitter.com/FK8lIlqKrM
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) January 14, 2021
If the Lakers and Nets were to meet in the finals it would be the most star-studded NBA Finals since the Warriors and Cavaliers met in 2017. LeBron James and KD were the headliners for that championship matchup as well. Durant looks like he could be one of the front runners for this year’s Most Valuable Player Award. On the year KD is averaging 30.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. Durant is doing all of this coming off major off-season surgery to repair a torn Achilles. While KD is receiving praise for one of the best comeback seasons ever he insists that he doesn’t need the adulation. “Stop the gas. I don’t need it,” Durant said in response to a Bleacher Report post detailing the special season that he is having via NetsDaily. Durant is averaging more rebounds, assists, and shooting more efficiently than he did when he won MVP in 2014.
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Brooklyn Is Trending Upward
At one point this season the Nets were on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The team seems to be trending upwards as they now sit at 5th place in the conference. The Lakers on the other hand are doing the exact opposite. Los Angeles once was the best team in the NBA, now they are not even the best team in their conference and have dropped their last two games. If these teams do meet in the NBA Finals, it will be a star-studded matchup for sure. It’s still early but Brooklyn as presently constructed looks like they have a very good chance to come out of the east.
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