The Nets took care of business at home against the Warriors to open the ‘20-21 NBA season, beating the Warriors 125-99. The Warriors had a lead for all of 18 seconds in this game as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving both combined for 48 points. The Nets really impressed in this opener, shooting 45% from the field and 42% from three-point land. Head Coach Steve Nash gets his first win as a head coach in the NBA, Congrats Steve! The Nets looked like a Finals contender last night, with Caris LeVert coming off the bench and scoring 20 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. Jarret Allen came off the bench as well and had eight points, and seven rebounds, three of which were offensive, and Joe Harris picked up right where he left off, totaling ten points on 40% shooting from 3. Announcers Marv Albert and Chris Webber said on multiple occasions that “on this Brooklyn Nets bench, three or four players could be legitimate starters for 80% of the teams in the NBA,” and they showed that last night.
Curry had just 20 points on 21 shots and shot 20% from beyond the arch. When Steph Curry plays like that, it is going to be hard for the Warriors to consistently win games. Rookie Center James Wiseman had a slow start to his career but then lit up the fourth quarter to the tune of 10 of his 19 points and 6 rebounds to end the night with 19 and 6, not a bad NBA debut. The defensive presence of Draymond Green was missed as the Nets had 57 rebounds and over 25 points in the paint. Curry did not get much help from his supporting cast of Wiggins, Paschall, and Oubre Jr as they all combined for just 25 points. The Warriors only had three players hit double figures, and they missed the consistency and poise of Klay Thompson, too, because they never went three straight possessions scoring points. Do not get too discouraged; DubNation, there are still a couple of things to be optimistic about. Wiseman looks like the real deal, and Klay will hopefully be fully healthy. There’s always next season.
Both teams did a bad job of taking care of the ball with the Nets having 20 turnovers and the Warriors had 18. The Nets were able to capitalize on most of the turnovers from the Warriors with 23 points off turnovers and the Warriors had 19 points off turnovers. Durant and Irving only turned the ball over once each and that is the reason they won because, if their two primary ball handlers do not turn the ball over then it’s going to be a long season for anyone not a Brooklyn fan. The score really shows you how one sided this game really was, as the Nets led the Warriors in all of these categories. Rebounds, points, steals, blocks, and 3-point percentage.
While it was not as spectacular as Kyrie Irving’s Brooklyn debut where he put up 50 points, Durant’s Brooklyn debut was still great considering he has not played basketball since the 2018 Finals. Kevin Durant had 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 43% from the field and 50% from three. He looks back to his MVP caliber self, with the cuts and dribbles to the basket and the ability to shoot over 7-foot-tall defenders with ease, and pairing Kyrie Irving with him this Nets team is shaping up to not only be the Eastern Conference winner, but an NBA title winner.
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