The Knicks and Nets both have the look of winners this NBA season
Drama, dysfunction and disappointing basketball.
The Nets and the Knicks have taken turns providing us plenty of that over the past decade, so it is kind of stunning to be approaching a season where the headlines will likely be about what is happening on the court instead of the head-scratching backstories off of it
Let’s start with the Nets, since no team has gone through a more jarring and drastic change than the one this franchise has gone through since the start of last season.
A year ago, the Nets were Vegas’ favorite to win a NBA title. With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, all the talk was about whether the Nets would finally be the first basketball team to bring a title to New York since Dr. J’s Nets did it in 1976.
Instead of a title, coach Steve Nash got fired, Irving got suspended for linking to an anti-Semitic film, Durant got injured, Irving demanded a trade, Durant demanded a trade and by the All-Star game the Nets had gone from a superteam to a retooling one.
The Nets have no real superstars on this team, or at least no players that have been a superstar in the last two years. That’s not to say they don’t have some good pieces
Mikal Bridges, who came to the team in the Durant trade, is on the precipice of being an All-Star, especially if he can continue to score the 26.1 points per game that he averaged in his 27 games as a Net. Nic Claxton, who could be a free agent in 2024, will continue to be the anchor of the Nets defense.
Nets forward Mikal Bridges looks on during training camp at the Nets HSS Training Center on Oct. 3. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Speaking of defense, the Nets could have one of the better ones in the league if Ben Simmons returns to the form of the three-time All-Star player he was in Philadelphia. A year and a half after having micro-surgery on his back, Simmons is looking both healthy and motivated in the preseason. I know, I can almost hear some of my fellow sports writer’s eyes roll, but Simmons could really be the x-factor on the team this year.
Still, the Nets are still one superstar away from being a team you can count on to make the playoffs. Given that they have a plethora of picks and some other pieces to work with, the Nets could be pursuing one at the trading deadline if both Simmons and Bridges are having All-Star like years.
As for the Knicks, they have chemistry, stability, a good coach and a big-time point guard. When was the last time anyone was able to kick off a Knicks season preview with a sentence like that?
The Knicks took a major step forward last year when they won a playoff series for the first time in 10 years. They’ve retained the 12 players that counted for almost all their minutes last season and there seems to be no reason why they can’t repeat and get to the second round of the playoffs.
Getting beyond that is going to be a problem, considering that the Knicks play in the East and both the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics stand head and shoulders beyond the rest of the conference after adding pieces this offseason that made their already strong teams stronger.
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson dribbles upcourt in the second quarter during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Madison Square Garden on April 21. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Still, the Knicks have some pretty big-time players. Jalen Brunson is the best point guard the Knicks have had since Mark Jackson. He has both the mentality and skills to push this team further than the sum of their talent. Julius Randle has been an All-Star in two of the last three years, but has been inconsistent in the playoffs.
The biggest question mark, however, is RJ Barrett. Entering his fifth year in the league, Barrett has yet to become the player most thought he would be when the Knicks took him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft. The Knicks don’t need Barrett to be a superstar, but it would really help if he could become a more efficient second weapon.
So, there will be plenty to watch on the court this year for New York basketball fans. The best-case scenario has both teams making the playoffs, though it’s more than likely that if the Nets get there it will be as a play-in team. The worst? Well, Knicks and Nets fans have seen enough dysfunction over the years to be shocked by anything.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
