At the beginning of the NBA season, many would have been extremely excited about the prospect of seeing the Brooklyn Nets heading to the postseason, going on to the NBA Finals, and then winning the entire thing.
Of course, some of that had happened as the franchise managed to reach the postseason, although that looked ridiculously in doubt at one point, especially when you consider the Nets were flying at the start of the campaign.
Nets failed to make it past Round 1
As we know, they were eventually trounced by the Boston Celtics 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Round 1 series as the No. 7 seed. The only solace that some of the team and its fans in New York may take is the fact that the Celtics have made it to the NBA Finals and have been making life extremely difficult for the Golden State Warriors thus far.
But, as we focus on the Brooklyn Nets, why did it all go so horribly wrong for this sports franchise? Why did they fail to make the NBA Finals when at the beginning of the year they looked like a dead certainty to be the next NBA Champions?
In this article, we will identify some of the biggest factors that may have played a large role in why the team had failed miserably at one of their best chances of being a real success.
Boston Celtics were just too good
Let’s begin with the here-and-now in regard to why the Brooklyn Nets failed to reach the NBA Finals this year, despite so many having expectations that the team would be able to do so.
As highlighted already, the franchise was embarrassed by the Boston Celtics as they were swept aside without registering a win in the playoff series. In fact, embarrassment may be a slight understatement given how they absolutely dominated Steve Nash’s side on the basketball court.
KD, Kyrie and the Nets are the ONLY team to get swept in the 2022 playoffs 😲
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 26, 2022
🏀: https://t.co/RCEc5gytDI pic.twitter.com/fn4tQ3fQvL
Many expected the Nets to do what they did last year and beat the Celtics in the postseason again, however that seems to have been something that may have fueled the desire in the Massachusetts-based franchise to win even further.
Players such as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were impeccable and continue to be so as the team continues to compete for the NBA Championship this year. Additionally, with Marcus Smart emerging as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year too, it is hardly any wonder that the Celtics are being tipped to win this year by some.
Indeed, fans in New York that want to continue to enjoy as much NBA action as possible may be thinking about all of the opportunities that they still have with the Finals taking place.
The BetMGM New York sportsbook allows you to check and bet on the best odds for this year’s finals, with the sportsbook providing odds of +125 for the franchise to win at the time of writing. The series is level at 2-2 as we head into Game 5.
However, we should also note that the Golden State Warriors are still tipped to be the favorites, as they are provided odds of -150. Nonetheless, if we continue to see the Celtics display some of the same types of performances that they did to annihilate the Nets, then perhaps we will see them lift the title instead?
It is not all down to the Celtics, though, as to why the Nets are not in the NBA Finals, with the team having shot themselves in the foot on a regular basis.
From super team to super duds
One of the many reasons why fans in New York and beyond would have been extremely excited by what they had and their chances of being successful in the 2022 NBA season would have been because they had a team to be joyous about.
Whilst we know what happened, if you were only to look down on paper at the roster, there would have been plenty of excitement as many would have been calling the organization a ‘super team’. Indeed, with a core that consisted of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, everyone will have been jumping around in Brooklyn and would have been thinking that it could have potentially been their year.
However, if you follow basketball and know about the three veterans that were acquired, then you may have been able to foresee that it was always going to be a short-lived experiment. Many, though, would have hoped that it would have allowed them to enjoy some success at a minimum.
Harden was the player to depart from the Nets, though, as he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for a range of different reasons being given. The Nets did acquire Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond, Seth Curry, and two future first-round picks. However, Simmons would not play a single minute for the organization following multiple injuries after his trade.
Irving was unavailable for home games due to his unvaccinated status, which led him to be a spectator for much of the campaign, and something he felt meant he was “letting the team down” because of his continued battle with the state of New York.
Kyrie Irving: “I feel like I was letting the team down when I wasn’t able to play… It became a distraction at times.”
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) April 26, 2022
Durant became the man that Brooklyn then had to rely on, although the weight on his shoulders clearly become too much of a burden for the veteran, as he suffered an MCL injury on January 15, which forced him to miss over six weeks of playing time; a significant period of the basketball calendar, especially as the postseason quickly approached.
What looked like a super team on paper, ultimately turned into a team of super duds on the basketball court.
Steve Nash was not ready for the Nets
Whilst a legend on the court, Steve Nash could be argued to look a little out of his depth on the sidelines as a coach. Although he does not appear to be going anywhere anytime soon, the Canadian looked very inexperienced throughout the playoffs, although that is perhaps something that was to be expected.
He did not want to seem to call for timeouts during the playoffs, whilst designing plays appeared to take a backseat at times, too. It could be argued that he relied on the veterans to try and bail him and the organization out, but we all know that did not happen.
Final Thoughts
Indeed, another disappointing year for the Brooklyn Nets has passed and there are a number of reasons that can potentially be suggested to have contributed to that disappointment. Hopefully, we will see a vast improvement next year.
