Okay then, Magic.
Following the Brooklyn Nets’ 101-100 victory over the Miami Heat, Magic Johnson got a little excited. I’m going to assume that’s what happened, anyway. Something must’ve had him outright jubilant for him to say what he said.
Magic attended the game and afterward, he proclaimed that the Nets may have the most talent in the NBA, enough to win the title even.
“The Brooklyn Nets probably have the most talent and could possibly win the NBA Championship,” he said via his Twitter account.
Oh. Yes. The Nets have the most talent in the NBA. They could even win the title. Everyone beware…of Magic’s premature predictions.
Anyone who knows me and/or reads me has a firm grasp on my feelings about the Nets: They’re overrated, plain and simple. Acquiring Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett made them better. A healthy Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez make them scary. Contributions from Andray Blatche, Andrei Kirilenko and Reggie Evans off the bench make them one of the best in the league. But there’s no championship to be won in Brooklyn, nor do the Nets have the most talent in the NBA.
For one, where’s their bench? This team effectively runs eight or nine players deep and even that’s a stretch. Definitively, they’re at seven, as you cannot count on anything save for rebounding out of Evans. Furthermore, health is already an issue. Williams has started the season on a minutes cap and Garnett isn’t far behind him. Others, like Johnson and Pierce, are old.
Mostly, I just don’t think they’re talented enough to win a title. Or the Eastern Conference. Or even they’re division (though the New York Knicks are doing their best to change that). There simply isn’t enough depth or certainty there. And early on, we’ve seen it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7BIDS4Ih_E
Their victory over the Heat was incredible, a good barometer for what this team could become—an infrequent victor over a true NBA champion.
Not that I’m making excuses, but LeBron James and the Heat have sucked. Even in their victory over the Chicago Bulls to start the season, they’ve looked disinterested. Not until their 10-point thrashing of the still-winless Washington Wizards did they look convincing. Even that’s out there since they let the Wiz back into it.
Still, it was nowhere near as bad as they played against the Philadelphia 76ers or Nets. They appeared bored, like the regular season truly doesn’t matter for them (does it?)
Kudos to the Nets for taking advantage of that. But let’s not get carried away. Brooklyn has already dropped games to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, the latter of which is a bottom feeder and the former of which figures to contend for the final playoff spot in the East. The game against the Magic wasn’t even close. At all. The Nets were outscored in every single quarter except for the first.
Though it’s stilly early and there’s no reason for the Nets to panic—come talk to me if Brolo continues to be the only starter playing over 30 minutes a night—my position hasn’t changed. Losses to the Magic and Cavs have only confirmed my initial problems with this team. A victory over the Heat hasn’t done much of anything, other than coax overly confident compliments out of Magic’s mouth.
If nothing else, if you can’t believe my whole “there’s no title to be won in Brooklyn” adage, at least know they have a long way to go before Magic’s comments can even be entertained. A long, long, long way to go.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
