Kings @ Nets 2-14-22 7:30 PM EST

[MrDollarBills]

Also, i will be blunt.

If we did not make the trade and we had Harden out there, we would have been blown out by the Kings.

We made the right move. Just be patient. Once we get Durant, Simmons into the line up and hopefully Kyrie full time, we will be the best team in the league

[Jay555]

That was a nice win. When Bruce Brown drained 3's like that, you know it's a wrap.

[MrDollarBills]

Honestly if we get KD and Simmons back, I think we can be elite even without Kyrie.

I think we have to plan assuming Kyrie won't play home games.

Curry, Mills, Simmons, KD, Drummond. Pretty awesome lineup.

Simmons is the first great defensive player we have had since Jason Kidd.

Simmons' defense + Drummonds rebounding will be stifling.

We wont even need to start Mills. Edwards will probably thrive once KD returns and he gets uncontested threes

[therealbig3]

Drummond isn't that good of a player, feel like we're getting hyped up over a solid game from him.

Blake Griffin hasn't shown much this season, mainly because his 3pt shooting has fallen off a cliff, but remember how effective he was in the Bucks series against Giannis? Did better than any of our other bigs.

And at the end of the day, he's still a high IQ player that doesn't demand the ball much. I think he'll fit much better next to a full squad than Drummond will. Drummond is a guy that you play when you don't have many options. But if KD and Ben are healthy, and Kyrie somehow comes back? Drummond becomes quite useless honestly. I mean, he couldn't cut it with AD and LeBron.

[Marvin Martian]

At home sitting on his ass. Believe me, I do not like Kyrie at all.

But it looks like Harden's hamstring issue was indeed real since he's out til after ASB. Good luck to Philly, but I like what we have here regardless of Kyrie.

And it's not just this season. Imagine extending a 5 year contract to a moody, out of shape Harden with a bad hamstring and trying to keep him happy and engaged the whole time.

I think this is a trade for the future

I think we not only extended our championship window and restocked our war chest, but also ripped the 76ers off.

I fully expect the Sixers to implode once Harden and Embiid eventually butt heads.

PHI is definitely gambling on this trade because Harden is declining and Embiid is still just 27. If they fail by the end of next year, both Harden and Embiid are gone. They should have asked for Irving instead. Oh well.

However, I don't think this extends the championship window, just the playoff window. KD is still by far the best player. The Nets go as far as he takes them. But he is 33.

For reference, Lebron was committed to deferring to Anthony Davis when he was 35 and won his last ring. Curry is the same age as KD and having his worst year in a long time. Leaning on KD at his age is a recipe for another disaster.

[NyCeEvO]

I still don’t know how BKN lost to the Kings with Kyrie. They fuggin’ suck.

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There’s no simple box score stat that indicates how much or little effort players put into defending.

By not playing defense, we’re forced to score more to survive and win games. Having more offensive possessions can make offensive-minded stars who fill up box scores look great, but if it doesn’t translate to wins, especially in the postseason, the stats don’t hold as much weight for me.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Drummond isn't that good of a player, feel like we're getting hyped up over a solid game from him.

Blake Griffin hasn't shown much this season, mainly because his 3pt shooting has fallen off a cliff, but remember how effective he was in the Bucks series against Giannis? Did better than any of our other bigs.

And at the end of the day, he's still a high IQ player that doesn't demand the ball much. I think he'll fit much better next to a full squad than Drummond will. Drummond is a guy that you play when you don't have many options. But if KD and Ben are healthy, and Kyrie somehow comes back? Drummond becomes quite useless honestly. I mean, he couldn't cut it with AD and LeBron.

I don't agree.

Drummond was in a bad spot with the Lakers team last year. Didn't use him correctly.

Hes been very good with the Sixers.

All we need him to do is rebound and give us some rim protection. Will be useful against a guy like Embiid.

I don't see him closing games for us or giving a ton of minutes. But hes definitely useful.

[Paradise]

Bruce takes a direct shot at Harden and Millsap.

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[Hello Brooklyn]

Also I'm wondering if we can get an answer on Joe Harris.

I think he needs to decide already if hes going to get surgery or not.

We need to plan moving forward with or without him.

[Netaman]

This was the first time I was excited for a game in a while.

Glad we finally got a solid W. I just hope we get to actually see this team at full strength. It's been a garbage year but if we can play Kyrie and KD next to shooters like Mills, Seth, and Harris - it's gonna be a lot of fun.

We just need to get Johnson out of the rotation and figure out the spacing issues with Ben. I don't want to see him out there with Brown and Drummond.

that would seem like an unlikely combo. when everyone is healthy i think the starting unit is:

Kyrie
Curry
Simmons
KD
Drummond

First 2 guys off the bench are probably LMA replacing Drummond and Mills subbing out Kyrie - so both groups have 3 deep shooters around Simmons, multiple ball handling options, and a big guy who can finish around the rim.

KD and/or Simmons would be next off the floor depending who needs the break, perhaps with Kyrie coming back in. Brown and Cam are probably the 8 & 9 guys on the bench as options depending on what kind of game it is. Kessler Edwards is likely in that 8, 9, 10 mix too.

don't see Blake, Claxton, JJ, or Carter getting minutes without injuries.

[MrDollarBills]

Drummond isn't that good of a player, feel like we're getting hyped up over a solid game from him.

Blake Griffin hasn't shown much this season, mainly because his 3pt shooting has fallen off a cliff, but remember how effective he was in the Bucks series against Giannis? Did better than any of our other bigs.

And at the end of the day, he's still a high IQ player that doesn't demand the ball much. I think he'll fit much better next to a full squad than Drummond will. Drummond is a guy that you play when you don't have many options. But if KD and Ben are healthy, and Kyrie somehow comes back? Drummond becomes quite useless honestly. I mean, he couldn't cut it with AD and LeBron.

AD and LeBron don't play here and the Nets have been killed on 2nd chance points for a long time now. Having a center that controlled the glass was a huge difference

We need what Drummond brings to the table.

[Karate Diop]

Drummond isn't that good of a player, feel like we're getting hyped up over a solid game from him.

Blake Griffin hasn't shown much this season, mainly because his 3pt shooting has fallen off a cliff, but remember how effective he was in the Bucks series against Giannis? Did better than any of our other bigs.

And at the end of the day, he's still a high IQ player that doesn't demand the ball much. I think he'll fit much better next to a full squad than Drummond will. Drummond is a guy that you play when you don't have many options. But if KD and Ben are healthy, and Kyrie somehow comes back? Drummond becomes quite useless honestly. I mean, he couldn't cut it with AD and LeBron.

Drummond to me is a serviceable regular season placeholder and that's really it (basically just play him to keep other guy's minutes down and because against middle of the pack and bad teams he's still serviceable / can be good)... He's too easy for opponents to game plan out come playoff time and his retty low basketball IQ gets amplified (for the worse) when the stakes get raised...

[NyCeEvO]

Seeing Curry do the constant run around to get free on offense is going to be a thing of beauty with KD/Kyrie/Simmons on the floor and Mills just waiting on the 3 point line. Good luck stopping that.

I thought Drummond was likely to be a role player but boy did he make a difference in a lot of ways. Center minutes are going to be hard to come by now. Drummond and LMA should both be close to 20 mpg. Hopefully KD won't need to bang down low nearly as much going forward.

Also shout out to bruce brown. the last 2 games are pretty good examples of why they chose him over bembry. he's just a more dynamic player.

Drummond will still be a role player. I expect the center position to be a platoon effort between Drummond, Aldridge, and Claxton depending on what’s needed.

During the rest of the regular season, I think Drummond is suited to get the most minutes there, but when the playoffs arrive and we’re facing higher IQ teams that play good defense, we’re probably going to opt for better offensive specialists (e.g. Blake, Aldridge) or better defense (I.e. Claxton) on a more frequent basis.

[MrDollarBills]

Bruce takes a direct shot at Harden and Millsap.

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Good.

[NyCeEvO]

Bruce takes a direct shot at Harden and Millsap.

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I’m sure this is just a shot at Harden. Millsap isn’t good enough anymore for players to actually care about what he thinks of them.

[Sharcm1]

Finally.

[NyCeEvO]

Drummond isn't that good of a player, feel like we're getting hyped up over a solid game from him.

Blake Griffin hasn't shown much this season, mainly because his 3pt shooting has fallen off a cliff, but remember how effective he was in the Bucks series against Giannis? Did better than any of our other bigs.

And at the end of the day, he's still a high IQ player that doesn't demand the ball much. I think he'll fit much better next to a full squad than Drummond will. Drummond is a guy that you play when you don't have many options. But if KD and Ben are healthy, and Kyrie somehow comes back? Drummond becomes quite useless honestly. I mean, he couldn't cut it with AD and LeBron.

Drummond to me is a serviceable regular season placeholder and that's really it (basically just play him to keep other guy's minutes down and because against middle of the pack and bad teams he's still serviceable / can be good)... He's too easy for opponents to game plan out come playoff time and his retty low basketball IQ gets amplified (for the worse) when the stakes get raised...

Yup, that’s exactly how I feel about him.

[sashaturiaf]

I'm no great fan of Drummond and 1 game is too short a spell to judge anyone on, but he gives us something we didn't have before and that's just a huge body that takes up space in there and swallows up rebounds. I don't care whether you prioritise rebounding or not, but that's still something we need as we're primarily a finesse team. Would you want to rely on Clax in the playoffs with his health record and lack of experience, I wouldn't

Add to the fact I think both KD and Kyrie like and respect him and I think he's a good pickup.

[Jay555]

Drummond can give us a good 20 mins. That's all we need.

[Netaman]

Seeing Curry do the constant run around to get free on offense is going to be a thing of beauty with KD/Kyrie/Simmons on the floor and Mills just waiting on the 3 point line. Good luck stopping that.

I thought Drummond was likely to be a role player but boy did he make a difference in a lot of ways. Center minutes are going to be hard to come by now. Drummond and LMA should both be close to 20 mpg. Hopefully KD won't need to bang down low nearly as much going forward.

Also shout out to bruce brown. the last 2 games are pretty good examples of why they chose him over bembry. he's just a more dynamic player.

Drummond will still be a role player. I expect the center position to be a platoon effort between Drummond, Aldridge, and Claxton depending on what’s needed.

During the rest of the regular season, I think Drummond is suited to get the most minutes there, but when the playoffs arrive and we’re facing higher IQ teams that play good defense, we’re probably going to opt for better offensive specialists (e.g. Blake, Aldridge) or better defense (I.e. Claxton) on a more frequent basis.

agreed - he's a matchup play. there will be some games where he adds an element that makes it really tough for teams to defend us, some games where he will help D up inside (like embiid), and some where he's not a good fit and the better fit is someone more mobile like Claxton or who can stretch the floor like LMA.

rebounding has been such a consistent problem though i think he's gonna be the right matchup play more often than anyone else. LMA's shooting is going to play in almost any game, but he's best served in limited doses to stay fresh.