Brooklyn Becomes the NBA's Villain

"It's clear. I love this city. I've literally done everything I can. It's crazy. I don't think it can be fixed."

The now infamous words spoken by former Rocket, James Harden, just one week ago still echo throughout Houston; louder than the championship that never was. After forcing his way out over a brutal 8 game meltdown, Harden now plays for the Brooklyn Nets, teaming up with ex-teammate Kevin Durant and fugitive Kyrie Irving. Disregarding each player's undeniable individual talent, they share one common quality: extreme unlikability in the eyes of fans.

Let's set the stage.

Kevin Durant:

• Will go down as an iconic basketball villain after leaving OKC in 2016

• Public lack of confidence and overly sensitive to criticism (burner accounts)

• Still viewed as weak despite incredibly coming back from a gruesome injury

• Sparring with old teammates and opponents on Twitter

Kyrie Irving:

• Eccentric personal antics

• Continued disrespect towards media

• Caused locker room issues for almost every team

• Publicly insulting LeBron (never a good idea)

James Harden:

• Generally disliked on and off the court

• Polarizing playstyle and lifestyle

• Flopping, bending the rulebook, lack of defensive effort, complaining

• Drinking, strip clubs, more COVID protocol violations than wins

Combining these three hateable forces into one hodgepodge of a lineup is the kind of content I dream about every night as any outcome with this team is good for the league.

Success? - Perfect. Ratings and fan interest skyrocket with the "bad guys" on top (ex: 73-9 Warriors, Miami LeBron, 80s Pistons).

Failure? - Even better. Bold personalities cause the team to crumble and the motivation to create a superteam weakens (ex: 2004 Lakers, 1998 Rockets, 2013 Nets).

Everything I sloppily listed above is why I'm unbelievably excited for this Nets team. People tend to forget that sports are an entertainment form first and foremost. We don't watch to see how many times a ball goes through a hoop or a puck into a net; we watch to see dynasties rise and fall and heroes push themselves to the limit. Neither are possible without an antagonist.

Like it or not, Brooklyn is now the antagonist. Creating a big three with a trio of players prone to drama and ball-dominant gameplay is either a recipe for disaster or immediate unbeatability. I don't think that's a word, but I also don't think this team is getting past the Bucks so we can always waste time and effort on things that won't matter, just like this blog.

Kyrie's "debut" or return to the Nets last night after his mysterious absence was a fascinating watch to say the least. Firstly because the Cleveland Cavaliers somehow pulled off a win against a legit NBA roster, in epic fashion too. More importantly, we got a glimpse of how the KD-Kyrie-Harden (listed in order of talent) lineup works together. From the opening tip it's clear that this is still KD's team, with or without Harden. That's a plus for closing games, but potentially a detriment when it comes to a season-long campaign and a playoff run. You can say what you will about Harden and you'll probably be right, the one thing you can't criticize is his durability and consistency. Whether it's Game 1 of the WCF or a Tuesday night League Pass game against the Hornets, you can count on a 30-5-7 at minimum from The Beard. He's been an iron man since coming into the association and it might be his greatest skill. That being said, it's yet to translate into serious postseason success.

Playing alongside someone who's better than Harden actually elevates him to a higher level as he's not forced to take over games unless it happens naturally. If he's having a rough night like the ones we've seen in the past, he can be relegated to the corner while KD and Kyrie close the game. It's a perfect situation for him if he's willing to accept it. The acceptance part of that is a bigger issue than people might realize. We know Harden tends to utilize his physical stepback during games, but it's the mental step back as a leader and alpha dog that I'm starting to doubt. If he can, this team seems like a lock for a Finals appearance at least. However, there's a reason I'm picking Milwaukee over them for the time being.

Harden's emotional state isn't the only reason I'm not believing in this team yet. Depth is a serious issue here as well. If you take a look at the box score for the double OT game vs Cleveland, you see each starter logging 40+ minutes with the next highest minutes total at 11. ELEVEN! The painful toll that those minutes will take on starters' bodies cannot be understated. It'll be interesting to see how those bodies hold up during playoff time. History would tell us that it won't be pretty. Take a look at the 73-9 Warriors and 2009 Celtics' seasons and you'll see the flame out happening in real-time. I'm not wishing such an outcome to happen for this team, but the possibility of it has to be recognized.

There's plenty of talent waiting to be acquired in the free agent pool or even G League rosters. Wherever the boost may come from, it's definitely needed if the franchise wants to preserve this window that could close without warning.

Like I stated earlier in the article, any outcome for this team is a positive for the league. Those positive outcomes are contingent on viewers viewing them in the correct light. The Brooklyn Nets are villains. In a pro wrestling sense they've made a heel turn. This is the basketball incarnation of the Legion of Doom, the Galactic Empire, or Klingons - take your preferred pop culture reference and go with it. Let's start realizing the content goldmine we've been blessed with and take advantage.

IMAGE CREDIT: Nathaniel S. Butler