Are the Brooklyn Nets legitimate contenders for the NBA title?
DefinitelyThey possess a deep roster with the flexibility to play big & small. They have multiple guys who can get their own shot (Williams, Pierce, and Johnson) who are also good creators for their teammates (i.e. they are not ball hogs). So far, Brook Lopez has forced an opponents FG% for shots at the rim of 28.9% (Player Tracking Defensive Impact). The addition of defenders like Kirilenko & Garnett are a huge plus as well. They match up well against the other contending teams in the east (Chicago, Indiana, Miami). Brooklyn has the size to bang with Indiana down low, and can throw multiple looks at Paul George. The same can be said against Lebron and D-Wade. They also have the firepower on offense to keep guys like George, Wade, and Lebron honest on the defensive end. Everyone in Brooklyn's starting 5 is a threat to score making shading and doubling a bit riskier. Shaun Livingston has played well in a back up role, and they are getting good minutes out of the mercurial Andre Blatche. Reggie Evans and Jason Terry are solid veteran guys who do their jobs well in big games, and Kirilenko is one of the most versatile defenders in the league. This team's second unit should be able to devour most other second units. Chicago, Miami, and Indiana are not as deep as Brooklyn. If the Nets can manage their minutes appropriately and stay healthy throughout the season, they definitely have a shot at making the finals and beating one of the west teams.
Will the Brooklyn Nets ever win a championship?
You can’t say no. One day, when the Brooklyn Nets are good, they will have a better chance at winning a championship than they do today.In terms of the players on Brooklyn’s roster, there are no superstars. Brook Lopez is a very skilled offensive center while Jeremy Lin is a good offensive guard. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is an inconsistent offensive player but decent defender and Sean Kilpatrick can score. But none of these players have superstar potential and none are the face of the franchise going forward.The Brooklyn Nets have a lack of talent at this point and the future prospects do not look too good because even if they tank and lose games, their draft picks go to the Celtics. So they cannot build through the draft for a few more years.All they can do at the moment is make the most of what they’ve got and hope that some good free agent(s) decide to bring their talents to Brooklyn. They are very unlikely to be contending for a championship in the near future though.
If LeBron James went to the Brooklyn Nets, would they reach the finals?
Just LeBron? No. No team has ever managed to get all the way there with just one superstar. The only example I can think of in recent memory that managed to do this are the 2003–2004 Pistons, and that depends on what you think of Chauncy Billups and Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace. That was the last team to go all the way without at least one clear Hall of Famer in the lineup, and usually two.LeBron has made the finals 6 years running because he’s been surrounded by other great players — period. He did not take Miami or Cleveland there by himself. Just like Michael couldn’t take the Bulls there by himself; he needed Scotty and a lot of very skilled role players.Look at Michael Westbrook and OKC. They barely made the playoffs.Also: LeBron is on the down slope of his career. Yes, he is currently killing it in the playoffs. But not for much longer.
Can the Miami Heat win the 2018 NBA Finals?
Miami has a lot of pieces to be a nuisance in round 1, and they’re potentially just dangerous enough to think about the upset. They have an athletic, aggressive point guard in Goran Dragic. They have playmakers on the wings and in the frontcourt with guys like James Johnson, Josh Richardson, and Kelly Olynyk. They have scorers and shooters off the bench in Tyler Johnson, Wayne Ellington, and former Heat legend Dwyane Wade. They have one of the NBA’s better coaches in Eric Spoelstra.What they don’t have is a clear-cut star. Hassan Whiteside has seen his role diminish because he’s not consistent enough to justify keeping on the floor when teams go small and he is forced to step away from the rim. Much to Whiteside’s frustration, the Heat benched him down the stretch when the Brooklyn Nets went to a smaller perimeter-oriented lineup, something that nearly all of the top teams in the East (Toronto, Boston, Cleveland, etc.) do consistently.Miami can battle on any given possession and may even steal a game or two, but this roster just doesn’t look to have what it takes to win a playoff series against a much higher-ranked team, let alone four.