The Brooklyn Nets have been an interesting team all season long.
We came in anticipating the return of Kevin Durant and how well he would mesh with Kyrie Irving.
They seemed like title contenders from the beginning and were going to be up there with the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers.
However, it changed once they acquired James Harden early on in the season.
They went from contenders to favorites in the blink of an eye.
Things have been rocky with injuries to their core.
This has led to the idea of other teams like the Philadelphia 76ers or Milwaukee Bucks having a chance in the Eastern Conference.
However, the Nets should still be the all out favorite to win it all and here is why.
The Revival of Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin looked like a shell of his former self once the season started.
For the Detroit Pistons, he seemed unathletic and inefficient.
The story of him not dunking in two years was hard to fathom, since we all remember him as a high-flyer.
Nobody wanted to trade for his loaded contract, so the Pistons had to buy the rest of that contract out.
Then that is when the Nets swooped in and things began to shift.
Griffin doesn’t look like an All-Star anymore, but he is contributing a lot to the Nets.
He seems to have gotten his bounce back.
BLAKE GRIFFIN THROWDOWN 💥 pic.twitter.com/25dFyzs8Gz
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 13, 2021
Furthermore, he has been a pretty good player on both ends of the court.
With Griffin on the court, the Nets offensive and defensive rating is 123.6 and 112, respectively.
Griffin is an essential piece to the Nets title hopes.
Insurance Policy
The Nets biggest advantage they have over the competition is that they have an All-Time big three of stars.
Durant, Harden, and Irving on paper just does not seem fair at all.
However, the one thing that has stopped this big three are injuries.
They have only played seven total games together.
That is a detriment to their team chemistry, but is also scary not knowing who they truly are.
There is an insurance policy if one of them gets hurt as that leaves them with two big stars to compete against the others.
This is a luxury that no other team really has.
If Joel Embiid is out, then the Sixers have no shot.
If LeBron James is out, it is doubtful Anthony Davis can lead them to a championship.
The Nets can lose Durant or Harden and still have an All-Star who just shot 50/40/90 for the season.
History for @kyrieirving.
KAI has become the ninth player in NBA history to average at least 50% FG, 40% 3P and 90% FT over a whole season 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/aXYymRTvtQ
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) May 17, 2021
Durant is a generational type of player and he has two superstars alongside him.
Harden has been able to carry teams to great places.
Kyrie is a wizard out there on the court.
As long as they have two of the three, they are in great shape to win the championship.
Offensive Juggernaut
The biggest question is: How do you stop a fully healthy Nets team?
There may not be an answer to that just yet.
The team is at all-time levels of greatness on the offensive end.
They finished first in the league in offensive rating this season at 118.3.
Also, they finished with the highest field goal percentage in the league at 49 percent.
This was all done with their big three hardly ever playing together.
It is scary for the opposing team to try and defend three great individual scorers.
They can all be ball dominant at times, but Harden isn’t afraid to distribute, while Durant has shown that he can defer.
Kyrie won a title with LeBron and knows when it is the right time to strike.
This offense is legendary and it is one of many reasons why this team is a title favorite.
NEXT: Which Team Has The Best Chance To Upset The Nets In The Playoffs?