Brooklyn Nets still a superstar short of becoming a contender

The Brooklyn Nets aren’t playing up to many fans’ expectations after almost one month into the NBA season, and it’s due to a lack of superstar personnel.

The early-season struggles of one of the more popular teams during this past summer’s free-agent period has many critics changing their tune. The Brooklyn Nets are only 4-6 after ten games, and their support won’t be available until next season due to injury.

The team has been led through the first ten games by superstar signee Kyrie Irving while the other significant acquisition Kevin Durant recovers from an Achilles injury. Irving has been fantastic in the lead guard role averaging 29.7 points per game showcasing his unique skillset each game. The issue for Brooklyn has been the lack of a supporting cast to carry the efficiency load. Caris LeVert has continued to be a consistent bright spot for the team contributing in different ways at any position most recently as the secondary point guard for Irving.

In the latest loss Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz, LeVert fell victim to a severe thumb injury that may force him to miss significant time. This whole in the Nets game plan puts them further behind the competition as they continue to miss Durant’s instant contributions. The injury to Durant was expected only to hurt the team’s ability to compete for a title in 2019-20, but it appears early it could leave the Nets out of the playoff picture.

Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson spoke recently to reporters about his concern for balancing Irving’s minutes, but due to the LeVert injury, they are leaning on the all-star more.

"“You know my philosophy, I’ve never loved playing guys 40 minutes. I just don’t think in the long term it’s a smart thing. But there’s a situation right now where he has to play those minutes. But it’s definitely something I’m going to consider and understand that we can’t play the guy 40 minutes. It’s just not smart.”"

"“We’re relying on him a lot and that’s just … I know he loves that responsibility but we’re relying on him a lot we’re playing him a lot of minutes, that’s part of the job description,” said Atkinson. “He embraces it, he doesn’t shy away from it, he wants it.”"

The Nets will be pushing Irving even further but must remember his injury history and proceed with caution. The signing of Iman Shumpert is a quick bandaid to add more experience to the lineup, but it’s still no Durant.