Durant requested a trade in June, and Irving was seemingly trying to get to the Los Angeles Lakers to team back up with LeBron James.
However, both ended up remaining with the Nets, as their goal to win a championship together in Brooklyn is still on their minds.
Brooklyn Nets Game 1 Matchup Preview
The Brooklyn Nets’ season begins against the New Orleans Pelicans, as a lot of talent will be on display.
This will be the first game we see Ben Simmons put on a Nets uniform, as he is looked at as the missing piece the Nets have desperately needed on the defensive side of the ball.
The Pelicans will trot out the powerful duo of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, alongside CJ McCollum, who has provided a steady presence as a scorer for this team.
Nets’ Odds
The Brooklyn Nets’ odds to win this game are pretty high, as they will be home and have more talent from top to bottom than their opponent.
However, if the Nets don’t play as hard and well as they’re capable of, then the Pelicans can just as easily steal this game.
2022 Brooklyn Nets Schedule
The Nets have an extremely hard NBA schedule to start off the season, as they’ll be facing off against the Pelicans on opening night but then will face off against the Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, and Dallas Mavericks.
The Brooklyn Nets’ odds to start the season 5-0 aren’t the most promising, especially when you consider that they will be on the road against Memphis and Milwaukee.
But if the Nets can start off the season with a 3-2 record and at least be competitive in those games, that’ll go a long way in keeping team morale high and propel them to reach the heights they hope to reach despite the offseason dysfunction.
Brooklyn Nets Season Props
NBA betting odds have the over/under win total for the Nets at 45.5. Something to consider here is that despite Kyrie Irving being out of the lineup for all but 29 games last season and Kevin Durant missing 27 of his own on top of all of the other organizational dysfunction, the Nets still finished with 44 wins.
Nets’ Invested Versions
With invested versions of both KD and Kyrie and adding a healthy Ben Simmons, there is absolutely no reason to believe that the Nets can’t surpass that over/under win total this upcoming season, but if you’re a believer that things can go wrong within the organization, then perhaps you may be more inclined to go with the under.
However, all indications point to that both KD and Kyrie are happy with their current situations, so they’re much more likely to hit the over than the under.
The NBA player stats of Durant and Irving are also expected to rank them among the top of the league, especially in the points category. Both are surefire bets to average at least 25 points per game.
Brooklyn Nets 2022 Season Odds
NBA picks have the Nets right in the thick of the championship conversation this upcoming season, especially with Durant and Irving returning.
Improvement in their Rosters
Adding Simmons into the mix will go a long way in replacing the playmaking James Harden brought to the table, but the Nets made a ton of other improvements to their roster, as they added TJ Warren, Royce O’Neale, and Markieff Morris in an effort to bolster their scoring and defense at the wing position.
The Nets will also be getting Joe Harris back, as they sorely missed his 3-point shooting last season, especially in the playoffs.
Add in the surrounding depth of Patty Mills, Seth Curry, and Cam Thomas, and this team has all the complementary scoring and 3-point shooting they could ask for as they hope to make a deep run into the postseason.
Nets 2022 NBA Title Odds
The Brooklyn Nets’ odds to win the championship during the 2022-23 season are quite high. They’re in the top 5 to be exact.
They boast two superstars who have gotten it done in the Finals before in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, as Durant has two Finals MVPs to his name.
If it wasn’t for LeBron James’s historic Finals performance in 2016, there’s a strong case that Irving could’ve taken home Finals MVP honors.
The Nets were considered the runaway favorites to win the championship during the 2020-21 season when James Harden partnered up with Irving and Durant, but NBA injuries to Irving and Harden proved to be too big of an obstacle for the Nets to overcome as they allowed the Milwaukee Bucks to come back from a 2-0 series deficit.
With the talent the Nets have, there’ve also been a ton of trials and tribulations. If the Nets can prove that they’ve learned from the ups and downs, then they’ll once again enter the conversation as a legitimate threat to win a championship.
Brooklyn Nets Playoff Odds
It’s almost hard to envision the Nets missing out on the playoffs this upcoming season. The biggest question remains is how deep can they go this season?
Brooklyn Nets Atlantic Division Odds
If you want to know a Nets team that has lost or won the Atlantic Division, you’d have to go all the way back to the 2005–06 season, as they were still the New Jersey Nets at the time.
The dynamic backcourt of Jason Kidd and Vince Carter with Richard Jefferson rounding out their Big 3 made for some extremely fun basketball.
Nets’ Competition
The talent is easily there for the Nets to capture their first division title in nearly 20 years, but they’ll have to compete with the likes of the:
- Boston Celtics
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Toronto Raptors
Many still consider the Boston Celtics the heavy favorites despite their head coach Ime Udoka being suspended for the entire season, but if their interim head coach cannot win the trust of his team, the door is open for the Nets to take the division so long as they hold off the Sixers and Raptors.
Brooklyn Nets Eastern Conference Championship Odds
The Brooklyn Nets’ odds to win the Eastern Conference championship are very high, as they’ll be competing with the likes of the:
- Boston Celtics
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Miami Heat
Talented Offense
The offensive talent is there for the Nets, but defense has been a lingering issue for this group.
If Ben Simmons proves to be the difference maker they needed on that side of the floor, we could perhaps see the Nets in the Finals.
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