For retired star Vince Carter, the standing in the NBA is clear: the Brooklyn Nets are the team to beat this 2020-21 season.
After watching Kevin Durant and the Nets take down the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, 130-115, Carter was even more convinced that the Brooklyn side has everything what it takes to win the NBA championship.
“Right now, they’re the team to beat,” Carter said on SportsCenter, per Forbes. “I’m still going to give it to the Nets right now just because of all the talent they have,” Carter said. “They have stars, they have MVPs, they have Kevin Durant, they have James Harden, they have Kyrie Irving.”
While Carter is not closing the door on the other NBA teams to make a case as title favorites, he emphasized that the level of talent the Nets have–especially when they are healthy–is just too big for the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers. He even sent a warning to the reigning defending champions, highlighting that Brooklyn hasn’t even played a lot with a fully healthy lineup.
“Right now the Lakers are the defending champ and I want to see the Lakers healthy and how they jell when they get back together,” Vince Carter furthered. “And we can say the same for the Nets as well, but they just have a lot of weapons, but if the Lakers aren’t healthy, that’s a tough team to beat.”
Sure enough, VC does have a point. In fact, it would be an utter embarrassment if the Nets don’t win it all should they play in the postseason with a fully healthy lineup of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden.
However, if there is one thing certain in the NBA, it’s the fact that there is nothing guaranteed. Heck, even the Los Angeles Clippers blew a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets in 2019-20 despite having Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Put simply, it is not just about the level of talent. If anything, the Nets’ lack of playing time together in the regular season could pose a problem–something that they will hope to resolve with sheer individual talent.
