CHICAGO - Without the injured Kevin Durant, the Nets are second-best in the Eastern conference with a 32-15 record, a mere half-game behind the Joel Embiid-less 32-14 Sixers.
And Brooklyn has won 17 of their last 20 games.
Prosperity, however, can be dangerously deceiving.
This pleasantly surprising turn of events doesn't mean the Nets are better off without KD; it merely validates the depth of a roster that flaunts a total of 42 All-Star appearances.
The Westgate Super Book in Las Vegas has recently installed the Nets as the favorites to win the 2021 NBA title at a plus 260 odds, edging the injury-decimated LA Lakers who fell to No. 2 at plus 280.
But for a championship to materialize, Durant needs to be in the picture.
Even though he has appeared in only 19 games so far, KD's impact was gigantic. Per Forbes, he scored at least 20 in all but one of those outings, surpassed 30 nine times, and once exploded for 42.
Sidelined by a sore left hamstring, Durant averages 29 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per. He is shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 43.4 percent from 3.
If you look up "stretch four" in the basketball dictionary you won't just find a Kevin Durant picture in the definition, you'll see an entire album.
Beyond the hard stats, Durant's presence is immeasurable. He's been proven to perform and deliver unde the brightest lights.
IT"S SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BE SAID OF JAMES HARDEN.
Despite waging yet another MVP campaign where he averages 26.4 points, 11.4-rebounds and 8.9 assists a game, Harden is still a question mark in the crucible of the postseason.
Great as a Rocket during most of his tenure in Houston, Harden was, sadly, a failure to launch during the biggest moments when a championship could be won. There is hefty evidence that allows us to arrive at the conclusion.
Kyrie Irving is similarly spectacular this season, pocketing 28.1 points and 5.6 dimes per. But this dude is as confusing as a Rubik's cube,
Moody, unpredictable.
What if he pulls another shocker in the playoffs and suddenly leaves the team for "personal reasons?"
LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin are wonderful additions but both are past their primes.
Which brings us back to Kevin Durant.
The Nets can win a string of regular season games without him. But they can't put together the 16 playoffs wins needed to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy.
EXTRA POINTS. With Dame Lillard and CJ McCollum leading the charge, I used to think that the Portland Trail Blazers were a long shot to win it all.
But 46 games into their season, I now believe they have no shot at all.
The Blazers are 29th in the NBA in the NBA in defensive rating (117.6) and 27th in points per game allowed (115.5). With a defense this awful, I don't see them even getting out of the first round in the wild West.
And here's some food for thought.
During his 13 years in the NBA, Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell made an estimated $960,000 in salaries.
That's pocket change these days.
Steph Curry, the league's highest paid salary with a $43 million take this season alone, collects roughly $597,222.
The pandemic has hurt the NBA business significantly but none of the players are getting poor.
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