Ever since James Harden arrived in Brooklyn and before, the Nets have not shied away from their championship aspirations.
But Harden recently exposed them.
“We’re more than sure it will be difficult for a team to beat us four times in a series of the best of the seven,” Harden told Rachel Nichols of ESPN in an interview Friday. “I am just happy to be here. We all try to reach a single goal and this is an NBA championship. ”
Saturday’s Warriors game will mark Harden’s 14th game with the Nets, but only his seventh, with both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the floor with him. The Nets are 4-2 when their Big 3 have adjusted together.
The Nets will be without DeAndre Jordan’s center on Saturday because he tends to have a personal problem. Coach Steve Nash said the Nets expect Jordan to join them during their five-game journey and continue testing for COVID-19 in the meantime, which would allow him to play as soon as he is ready.
Jeff Green will likely slip into the center position of the small ball – a role he has often played this season – especially with the warriors missing from the center of rookie James Wiseman (wrist).
“Let’s hope this is not the kiss of death, but in fact the Warriors game is a team that plays extremely small right now, with all their true centers,” Nash said. “So, I don’t want to say it’s fortuitous, because they are such a difficult team to defend anyway, but it could have been a difficult match for a traditional center anyway.”
Nets also has newly signed centers Norvel Pelle and Noah Vonleh.
Some players have talked about the mental strain he has taken this season, the COVID-19 protocols do not allow much beyond going to the arena for games or for the training team. Durant has a different perspective.
“I mean [shoot]”It’s not that bad,” he said. “We are paid millions of dollars to try and do something we love every day. We’ll find out the rest. ”
These protocols also traditionally make team bonding opportunities more difficult, especially on a Western trip, as the Nets launch.
“Once upon a time, I would put my credit card behind the bar and tell the boys to go out and have fun,” Nash said. “But this hasn’t happened in COVID for a while, so we’ll have to find creative ways to continue to grow and find that connection.”
Nic Claxton (right knee tendinopathy) will travel with the Nets and expects to finally start working with their “ready” group.