Predicting Brooklyn Nets playoff rotation post-Ben Simmons trade
Mar 10, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Seth Curry (30) celebrates a basket with guard Ben Simmons (10) against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center (Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports).
Predicting Brooklyn Nets playoff rotation post-Ben Simmons trade: Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and LaMarcus Aldridge round out the starting five.
Despite not having played a single game this season, it’s fair to suggest that the Nets have to slide the former number-one pick, Ben Simmons, into their starting lineup for the postseason. Even with last year’s playoff woes and a season full of trade drama, Simmons remains an elite defensive talent with outstanding playmaking ability and tremendous mobility for his size.
Through the 2020-21 regular season, Simmons was a serious candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award thanks to his relentless, versatile style of defending. He’ll be a stout point of attack stalwart and weakside shot deflector playing off of two of the game’s most talented offensive powerhouses. They’ll empower him to focus on what he does best – blitzing his matchup on defense while exploiting defenses with his driving and passing.
Without Simmons in the lineup, sharpshooter Seth Curry has been the prize of the Harden trade for these Nets. Undoubtedly one of the best three-point shooters in the world, Curry plays well alongside KD and Irving by relocating around the court, moving the ball, and capitalizing on their gravity.
A 6-foot-2 shooting guard, attacking Curry will be a focal point of opposing game plans -particularly for teams like Chicago, Milwaukee, and Miami which have size and strength advantages in the backcourt. Even with that being the case, Curry possesses the play recognition and quick-twitch reaction speed to pester much of his competition.
The final spot in this rotation is the most tumultuous because there’s an argument to be made that LaMarcus Aldridge is the third-best big on the team right now. However, Simmons’ inability to stretch the floor puts Brooklyn in a bit of a bind. Starting one of Andre Drummond or Nic Claxton alongside Simmons would clog driving lanes and close off the dunker spot.
Though his three-point efficiency has been poor this year, Aldridge is a 37.6 percent shooter from deep over his last three seasons. That being said, tarting doesn’t assure that he will play more minutes than Claxton or Drummond, who have largely been more productive this season.
However, the floor-spacing and playoff experience that Aldridge brings to the table might draw the favor of head coach Steve Nash.
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Brooklyn Nets have to make sense of their rotation ahead of the NBA Playoffs.</p>
<p>In most scenarios, teams scrap to assemble a competent playoff rotation, but the Nets have the inverse problem. With a deep roster recently bolstered by a three-player return for James Harden, crafting a rotation that compliments the star talent of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will be Brooklyn’s top question to answer through the end of the regular season.</p>
<p>So which players are an absolutely lock to start for Brooklyn in the playoffs?</p>
<h2>Predicting Brooklyn Nets playoff rotation post-Ben Simmons trade: Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are a lock for 35+ minutes per game.</h2>
<p>Let’s remove the elephant from the room – Durant and Irving will shoulder a heavy load in the looming playoffs. Holding a two-game lead on the Charlotte Hornets for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, Brooklyn is projected to be a hellish first-round matchup for whichever team draws their assignment (assuming the Nets make it through the play-in tournament).</p>
<p>Shortly removed from a disastrous injury, 33-year-old Durant arguably remains the best basketball player in the world. With scoring ability from every spot on the floor and the basketball IQ to match, Durant is genuinely unguardable. He operates as the primary engine for Brooklyn’s offense, and therefore, its playoff aspirations.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Irving and the Nets must hold out hope that New York City’s vaccine rules will be phased out as the COVID-19 pandemic settles from the Omicron surge. Should they lift the requirements that force him out of home games, Irving will resume the hoops Master Class he’s sustained since signing with the Nets in the 2019 offseason.</p>
<p>Individually, both of these players are a powerhouse, but together, they surpass all expectations. Brooklyn’s net rating is 14.6 points per 100 possessions better with Durant and Irving on the floor – though injuries and the powers that be have forced them to play just six games together.</p>
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<p>Without Simmons in the lineup, sharpshooter Seth Curry has been the prize of the Harden trade for these Nets. Undoubtedly one of the best three-point shooters in the world, Curry plays well alongside KD and Irving by relocating around the court, moving the ball, and capitalizing on their gravity.</p>
<p>A 6-foot-2 shooting guard, attacking Curry will be a focal point of opposing game plans -particularly for teams like Chicago, Milwaukee, and Miami which have size and strength advantages in the backcourt. Even with that being the case, Curry possesses the play recognition and quick-twitch reaction speed to pester much of his competition.</p>
<p>The final spot in this rotation is the most tumultuous because there’s an argument to be made that LaMarcus Aldridge is the third-best big on the team right now. However, Simmons’ inability to stretch the floor puts Brooklyn in a bit of a bind. Starting one of Andre Drummond or Nic Claxton alongside Simmons would clog driving lanes and close off the dunker spot.</p>
<p>Though his three-point efficiency has been poor this year, Aldridge is a 37.6 percent shooter from deep over his last three seasons. That being said, tarting doesn’t assure that he will play more minutes than Claxton or Drummond, who have largely been more productive this season.</p>
<p>However, the floor-spacing and playoff experience that Aldridge brings to the table might draw the favor of head coach Steve Nash.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/14/brooklyn-nets-rotation-ben-simmons/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Divvying up the bench minutes </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 15: Bruce Brown #1 reacts with Kevin Durant #7 and Nicolas Claxton #33 of the Brooklyn Nets after grabbing a loose ball against the Chicago Bulls (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images).</p>
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<h2>Predicting Brooklyn Nets playoff rotation post-Ben Simmons trade: The Nets have a serious bench dilemma to figure out.</h2>
<p>Off the bat, Bruce Brown needs to be the surefire sixth man for the Brooklyn Nets. A multi-positional threat with frontcourt skills at the size and quickness of a guard, Brown is a dynamic threat in any lineup.</p>
<p>Need him to pick up the tough defensive assignments? He’ll do it with no questions asked. Is your squad on a cold streak? Brown can go get you a bucket. Having trouble on the glass? He’ll be down low with the trees, poking the ball loose and fighting for boards.</p>
<p>If the Nets opt to deploy a small-ball lineup, Brown is the perfect player to slide into the starting lineup over Aldridge. He very well may be part of the closing lineup as well.</p>
<p>Additionally, forward James Johnson brings some added muscle and lineup versatility to an offensively powerful Nets squad. Though he’s not a big-time bucket getter, Johnson doesn’t need to be.</p>
<p>He’s a tough competitor and enforcer who can step out on the perimeter and keep up with shifty players or use his strength to combat forward/bigs down low. Johnson can switch, fight through screens, pass in a team construct and chase loose balls when needed.</p>
<p>The biggest head-scratcher comes with the competition between Claxton and Drummond. Since the All-Star Break, Claxton has posted the third-highest Net Rating on the Nets. He’s an effective rim protector with incredible bounce and mobility at the five-spot. He’s not the rebounder that Drummond is – no one really is – but he should probably play the most minutes of the bigs despite his lack of playoff experience.</p>
<p>Last up in the rotation is a final guard spot with three contending players. Signed this past offseason to be a crucial member of the rotation, Patty Mills has been streaky for Brooklyn as of late. He’s shooting lights out from three-point land on the year, but is prone to a lull and can sometimes get exposed by bigger guards.</p>
<p>That’s partly why the Nets signed Goran Dragic from the buyout market – insurance. A crafty guard whose impact has mostly been felt as a playmaker, Dragic is only slightly larger and not nearly as feisty of a defender as Mills. In the argument between the two, I lean toward giving Mills those minutes for his championship experience, unselfish nature, and history of coming up big in key moments.</p>
<p>Rookie Cam Thomas has defied all expectations after being picked 27th overall in the most recent NBA Draft. Given this team’s championship aspirations, I’d expect the Nets to remain cautious and keep him out of the playoff rotation. However, Thomas will likely be Nash’s ‘Break Glass In Case of an Emergency’ play if the Nets find themselves in hot water.</p>
<p>With all things considered, I’d project the Nets playoff rotation to look something like this:</p>
<h5>PG: Kyrie Irving (35+ mins), Patty Mills (12-18 mins)</h5>
<h5>SG: Seth Curry (30 mins),</h5>
<h5>SF: Kevin Durant (35+ mins), Bruce Brown (22-27+ mins)</h5>
<h5>PF: Ben Simmons (28-32 mins), James Johnson (12-17 mins)</h5>
<h5>C: LaMarcus Aldridge (15-20 mins), Nic Claxton (18-22 mins), Andre Drummond (16-22 mins)</h5>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="NBA Trade Grades - The James Harden-Ben Simmons deal" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2022/02/11/nba-trade-grades-james-harden-ben-simmons/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/14/brooklyn-nets-rotation-ben-simmons/2/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/02/11/nba-trade-grades-james-harden-ben-simmons/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> NBA Trade Grades - The James Harden-Ben Simmons deal </a> </div>
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