Shwew. After a full slate of basketball over the long weekend (minus a few inevitable cancellations, sadly) and a whirlwind of wild finishes, we can walk away with one overarching takeaway: Basketball in the Big Apple is back.
That conclusion is more emphatic in Brooklyn, obviously, where the Nets have had one (1) 50-win season since leaving the ABA 45 years ago. The Nets might not technically get to 50 this year either, given that we only have 72 games, but they are very clearly the caliber of team that can and will win at least 50 of its next 82 games. Whatever you may think of Brooklyn’s long-term future after surrendering basically every useful asset in last week’s trade for James Harden — something I already argued — there is no doubt about the immediate impact.
On Monday, the Nets had just two-thirds of their superstar triumvirate available and some roster holes remaining to be filled (more on that in a bit). Nonetheless, Brooklyn…
