Charles Oakley has identified two problems with the Nets: Steve Nash and James Harden.
Approached by TMZ in LAX, Oakley said that Nash might not be a good fit for the Nets, and that trading for Harden last year set them back.
“The problem with Brooklyn was, I don’t know if Nash is the right coach for them,” Oakley said. “I don’t know. Being a ballplayer watching them, everybody say, ‘Well this and that, if you got Kyrie [Irving] and [Kevin Durant],’ but you still need somebody at that front seat.”
The Nets are down 2-0 in their first-round series against the Celtics headed into Saturday’s Game 3 in Brooklyn. That amounts to a must-win, since no NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series.
The Nets blew a fourth-quarter lead in Game 2, getting outscored 29-17 in the final frame. Nash has so far been outwitted by Boston head coach Ime Udoka, who has found defensive schemes to frustrate Kevin Durant. Durant has struggled in the series, shooting a paltry 31.7 percent from the field.
Ben Simmons, who the Nets got in return for Harden, seems to be targeting Game 4 to get back on the court after an injury kept him from making his Nets debut. Brooklyn got Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and Philly’s 2022 and 2027 first-round picks back for Harden and Paul Millsap at the trade deadline. Harden had been their marquee acquisition just a year prior, but didn’t work out.
“They didn’t need James Harden,” Oakley said. “They didn’t need him. They could have kept their role players last year.”
Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, Caris LaVert and Rodions Kurucs were the players the Nets gave up in the trade for Harden. Allen, in particular, has become a key piece for the Cavaliers.
“He messed that whole chemistry up over there,” Oakley said of Harden. “Because once they got him last year, they had to defer to him. And he wasn’t healthy. He wasn’t in shape.”
Charles Oakley thinks Nets have Steve Nash, James Harden hangover problems - New York Post
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