What are the Top 10 starting lineups in the NBA this season?
By Gage Morgan
NBA Top 10 Starting Lineups: #3
#3: Brooklyn Nets
Starting Lineup: Kyrie Irving (PG), Joe Harris (SG), Kevin Durant (SF), Ben Simmons (PF), Nicolas Claxton (C)
The Brooklyn Nets have been the greatest mystery in the NBA the past few years. Unfortunately, chaos became a logo for them last season. The Nets had a big three in Durant, Harden, and Irving, but that didn’t last. Harden was traded for Ben Simmons. Simmons missed all of the season due to mental health and Irving missed a lot of games due to the vaccine mandate in New York. They were swept in the first round by the Boston Celtics and dove into drama in the offseason.
The first thing that hit them was the Kyrie Irving extension. Due to not playing many games, the Nets didn’t want to give the contract he wanted. Then they dealt with Kevin Durant asking for a trade. It almost came down to a situation of choosing Durant vs. Sean Marks and Steve Nash. The owner kept a cool head though and Simmons came back to the floor. Right now, they look good, but they need to keep drama away in order to win.
#2: Boston Celtics
Starting Lineup: Marcus Smart (PG), Jaylen Brown (SG), Jayson Tatum (SF), Al Horford (PF), Robert Williams III (C)
The Boston Celtics have had an interesting past couple months. They made it to the Finals, but they couldn’t beat the Golden State Warriors. They were able to improve their bench by trading for Malcolm Brogdon. Then the drama bug hit them with a situation regarding their head coach, Ime Udoka.
I won’t get into details of what occurred, but he was suspended for one year from the NBA. This is significant due to Udoka’s influence on them during the season. The Celtics struggled with team chemistry in the early parts of last season, but Udoka helped fix that. With him gone, will the Celtics play well together or will they struggle. The future of this team isn’t clear, but hopefully they can keep it together.