Joe Tsai loses his religion as the Nets go from contender to culture warriors

Joe Tsai loses his religion as the Nets were considered top contenders in a stacked Eastern Conference, but no longer. The Brooklyn team had two superstars, including an all-time great, and Nets’ faithful were hoping for multiple titles. Since then a lot has happened and owner Joe Tsai has totally changed his tune. When asked if he would do what was necessary for the team to win it all his response was clear. “Winning is my religion”. Thanks to Clara Wu Tsai’s saving grace, egos were put to the side and all sides seemed all in. Now, the home stretch of the regular season is about to start and the C-word has returned. What will the new culture warrior Nets bring?

Same word different roster

There is a section of Nets’ fandom that is still in love with the D-lo, Dinwiddie, LeVert, Allen and Pinson team. Admittedly, that team was a lot of fun to watch. They overachieved, finished above .5oo and the players rooted for each other. My wife became a Nets fan in that period so I will always remember it warmly. Kenny Atkinson and Sean Marks were praised for the culture they brought to Brooklyn, which supposedly led to the Nets attracting KD and Kyrie. However, if we’re being honest, that team, fun as it was, would never have gone anywhere. And KD and Kyrie ended up in Brooklyn because Kyrie wanted to be there. Currently, the Nets are coming out of the all-star break with a superstar-less roster. When Sean Marks addressed the media it was all about culture again. Mikal Bridges = culture. Cam Johnson = culture. When asked about the open roster spot Marks stated the Nets would wait and see because God forbid they bring someone in who disturbs the culture. Still, culture or no culture, this ain’t the 2019 Nets.

Ceiling

While the culture thing might be overstated, the quality isn’t. The most optimistic part of Netsworld were already talking Eastern Conference titles. I would call that reaching. Nevertheless, the current squad is much more serious than the 2019 squad. For starters the defense is elite. Claxton is having a DPOY season and he is flanked by another DPOY candidate in Bridges and a stout defender in Finney-Smith. Capabale defenders like O’Neale and Watanabe are also available. In Dinwiddie, the Nets have a playmaker who can get you 3o and both Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges can get you 40. The Nets also have a luxury of players shooting 40% from 3 which include Curry, Harris and Cam Johnson. I like to compare the 2023 Nets to the 2021 Hawks. The Hawks beat the Knicks in the 4/5 matchup, then had no business beating the Sixers in the Semis and made it to the conference finals. The Nets are no worse than the Cavs. We also have no business going past the semis. However, if Bridges and Thomas can live up to their potential and JV can figure out his rotations, why can’t this team overachieve as well?