3 Nets storylines heading into the 2022-23 NBA season
Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons (10) points during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) Credit: AP/Julia Nikhinson
KEY STORYLINES
Can the Nets stay healthy and available?
Injuries and absences have ravaged the Nets’ roster the past two seasons, keeping the team from forming chemistry and continuity.
Can Steve Nash stay employed?
The Nets have a brutal early schedule with 12 of their first 20 games on the road. If things go south quickly, don’t be surprised if Nash takes the fall. Kevin Durant tried to get him fired in the offseason, and it has to be challenging knowing your star player wanted you gone.
Can Ben Simmons be a difference-maker?
The addition of a healthy Simmons is the one major change between this team and the one that was swept from the first round of the playoffs. When he is playing his best basketball, he is a remarkable facilitator who can make every teammate look better, plus he has the skills at the other end of the floor to pull the Nets’ defense out of laughable territory.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
