James Harden is really confident in his Brooklyn Nets ahead of the 2021/22 season. The talented guard is entering his second season with the Nets, trying to improve what they did last season when they reached the second round of the playoff, losing to the eventual champions Milwaukee Bucks in seven games.
The New Yorkers will try to perform better next year, and Harden made it clear that if all the pieces are healthy, the Nets won’t have competition in the East or the Finals.
Talking with Michael Chapiro of Sports Illustrated, The Beard discussed his ambitions for the next season. The 2018 NBA MVP claimed the Nets will be in a privileged position to win if their Big 3 stays healthy.
SI: Why do you think next season will be the year you capture your first NBA title?
JH: At full strength, nobody can beat us. I’m just going to leave it at that.
Harden knows the expectations were high for the Nets last season. They created a superteam, and everybody was keeping tabs on them. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get past Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
SI: You enter next season after falling just short of the conference finals. You could have won the championship last year if things broke right. Is there a certain chip on your team’s shoulder entering 2021–22?
JH: There’s no chip at all, no chip for us. We’re just excited. We’re focused. We know what we have to do. The biggest thing is us being healthy, which we will be. Honestly, we’re just excited to play a whole season together. That’s the exciting part.
This upcoming season can be great for the Nets. With their Big 3 showing the way, Steve Nash’s team will try to dethrone the Bucks, take revenge from last season and claim the Larry O’Brien trophy with a talented group of players.
Harden knows the challenge is enormous, but he’s confident they can get the job done in a stacked Eastern Conference.
