If we had told you two months ago that James Harden and Blake Griffin would both be members of the Brooklyn Nets in March, you’d have laughed us off the Internet.
Now, coming out of the 2021 NBA All-Star Break, that’s the case. Brooklyn officially signed six-time All-Star Blake Griffin on Monday, days after he was bought out by the Detroit Pistons. That comes less than two months after the Nets pulled off the blockbuster trade for James Harden.
It’s pretty eye-opening to look at. The Brooklyn Nets now have four likely future Hall of Famers in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Griffin and Harden. Their fifth starter, center DeAndre Jordan, is not too shabby himself. Following the Griffin news becoming official, these Nets just took over as the odds-on favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien this coming summer (per Bet Online).
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Brooklyn Nets now NBA title favorites after signing Blake Griffin
- Brooklyn Nets: +270
- Los Angeles Lakers: +285
- Los Angeles Clippers: +550
- Utah Jazz: +700
- Milwaukee Bucks: +800
There’s certainly some overreaction included in this. Griffin, 31, just isn’t the same player he was during a brilliant tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers earlier in his career. Injuries have derailed the former No. 1 pick big time.
Prior to being bought out by Detroit, Griffin was averaging 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 37% shooting from the field. That came after he shot a mere 35% with the Pistons back in 2019-20.
There’s also an argument that can be made about the Brooklyn Nets being NBA title favorites even before they landed Griffin. After all, they headed into the All-Star Break having won 10 of 11 and clicking on all cylinders. What’s crazy here is that the trio of Harden, Durant and Irving have played in all of seven games together since that blockbuster trade back on Jan. 14.
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As for the defending NBA champion Lakers, they are currently without star big man Anthony Davis to an Achilles’ injury. Without AD in the mix, Los Angeles lost seven of nine to close out the unofficial first half of the NBA season.
As you can see, these are the two overwhelming favorites to meet in the 2021 NBA Finals this coming summer. For now, the Brooklyn Nets would likely be favored in a hypothetical matchup.