Last night, the Brooklyn Nets minus Kevin Durant, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers by a score of 109-98. As many fans already know, Anthony Davis was out of the lineup, which made the game a lot easier for the Nets to win. Despite this, the Nets are looking extremely strong right now, and it's safe to say that the Lakers and Nets will be the teams to beat during the playoffs.
Stephen A. Smith expressed his doubts about the Nets just a few weeks ago as he claimed that this team simply doesn't have the defensive prowess to win a 7-game series against the league's best teams. Now, Smith has done a complete 180 on the matter and is declaring this Nets team the favorites to win the NBA championship.
"The Brooklyn Nets are coming out of the Eastern Conference, they will be in the NBA Finals," Smith said decisively. “As far as I’m concerned the Brooklyn Nets should be the favorites to win the world championship.”
Smith made similar comments when Davis went down with his injury a few days ago, although now, he is using this latest win against the Lakers as a way to double down. Of course, there is plenty of season left to be played, which means there is still room for Smith to be proven wrong.
Considering his track record, it wouldn't be surprising if he flipped again if the Nets were to go on a losing streak.