If you know ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, you know he is not afraid of a bold take, especially in the NBA.
Well, he has announced his NBA Finals prediction for the 22-23 season, with an interesting choice of who wins the East.
He predicted that the Golden State Warriors will defeat the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA Finals.
But, after opening night, the Nets looked far from a championship contender.
They lost to the Pelicans 130-108, but Stephen A is standing by his prediction.
I’m disappointed in the @brooklynnets but I still believe in them! #nba #basketball #nets #brooklynnets #firsttake pic.twitter.com/Hyk9JqrTGk
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) October 20, 2022
Sticking With His Gut
The Nets have a lot of work to do if they want to compete in the East.
They have two elite scorers in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, then a bunch of question marks.
Ben Simmons made his long-awaited debut with the Nets on Wednesday but had little impact.
Simmons played 23 minutes and had four points, five rebounds, and five assists.
But, the biggest issue is that he fouled out of the game in that short time.
The health of this team will be key for them this season.
Irving and Simmons are two injury-prone players.
Durant is great but he is not going to be able to carry this team by himself.
As Stephen A mentioned, the Nets need to get another big man.
They got outrebounded 61-39 against the Pelicans and that seems to be a serious issue.
Brooklyn will get punished by more physical teams this season.
When it comes to Smith’s prediction, the Warriors looked loaded to make another run at the title.
But, the Nets look seem to be worse than the Bucks and Celtics out east and are in trouble if they do not make roster changes.
