What Kevin Durant's Nets Have That the Warriors Dynasty Never Did

Draymond Green was often the conductor of one of the greatest offenses in NBA history.

From 2014-15 to 2018-19, the Golden State Warriors' offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) of 114.3 was 2.2 points better than that of the Houston Rockets' and Toronto Raptors', who were tied for second during that span.

Four of those five Warriors squads hold spots in the top nine all-time in season-long effective field-goal percentage.

It seemed at the time that the attack led by Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson—and, later, Kevin Durant—might never be topped. But during this 2020-21 postseason, another Durant team has obliterated opposing defenses.

And during his Tuesday appearance on TNT's Inside the NBA, Green put the 2020-21 Brooklyn Nets over the half-decade dynasty of which he was a part.

"It's the best display of offense we'll probably ever see in this league," Green said. "... When you look at this team offensively, you're not going to stop them."

This would be lofty praise from any analyst. Green forecasted the future. And the fact that it came from him meant something. Again, he was an integral piece of that Warriors offense, and acknowledging their inferiority isn't easy for star athletes.

Maybe it's just so obvious that Green couldn't pretend otherwise. What Brooklyn did this season was beyond impressive. Despite having Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden on the floor together for only 202 minutes, the Nets led the offensively rich NBA in points per 100 possessions with 119.4.

In the playoffs, when all three have been available, that figure is up to an almost unfathomable 132.6.

The star trio combined for a record output against the woefully overmatched Boston Celtics:

And their individual numbers are worth a look:

• Durant: 32.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 3.0 APG, 2.8 3PTG, 1.4 SPG, 2.2 BPG, 69.3 true shooting percentage, plus-9.6 box plus/minus (a "box score-based metric that estimates a basketball player's contribution to the team when that player is on the court," according to Basketball Reference)
• Harden: 27.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 10.6 APG, 3.8 3PTG, 2.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 76.1 TS%, plus-17.2 BPM (which leads the playoffs)
• Irving: 24.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.8 3PTG, 63.0 TS%, plus-1.9 BPM

To give a sense of what those BPM marks actually mean, Basketball Reference provides a scale. Plus-8.0 BPM is around what you'd expect from an MVP. A plus-10.0 mark is described as "an all-time season (think peak [Michael] Jordan or LeBron [James])."

Harden is nearly doubling that level. KD is on the verge of it. And Kyrie is comfortably above average.

This combination of production is, as ESPN Stats & Info noted, unprecedented.

But that line about the Celtics wasn't a throwaway. They were indeed incredibly outmatched. In addition to a massive experience gap, Kemba Walker had a nagging left knee injury and Jaylen Brown was out with a left wrist injury. Jayson Tatum's efforts (30.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.6 APG, 2.8 3PTG, 1.6 BPG and 1.2 SPG with a plus-6.5 BPM) were valiant, but they were never going to lead to four wins against that offensive juggernaut.

The Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn's second-round opponent, are far better equipped to slow this machine. Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo may not be guaranteed to stop the Nets trio, but they stand a better chance than most top threes.

But "a better chance" might be as far as anyone can go in assessing a defense tasked with slowing Brooklyn. Green's assertion that "you're not going to stop them" isn't hard to defend.

All three of Durant, Harden and Irving are able to create for themselves and for others. And all three have shown a willingness to stand back and let another one cook.

On the off chance an individual defender or rotation cuts off a drive by any of them, they often have the other two to kick out to. And a closing defender has almost no shot to deter Durant, Harden or Irving when they have the option to catch and shoot or blow by an overzealous closeout.

And we haven't even mentioned Joe Harris. On a team with three players so used to dominating the ball, a player with a game like Harris' is of paramount importance. He's perfectly fine with running around without the ball and commanding attention when he comes off screens, handoffs or various other cuts. And a shooter of his level commands attention.

Harris has led the league in three-point percentage in two of the last three seasons and has a combined mark of 45.8 percent (on 5.8 attempts) over that span.

Add Bruce Brown's slashing, Blake Griffin's frontcourt playmaking and occasional contributions from Landry Shamet and Nicolas Claxton, and it's easy to see where Green is coming from.

He didn't make a direct comparison to his Warriors, but it's hard to avoid when he's the source of the comment.

Headlined by Curry, Durant and Thompson, Golden State featured perhaps the greatest collection of shooters in league history. And it certainly had a better track record than this Brooklyn squad on defense. But that combination of creationability (coining that now) for self and others by three different sources sets the Nets attack apart.

At his apex, Irving can be something of a Curry lite. If he's not right at the level he was for Golden State, KD is certainly close. And though Harris doesn't produce at close to the same volume as Thompson, his off-ball movement and efficiency from the outside similarly warp defensive schemes.

It's no longer apples to apples when you get to Green and Harden, though. The former had Defensive Player of the Year upside on one end and was a capable playmaker for teammates on the other. But his overall impact doesn't stack up to Harden's, who's sixth in NBA history in career BPM.

"[Harden] is the most awesome offensive player I've ever seen," TNT's Charles Barkley said in March on ESPN's Get Up. "Listen, Michael and Kobe [Bryant] were better players from the guard standpoint, but as far as offensively, they couldn't shoot threes like him, they were not as great at dribbling the basketball, going to the basket, getting fouled. This guy, every time he goes to the basket, he's gonna hit somebody and get two free throws."

Regardless of where you stand on that comparison, it's hard to argue Harden is not an all-time great offensive player. And his orchestration is what takes Brooklyn to a different level.

There's plenty of time left in this postseason for the Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers or the Western Conference champion to dramatically alter our perception of these Nets, but the limited evidence we have so far suggests they don't just have the highest ceiling in the league but that they also have the kind of historic potential a three-time champion can recognize.

Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of Basketball Reference, Stathead, NBA.com/Stats or Cleaning the Glass.