Bucks have the title; 76ers, Nets have drama

The Brooklyn Nets look like such a title favorite that James Harden felt the need for a reminder they aren’t a title team.

“We’re not the target. The defending champions are the targets,” Harden said. “They won last year. We’re trying to catch them.”

It’s easy to forget about the Milwaukee Bucks. They have the NBA crown, but none of the drama of some other top contenders in the Eastern Conference, where the situations with Ben Simmons in Philadelphia and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn were the biggest stories leading into the season.

Those two teams finished ahead of Milwaukee in the regular season, but the Bucks ousted the Nets in the second round and went on to win their first NBA title in 50 years.

Giannis Antetokounmpo went home and celebrated in Greece. Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday went to Japan and won an Olympic gold medal.

Now they are back together again, quietly working toward a

repeat amid all the noise around them.

The Nets won’t allow Irving to play or practice with them until he is vaccinated, instead of letting him play in road games while

he is ineligible to play at home because of New York’s vaccination mandate.

Kevin Durant and Harden might still be good enough with a potent roster around them, but the Nets

— and their rivals — know they aren’t the same team without Irving’s talents.

“Probably the team took the best decision for them to keep the players as locked in as possible and not take that outside noise to affect the team as they go for a championship run,” Antetokounmpo said. “They have a great team. Do I know if it’s right or wrong? I don’t know. I’ve got to think about it. But at the end of the day, I think everybody’s entitled to their own opinion. But Kyrie’s a great player.”

The 76ers, who had the best record in the East last season, have been without Simmons for almost the entire preseason while the All-Star guard stayed away in hopes of a trade. He finally arrived in Philadelphia last week.

Even if those teams are weakened, it seems like a stronger conference than a season ago. Miami got Kyle Lowry. The surprising New York Knicks added Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier. The Chicago Bulls could be poised for a move with DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball.

“A lot of teams in our conference have gotten better. We have to get better,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, whose team finished a surprising fourth last season.

A look at the East, in predicted order of finish:

MARK J. TERRILL/ASSOCIATED PRESS Nets forward Kevin Durant (left) and guard James Harden will need to pick up the slack for Kyrie Irving, who the team won’t allow to play or practice until he is vaccinated.