I’m afraid 2021 is turning out to be a variant of 2020. Before you get alarmed, let me clarify that I am referring to the chances of aberrant things happening.
Consider how the US Capitol building was stormed and taken over temporarily by US President Donald Trump supporters, one of whom was prominently a guy in a fur hat with horns -- a sight you would never have thought might happen in this lifetime.
Then how about the multiple variants of Covid-19 seeming to sprout simultaneously over different parts of the world?
If you’re still not convinced -- how about James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant playing together in one team?
HARDEN. The most prolific scorer in the NBA for the past three years practically bullied his way out of the Houston Rockets. His dislike for his current team was already out in the open and he made no bones about how he thought his current teammates were not good enough.
In a post-game interview after another sorry loss, a fat and obviously out-of- shape Harden told the world he had done everything for the city of Houston and wanted out.
The next day, the news was all over the net. Harden would be traded to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a four-team megadeal.
CHAOS. The question on everybody’s minds is -- now what? Harden’s arrival comes amid a lot of turmoil in the Nets in the wake of Irving’s prolonged absence for personal reasons.
2020, quite fittingly was the year of the duo. We had Lebron James and Anthony Davis. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Russel Westbrook and Harden. The best duo won, as simple as that.
Now this iteration of the Nets is the year’s first super-trio. Could this trend make a comeback for 2021 as teams start shopping around for components for that elusive championship ring?
But perhaps we should first find out whether or not this will work or only produce chaos in the team’s chemistry, assuming there was one in the first place.
The Nets currently are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 7-6, thanks to Durant playing like a man possessed the past few games as he had to carry the load to compensate for Irving’s absence.
There are some pundits who claim that Harden’s arrival is a back-up plan should Kyrie become even flakier and might suddenly leave for Mars in search of more intelligent life forms.
But what if Kyrie stays, how can he co-exist with two other superstars who are ball dominant?
The only precedent I could think of that would somehow mirror this present quagmire was when Durant moved to the Golden State Warriors to team up with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
But both Curry and Thompson could move and shoot well without being ball-dominant. The opposite holds true for the duo of Irving and Harden. They both need the ball and dribble to find their shooting rhythm.
All this for a rookie head coach like Steve Nash to ponder on... And we are only two weeks into 2021.
LAST ROUND. It’s on a dear friend, Mimi Maureen Lim-Co, who celebrates her birthday this week. Cheers!