Kevin Durant, James Harden tout quick development of on-court chemistry

Harden, meanwhile, gushed about how easy it is to ease himself into the Nets’ lineup thanks to Durant’s singular greatness.

“I sit back and I know what player Kevin Durant is. He’s one of the best players to ever touch a basketball,” Harden set after Monday’s win, via the New York Post. “He’s God-given 7-foot, can do everything. So for me it’s not trying to compete with that; it’s allowing Kevin to be the best Kevin he can be, and I’m going to make sure I can make him better and make my teammates better. At the end of the day that’s all that matters.”

When chatter surrounding a potential deal between the Houston Rockets and Nets involving Harden was at a fever pitch last month, there was an abundance of skepticism that such a move would pay off for Brooklyn.

The belief at the time was that pairing Harden, KD and Irving was a horrible idea. The notion that those three mercurial personalities could coexist on the court without serious issues erupting was legitimately called into question.

What’s more, it was also suggested by one outspoken NBA analyst that the three superstars attempting to function without friction under the white-hot New York media spotlight could turn out to be nothing short of a unmitigated disaster.

As things stand early on, the pairing of Harden and Durant could not have gotten off to a better start, as the duo has been nothing short of electrifying.

Granted, things could go sideways pretty quickly given this collection of enigmatic personalities, which of course includes the unpredictable Irving. So long as the Nets continue to win, however, the odds of a meltdown presumably are greatly diminished, at least in theory.