NBA Power Rankings: The Brooklyn Nets had a rough week from January 25th-31st, going winless; did that drop them in ESPN’s Power Rankings?
It did not seem like the Brooklyn Nets could fall in the ESPN NBA Power Rankings anymore, as the only teams below them were the lowly Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns last week. Well, another winless week by the Nets and they have accomplished just that; moving below those teams.
After getting defeated by the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans, the Nets now find themselves in 27th place in the ESPN NBA Power Rankings, as the 76ers and Timberwolves each moved up in the rankings. The Nets did play the Heat and Pelicans tough, losing by games by a combines six points, but it was a disappointing week after they ended the previous one on such a high night defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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They were unable to make any of that momentum carry over, as the Nets are once again on a losing streak. Once again, it is not for a lack of effort from their best player, Brook Lopez.
Lopez, despite all of the Nets struggles this season, has been productive throughout. That didn’t change this past week, as Lopez was a dominant force inside for the Nets. Despite losing all three games, Lopez was dominant throughout each of the games. Lopez was the high scorer in two of the three games, scoring 28 of the Nets’ 79 against the Mavericks and 33 against the Pelicans front court.
Lopez stuffed the stat sheet outside the scoring department as well in both of those games. He had a double-double in each games, as he pulled down 12 rebounds against Dallas and 10 against New Orleans. Against the Mavericks, Lopez also added three assists, two steals and two rebounds, while he had one assist, four blocks and three steals against the Pelicans.
Stat lines like that have come often for Lopez this season, unfortunately no one else has been able to keep pace with him. Thaddeus Young was for a while, but his offensive production has fallen off in recent games. Joe Johnson continues to put together a career-worst season, as the Nets could look to either buyout or trade Johnson at the deadline to free up some playing time for younger players.
Unfortunately for the Nets, there is no relief coming soon. They have already started this week off poorly, as they lost to the Detroit Pistons Monday night 105-100. That extended their losing streak to four games, and their homestand off on the wrong foot. The Nets will continue their homestand this week when they host the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings.
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But, after the homestand, there is a chance to end the losing streak as they will face off with the 76ers on Saturday night. That could be the Nets best chance at ending their winning streak, as they have another homestand after that with some more difficult opponents.