Brooklyn Nets: Bogan Bogdanovic Believes Team Can Reach Playoffs

Recent comments by Brooklyn Nets guard Bojan Bogdanovic are a bit wild, as he believes they will be a playoff team this season.

The Brooklyn Nets have undergone a lot of change this offseason. No longer are the days of trading away draft picks for aging stars and signing players to massive contracts. Now, the Nets are building with youth.

One of the players that they are building around is Bojan Bogdanovic. Despite having a lot of different coaches in recent years, Bogdanovic has continued to develop for the Nets into a solid player. The expectations for the Nets are extremely low this season, but Bogdanovic believes they can make the playoffs.

“I think we can,’’ Bogdanovic told Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “They can write what they want. … But we’re going to work hard to give it our best. When we get in a game, we have a chance to beat anybody. It’s going to be tough, but if we play like we practice, we have a chance.”

While it is good to believe in yourself and your team, the Nets will not be making the playoffs this season. Furthermore, unless Bogdanovic suddenly becomes LeBron James overnight, the Nets will likely be in the bottom of the standings.

Bogdanovic did certainly work hard this offseason, as he represented his country of Croatia in the Rio Olympics.

“It was a great experience to be in Rio. … and to see all the great athletes like [Usain] Bolt and Serena Williams, to be in the same building with all my fellow athletes for Croatia,” Bogdanovic said. “It was a great experience for all of us on the national team because nobody expected us to even be in Rio.

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“In the national team, many guys quit, did not want to play, and we had a really young team, and we changed the coach. Many things happened for us. Then we started to play much better, the coach gives me a green light. That’s why I played good basketball this summer.”

While the Olympics are certainly a good place for a player like Bogdanovic to improve, we also saw that last season. When it became clear that the Nets weren’t going anywhere, they decided to part ways with Joe Johnson. Furthermore, the decision to let Johnson play elsewhere freed up playing time for Bogdanovic.

“I hope so. Last year when Joe left, I got more minutes, started every game. … and stretched the floor,’’ Bogdanovic said to Lewis. “I hope this season we’re going to play much better, and I play at the same level I finished last year.”

Next: What are the biggest games on the Nets schedule this season?

After Johnson left, Bogdanovic saw his point per game average increase to 15.2. Even on a losing team like that Nets, that is an impressive number, and a sign he can be part of the future. Finally, Bogdanovic might be a talented player for the Nets, but it would take a miracle for this team to reach the playoffs.

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