Where did the Brooklyn Nets rank in Marc Stein’s NBA Power Rankings at ESPN? We react to their spot heading into the regular season.
The Brooklyn Nets look like they will have a long 2016-17 season. They ended a modest three-year postseason streak in 2015-16, as the Nets won only 21 games. It may be difficult for them to even reach that number this season, as there just isn’t much to get excited about in Brooklyn this season.
But, the Nets are trending in the right direction. They have a new leader in the front office in Sean Marks as general manager. He hired Kenny Atkinson to be the head coach, so the Nets have some new blood leading things within the organization. But, it will be a slow rebuild.
The Nets weren’t able to add much help in free agency. They struck out on restricted free agents Allen Crabbe and Tyler Johnson, who had their contract sheets matched by their original teams, the Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat. The Nets did land Jeremy Lin, who should give fans a reason to come to the arena throughout the season.
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Unfortunately, he and Brook Lopez are all the Nets really have. Without their own draft picks in recent seasons, the Nets have been unable to add impact young talent; that stems from poor decisions made by the past regime led by Billy King.
As a result, the Nets could be in for a long season. They are starting the rebuild, but this is only the beginning. It will take some time for things to get going, which is why the Nets are projected to be one of the worst teams not only in the Eastern Conference, but NBA as a whole.
Over at ESPN, Marc Stein releases weekly NBA Power Rankings. His second one was released yesterday, on the eve of the regular season; his first came in on September 23rd, prior to training camp and the preseason. In that version, the Nets were ranked in the cellar, coming in at 30th overall. In the latest version, the Nets remain in last place in the Power Rankings.
Here is what Stein had to say about the Nets’ ranking.
"According to ESPN’s heartless Basketball Power Index, Brooklyn is projected to go a lowly 23-59 and, perhaps worse yet, is favored in just four of its 82 games going into the season, which is the same minuscule number Philadelphia had to settle for when last season began. For the record, those four Nets “wins,” all at home, are: Dec. 14 (54 percent vs. Lakers), Jan. 8 (55.5 percent vs. Philadelphia), March 23 (50.2 percent vs. Phoenix) and March 28 (55.5 percent vs. Philadelphia)."
That is about an ugly of an outlook as a team can have heading into the season. Only projected to be favorites in four games is never where you want to find yourself. While the Nets will undoubtedly win more than four games in the season, wins could be far and few between.
Next: Where Are The Brooklyn Nets In Our NBA Power Rankings?
The Nets managed to win only one preseason game, defeating the Detroit Pistons in their first game and then losing their next five contests. Usually preseason results mean very little for the regular season, but in this case, it is a sign of things to come; the Nets will experience a lot of losing during the 2016-17 season.