Brooklyn Nets Move Up In NBA Power Rankings
The Brooklyn Nets made a nice jump in Marc Stein’s NBA Power Rankings over at ESPN.
The Brooklyn Nets came into the season projected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA. Some outlets even believed that the Nets would be the last team to win a game in the regular season. As a result, the Nets came into the regular season ranked in 30th place in Marc Stein’s NBA Power Rankings at ESPN.
It was a fair ranking as the Nets entered the regular season with little expectations. But, the Nets had a surprisingly strong first week. While they went 1-2, they had a better start than many people thought they would.
The Nets played the Boston Celtics tough on opening night before ultimately losing 122-117. They picked up a surprising victory over the Indiana Pacers in their home opener, outscoring them 31-15 in the fourth quarter. The Nets followed it up by going right to the wire with the Milwaukee Bucks, losing on a buzzer beater.
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It was a strong showing in the first week as the Nets held their own with three of the projected best teams in the Eastern Conference. As a result, the Nets saw a nice bump in the NBA Power Rankings.
After starting off in last place, Stein moved the Nets up to 25th. It was one of the bigger jumps made in the week. Here is what Stein had to say about the Nets first week.
"Kudos to Jeremy Lin, Kenny Atkinson, Sean Marks, et al. The Nets, widely billed as the league’s worst team and favored in Las Vegas to be the last team on the NBA map to win a game this season, outscored the Pacers by a heady 31-15 in the fourth quarter Friday night to claim a W that (ever so briefly) hiked Brooklyn to the heights of .500. These are the same Pacers, yes, who are such a trendy pick to make a run at a top-four spot and home-court advantage in the first round of the East playoffs."
While the jump was nice, the Nets quickly came back to Earth in their first game this week. The Chicago Bulls came to town and blew the Nets out 118-88. Those are the kind of losses people are expecting the Nets to have regularly this season, especially if Brook Lopez isn’t in the lineup.
The Nets are reportedly going to keep an eye on Lopez’s minutes this season. They already sat him out of a game, as he was rested against the Bucks. It is something we could see throughout the season, as the Nets are taking a long-term approach under Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson.
Next: Could Nets Trade Brook Lopez?
The Nets will have a chance to redeem themselves this week as they continue their homestand. They have games against the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets on the docket this week as they try to shake the loss to the Bulls.