Brooklyn Nets Drop In This Week’s NBA Power Rankings
The Brooklyn Nets dropped in Marc Stein’s NBA Power Rankings after their second consecutive losing week.
The Brooklyn Nets continue to be competitive in their games but the wins have not yet followed. The Nets went 1-2 this past week, defeating the Detroit Pistons with losses to the Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets sandwiching the victory.
The Nets struggled against the Bulls but gave the Hornets all they could handle. Had Jeremy Lin been on the court against his old team, the Nets could have easily picked up a victory. But, Lin is battling a hamstring injury and will be out a total of at least two weeks.
That will test the Nets as they will be turning the point guard spot over to younger players. Isaiah Whitehead received the start in Lin’s place against the Hornets. The second round pick faired decently, scoring eight points with three assists, two rebounds, two steals, and one block.
But, he had a difficult time containing Kemba Walker. Walker poured in a game-high 30 to pace the Hornets in the victory.
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A revelation for the Nets with Lin being sidelined along with Randy Foye and Greivis Vasquez is the play of Sean Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick has been forced into more minutes, even some at point guard, and has responded positively.
He has totaled 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals in the last two games, playing 61 minutes and shooting 13-of-28 from the field and 6-of-11 from deep. He has been relentless attacking the basket as well, knocking down 11-of-14 free throws.
Kilpatrick has been a bright spot, but he and the rest of the Nets will be tested in the coming games without Lin. It is one of the things that Stein points out when discussing the Nets’ ranking. Here is what he had to say about the Nets heading into Week 3 of the season.
"Losing Jeremy Lin is a gut punch for a young team that felt the need to hold Brook Lopez out of the season’s second game because the Nets don’t want to subject Lopez to back-to-backs after all his foot woes. Brooklyn actually hung in there gamely Friday night in a narrow loss to Charlotte in its first game without Lin, but a five-game road trip — with four of the stops out West after Wednesday’s MSG duel with the Knicks and another back-to-back mixed in — is going to be a serious test for Kenny Atkinson’s youthful crew."
Atkinson will certainly have his hands full. Losses will presumably pile up without the Nets second best player on the court. How Atkinson and his team handle those losses will show a lot about them.
The Nets were projected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA, but in the early going they have remained competitive. They have wins over the Pistons and Indiana Pacers, two teams expected to challenge for playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
Wednesday’s game against the Knicks loses a little luster without Lin in the lineup, but it is a game that gets fans excited. That will be the second night of a back-to-back as the Nets start the week tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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The Timberwolves are loaded with young talent and will be a handful for the Nets. Karl-Anthony Towns has quickly become one of the best big men in the NBA; watching he and Brook Lopez go at it will be fun to watch.