Brooklyn Nets: Preseason recap and 2018-19 season outlook
The Brooklyn Nets finished up their 2018 preseason with a 2-2 record on Friday night. But, what does that tell us about the Nets going into the 2018-19 NBA Season?
The Brooklyn Nets are set to be one of the most interesting teams in the NBA going into the 2018-19 season.
Now that they are finally done with the horrible Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce-Trade fallout, the Nets will finally hold their own first round pick in the 2019 Draft.
That, however, is the only thing which looks to be on the bright side for the Brooklyn Nets as we head into the new year.
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The Nets starting lineup when they tip-off Wednesday against the Pistons will likely look like this:
Normally, Demarre Carroll would be able to fix his way into the lineup up but he is slated to miss some time.
Allen Crabbe is also dealing with injuries, but he is the presumptive go-to three point shooter on this team.
With those injuries, it also opens up the door for players like Caris LeVert and Joe Harris to get some significant minutes, which could be a positive takeaway.
Regardless, this doesn’t quite look like a starting lineup capable of making the playoffs, and the preseason showed us just that.
The Nets went 2-2 in the preseason as they won games against the Pistons and Knicks, winning by a combined eight, and lost games against the Knicks and the Raptors, losing by a combined 32.
If this tells us anything, it’s that the Nets are in for a long year.
They simply looked sloppy in the preseason as they averaged only 104 points per game compared to their opponents 110.
With some teams scoring as many as 143 points in some games, the Nets look as if it’s going to be a rough year.
The 2018 preseason had some of the highest scoring games we’ve ever seen.
There were multiple times where a team scored over 140 points, I mean the Bucks beating the Timberwolves 143-121 and the Heat beating the Pelicans 140-128, is reminiscent of an All-Star Game score.
But, the most the Nets scored in the preseason was 110, when they beat the Pistons 110-108.
If the Nets want to have any sort of success in 2018-19, they will need to chuck up the three ball a bit more as we shift into this three-pointer heavy era.
In order to do that, the Nets will need to use Spencer Dinwiddie off the bench quite a bit as he shot 32.6% from three in 2017-18. Likewise, D’Angelo Russell shot 32.4% from three in 2017-18.
So if the Nets want to succeed, they will need to give these two and some others the chance to shoot the three ball.
2018-19 Prediction:
In 2018-19 the Brooklyn Nets will finish 31-51 at number 13 in the Eastern Conference. The Nets will finish slightly better this season than they did in last.
The Nets made a big splash this offseason when they acquired Kenneth Faried from the Nuggets, acquired Jared Dudley from the Suns and signed Shabazz Napier, Ed Davis and others.
All of these offseason moves will add up to only three more wins this regular season, however the Nets will finally own their first round pick.
This being said, this season will serve as a turning point for the Nets as they will finish the season tied with the Suns for the sixth worst record in the NBA.
Unfortunately for the Nets, the upcoming draft will be different when it comes to the draft lottery.
The three teams with the worst record will each have the same odds of getting the top pick while the remaining 11 teams in the lottery will have their odds decreased.
If the Nets were to finish tied with the Suns for the sixth worst record in the league the Nets would have either a 9.0% chance or a 7.5% chance of acquiring the top pick, depending on how the tie-breaker shook out.
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Nonetheless, the 2018-19 season will help the Nets finally get back on track as they will hold a top ten pick in the 2019 draft, ultimately pointing them in the right direction.