I think the Nets are being undervalued. I have them pencilled in for 35-40 wins, but missing the playoffs. They will start slow, but play better over the course of the year. Over the last six weeks, their depth will allow them to beat a bunch of injury-wreaked teams and they will finish the season on a 10-6 run or so.
Sorry, I don't see it. More like they start off slow, play the middle slow, finish slow, and it won't be too long before Vince looks like he's mailing it in. It's not bad news, though. You generally have to suck for a few years to rebuild.
I have right now. So to apply last year's records to this, you would have: 1. Boston Celtics 2. Detroit Pistons 3. San Antonio Spurs 4. Utah Jazz 5. Los Angeles Lakers 6. Houston Rockets 7. New Orleans Hornets 8. Orlando Magic 9. Cleveland Cavs 10. Phoenix Suns 11. Dallas Mavericks 12. Denver Nuggets 13. Philadelphia 76ers 14. Portland Trailblazers 15. Chicago Bulls 16. Washington Wizards 17. Toronto Raptors 18. Golden St. Warriors 19. Atlanta Hawks 20. Indiana Pacers 21. Sacramento Kings 22. New Jersey Nets 23. Charlotte Bobcats 24. Milwaukee Bucks 25. Los Angeles Clippers 26. Miami Heat 27. Memphis Grizzlies 28. Oklahoma City Thunder 29. New York Knicks 30. Minnesota Timberwolves http://www.dabullz.com/search?q=power rankings
I fully recognize that I have a minority opinion here. I just don't think that this team is so much worse than all but the top six or seven teams in the conference. That's not to say that I think they'll be a playoff team, just that they'll be competitive with the rest of those teams once they figure out how to play together.
I'm with you, Dumpy. (BTW, just read your terrific piece at Nets Daily. Nice job!) I'm predicting 37-42 wins. Having seen all but one preseason game, I'm certain that this team is going to be AT LEAST average offensively on the year, though I suspect they will have high turnovers early in the year and fewer assists than they will have in February forward. By the later part of the season, I think they will be darn good offensively, so long as Harris and Carter are healthy. I firmly believe that Anderson will find his shot as he gets more and more comfortable knowing when and where they're coming. His form, length, and efficiency history are too good to believe otherwise at this point. And Yi, Lopez, Hayes, and Simmons are all better shooters than the Nets have had in any similar roles in the 4 years that I've been watching them. Not to mention that Lopez, based only on preseason games, looks to have more low post offense as a raw rookie than any Net bigman I've ever seen. The evolution of their defense will tell the tale more than anything. With two of the big keys there -- Najera and Dooling -- having played so very little in preseason, it's tough to say how that will go. I'm also not entirely sure that Frank's defensive philosophy (paint protection at all costs) and schemes are always necessarily the best ones out there for today's game. But he's nothing if not hardworking and self critical, so I trust that he will adjust if and when he sees it's prudent to do so. Ultimately I do think the team will be at least respectable defensively because I think they have a lot of high IQ (if young) players who really want to do well. They also have a couple of bulldogs (Dooling and Najera) to show them the way. And they combine that with decent team-wide athleticism and length, so there aren't glaring physical disadvantages to playing good team defense. I think that's enough to get them a 7th or 8th playoff spot, or to miss it by not more than a hair.
Thanks! There is a lot in there that we discussed during the course of the summer. People who dismiss the Nets are overrating the depth of some of the other teams. Many teams are reliant on at least one unproven player in their starting lineup, and many teams have (in my view) a far shallower bench. I also think (obviously) that the nets have gone out and collected players that should theoretically operate well together, and methodically rid themselves of their worst defensive players. The Nets are just one "star" short of many of the other teams, but "stars" by themselves do not ensure success. These Nets will not be selfish. The turnovers will go down within a few weeks, and the defense will get better. It happens every year for EVERY team. The Nets have been behind other teams throughout the preseason; their first game was the Heat's second game, etc. I can envision them getting off to a poor start (so what else is new), but gradually improving. I think it will be fun to watch.
Odds are designed to influence gamblers to bet on a particular team, they're NOT a direct representation of their basketball opinion.
My fearless prediction is that they will win 39 games and miss the playoffs by one or two. It's possible that 39 will be enough.
