The Official 2016-2017 Brooklyn Nets Season Watch Thread (20-62, #1)

[jpotter33]

The Nets have outplayed all 3 of their opponents handily in the 4th quarter.  They deserve credit.

But the Bucks looked really bad on defense.  There were so many defensive breakdowns that really reflects poorly on their coaching.  Should never have been a close game with Brook Lopez out.  They have a lot of tape to watch.

I'm starting to think that they're actually better without Lopez in there. He was hardly even noticeable against us.

[SCeltic34]

Just read that B Lopez is out tonight to "rest".  Looks like he will be sitting out on the back end of back to back games this year (think that's 14 games). 

Good news for us.

That's not how I read it.  Apparently he has occassionally sat out back end of back-to-back games in the past.  There's been no new injury or anything that I'm aware of so it's probably not going to be anything different this year than in the past.

Tonight was probably more a reaction to 3 games in 4 nights.  He played yesterday (Friday) and also two days before that (Wednesday).   They are also scheduled to play on Monday.   Rest tonight makes some sense.

Resting a healthy player on the 3rd game of the season is practically unheard of, even if it's a back to back. 

He played in back to backs last season, until he was shut down towards the end.

He sat a random back-to-back with rest last season in early March as well.   My point is that this isn't some new approach where they are holding him out of all back-to-backs.  This is a guy who had significant injury history, but was able to play 73 games last year and 72 games the year before.  Over teh past couple years, he's been less injury prone than Marcus Smart.

Here's the explanation for him missing the game tonight (that they nearly won without him):

"What we're trying to do with Brook is take the long-term approach, just build him up as the season goes on and increase his minutes. We have a plan in place," Atkinson said. "It's learning the system, it's looking at a long-term approach to how we're going to build him up in terms of minutes as the season goes on. He's got some miles on him."

All I'm saying is don't suggest that Lopez is now sitting out of all back-to-backs based on one game.

Brooklyn is still scary. As long as Lopez is healthy and they are getting some additional contributions from guys like Lin (something they didn't have last year as their entire team was decimated with injuries), they can play themselves out of the bottom 5.

March is towards the end of the season, not the 3rd game in October.  I'd actually agree with the Nets approach though - it makes far more sense to preserve Lopez's health.  He's the only major trade chip they have, and the only chance they have of salvaging a 20-25 win season if they hang on to him.

To say that Brooklyn is scary is hyperbole at best.  They do look better than last year - through 3 games.  They're more aggressive and the ball moves better.   Doesn't mean they're a decent team.  They lack what wins in the NBA, which is upper echelon talent.  Not even Popovich could coach that team to a .500 record.

It's only 2 or 3 games.  As an example of overreactions to a small sample size - the worst defensive team in the league through 2 or 3 games, per defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) is the Golden State Warriors at 112.7 rating.  Yet they're widely considered to be the favorite to win it all.

I'm confident that Brooklyn will remain a bottom 5 team in the league.

[Celtic_Pride777]

Just read that B Lopez is out tonight to "rest".  Looks like he will be sitting out on the back end of back to back games this year (think that's 14 games). 

Good news for us.

That's not how I read it.  Apparently he has occassionally sat out back end of back-to-back games in the past.  There's been no new injury or anything that I'm aware of so it's probably not going to be anything different this year than in the past.

Tonight was probably more a reaction to 3 games in 4 nights.  He played yesterday (Friday) and also two days before that (Wednesday).   They are also scheduled to play on Monday.   Rest tonight makes some sense.

Resting a healthy player on the 3rd game of the season is practically unheard of, even if it's a back to back. 

He played in back to backs last season, until he was shut down towards the end.

He sat a random back-to-back with rest last season in early March as well.   My point is that this isn't some new approach where they are holding him out of all back-to-backs.  This is a guy who had significant injury history, but was able to play 73 games last year and 72 games the year before.  Over teh past couple years, he's been less injury prone than Marcus Smart.

Here's the explanation for him missing the game tonight (that they nearly won without him):

"What we're trying to do with Brook is take the long-term approach, just build him up as the season goes on and increase his minutes. We have a plan in place," Atkinson said. "It's learning the system, it's looking at a long-term approach to how we're going to build him up in terms of minutes as the season goes on. He's got some miles on him."

All I'm saying is don't suggest that Lopez is now sitting out of all back-to-backs based on one game.

Brooklyn is still scary. As long as Lopez is healthy and they are getting some additional contributions from guys like Lin (something they didn't have last year as their entire team was decimated with injuries), they can play themselves out of the bottom 5.

March is towards the end of the season, not the 3rd game in October.  I'd actually agree with the Nets approach though - it makes far more sense to preserve Lopez's health.  He's the only major trade chip they have, and the only chance they have of salvaging a 20-25 win season if they hang on to him.

To say that Brooklyn is scary is hyperbole at best.  They do look better than last year - through 3 games.  They're more aggressive and the ball moves better.   Doesn't mean they're a decent team.  They lack what wins in the NBA, which is upper echelon talent.  Not even Popovich could coach that team to a .500 record.

It's only 2 or 3 games.  As an example of overreactions to a small sample size - the worst defensive team in the league through 2 or 3 games, per defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) is the Golden State Warriors at 112.7 rating.  Yet they're widely considered to be the favorite to win it all.

I'm confident that Brooklyn will remain a bottom 5 team in the league.

TP. I hope you're right SCeltic34. When it comes to the NBA, the difference between a player drafted in the Top 5, versues one drafted in the Top 10, can be quite significant.

[trickybilly]

Unbelievable. Nets resting Lopez and Foye in a winnable game against Milwaukee. I mean, yeah, cool, good one, rest em up guys....

[SuddenFame]

"I'd actually agree with the Nets approach though - it makes far more sense to preserve Lopez's health.  He's the only major trade chip they have"

 
How will this strategy help Lopez's trade value?  Having him ride the pine or not even suit up at all will only decrease his trade value and further the notion that he's fragile or not healthy at all.  The guy is 28, not 38. Tim Duncan played more games in his late thirties than this guy does.  He's clearly not 100% if they're doing this....

[SCeltic34]

"I'd actually agree with the Nets approach though - it makes far more sense to preserve Lopez's health.  He's the only major trade chip they have"

 
How will this strategy help Lopez's trade value?  Having him ride the pine or not even suit up at all will only decrease his trade value and further the notion that he's fragile or not healthy at all.  The guy is 28, not 38. Tim Duncan played more games in his late thirties than this guy does.  He's clearly not 100% if they're doing this....

Completely disagree.  He's a veteran center in the NBA.  GMs and coaches around the league know his game and what he brings to the table.  Having him sit out doesn't diminish his value.  As is, his value is enough to get the Nets multiple picks, probably a combination of 1st and 2nd rounders, and possibly some young players to add to their rebuild.

On the other hand, if he does suffer a long-term injury, especially to his foot that has been problematic in the past, he basically loses all value and won't fetch the Nets much at all.  That's why they shut him down towards the end of last season.  It doesn't make sense to risk his health since they're not even going to make the playoffs this year.  Even the Nets management has said that wins are not the goal of this season.

[SuddenFame]

Completely disagree.  He's a veteran center in the NBA.  GMs and coaches around the league know his game and what he brings to the table.  Having him sit out doesn't diminish his value.  As is, his value is enough to get the Nets multiple picks, probably a combination of 1st and 2nd rounders, and possibly some young players to add to their rebuild.

On the other hand, if he does suffer a long-term injury, especially to his foot that has been problematic in the past, he basically loses all value and won't fetch the Nets much at all.  That's why they shut him down towards the end of last season.  It doesn't make sense to risk his health since they're not even going to make the playoffs this year.  Even the Nets management has said that wins are not the goal of this season.

Yeah, vehemently disagree with your entire post & premise.

*No way riding the bench doesn't diminish his value.  It doesn't look good to other gm's.
*There's no way Lopez fetches a basket of picks and players.  They'll get one first round pick, teens to late lottery (8 and upwards), that's if he's 100% healthy.  No one is going to give up the farm for a slow seven footer with an injury history who is not a rim protector.

[TheSundanceKid]

The Nets seem to have come out with a lot of intensity. I expect them to get some early wins. However as the season goes on and teams start to settle into a rhythm I would think the Nets will start to slip. They are playing great right now but I think they have managed to hit a groove sooner than most, I don't think they have an extra gear or two. Other teams do and will start to improve. So as the season goes on the loss streaks will increase and the wins become rarer.

Gotta admire the way they play though, reminds me of us in Brad's first year

[SCeltic34]

Completely disagree.  He's a veteran center in the NBA.  GMs and coaches around the league know his game and what he brings to the table.  Having him sit out doesn't diminish his value.  As is, his value is enough to get the Nets multiple picks, probably a combination of 1st and 2nd rounders, and possibly some young players to add to their rebuild.

On the other hand, if he does suffer a long-term injury, especially to his foot that has been problematic in the past, he basically loses all value and won't fetch the Nets much at all.  That's why they shut him down towards the end of last season.  It doesn't make sense to risk his health since they're not even going to make the playoffs this year.  Even the Nets management has said that wins are not the goal of this season.

Yeah, vehemently disagree with your entire post & premise.

*No way riding the bench doesn't diminish his value.  It doesn't look good to other gm's.
*There's no way Lopez fetches a basket of picks and players.  They'll get one first round pick, teens to late lottery (8 and upwards), that's if he's 100% healthy.  No one is going to give up the farm for a slow seven footer with an injury history who is not a rim protector.

I might have been more inclined to agree with you last season, since lots of people were concerned about his foot.  He played the vast majority of games however, including in back to backs and multiple games with heavy minutes.  There was in fact a report that he was having foot pain early last season as well.  He went on to play in the very next game.  As far as we can tell, he's fully healthy since his return last season.

Resting in a back to back to preserve health (in the Nets case, they're being extra cautious) doesn't diminish the value of an established player.

Nowhere did I state that Lopez would fetch "the farm".  He could definitely fetch at least a 1st and some 2nd rounders or some young prospects, particularly for a team that needs a last scoring piece to round out their roster.  He has his deficiencies but he's a very good piece on offense.  He's a pretty decent shotblocker by the way, at 1.7 BPG for his career.  It's his lack of mobility on the perimeter that concerns me defensively.

[chambers]

Bulls are torching the Nets at half time. 21 point lead.
Jeremy Lin gets his stats but the team suffers.

[MJohnnyboy]

Nets are starting to fall back to earth but they have been a good 4th quarter team.

[max215]

It's become evident that the Nets will live and die by the three. Luckily for us, their roster is comprised of pretty crappy shooters.

[jpotter33]

It's become evident that the Nets will live and die by the three. Luckily for us, their roster is comprised of pretty crappy shooters.

I keep saying it - but they're the Charlotte Hornets without the defense. There's going to be nights that they are kept in the game by their threeball, but they're going to shoot themselves out of games most nights. They just don't have the personnel, largely like the Hornets, to play that sort of way. I'm still surprised that Charlotte has won so many games with that terrible type of offense, though they're greatly helped by the iso abilities of Batum and Walker.

[SHAQATTACK]

Bulls will be  undefeated Wednesday

Show down in Boston

[Denis998]

Finally a good loss we can celebrate.