Dont Panic! Brooklyn is a fraud team.

[Smartacus]

Around these parts this season, we've seen a ton of the same sentiment. "Brooklyn is good this year." "They are not going to tank." "The 'coveted' Brooklyn pick might not even crack the top 10."... Stop it.

I get the sentiment, there is essentially nothing that Brooklyn could have done this summer to improve more than they have. They hired a coach for the modern era in Kenny Atkinson, signed smart veterans to reasonable short term contracts, and worked with their franchise player to adapt his game to the current trend on the league. When you play them, Brooklyn feels like a team that you cant take lightly and will often struggle to put away.

But behind all of this lies the 800 pound Gorilla in the room... Brooklyn is still garbage! They seem good because they take advantage of everyone's favorite wrinkle in the rules: 3 point shots are worth more than 2.

The Nets have taken 39.5 percent of their shots from 3-point range, up from 21.8 percent last season. That's the biggest increase in the league by a wide margin.

www.nba.com/article/2016/11/09/one-team-three-stats-brooklyn-nets-3-point-shooting

Brooklyn is a sideshow. The model for their team is to shoot their opponents out of game by firing off a higher volume of 3's. This gives them a margin for era in that if both teams shoot relatively the same, your team should win because you've taken more 3's and the early returns have been largely positive. Their problem is that it's all they can do at a league average level.

The dominant narrative for the Warriors is that their the greatest shooting team ever and will bury you from behind the arc before you even realize what happened. While this is true to a degree, they also still have guys like Klay Thompson, Durant and Draymond Green that will punish you inside when teams abandon the paint in favor of attempting the 3 point line. Who on Brooklyn aside from Jeremy Lin can they count on for balanced stream of inside buckets?

This season they have amassed 4 wins by punching superior teams in the mouth early and never letting them back into the game with 3's. Is this sustainable? It's not just Brooklyn that looks better, all of the league's bottom feeders have improved, and unlike Brooklyn they've done so by adding skillfully balanced players to roster's already built on top 5 talent.

So I ask the hot take, sky is falling Brooklyn crowd's the same thing as I have all season. Brooklyn is better? Than who?

-Philly has a better roster but I'll allow that they still have incentive to tank.
-Lakers are unequivocally better and have no business tanking.
-Milwaukee has 2 emerging superstars and a roster full of long athletic defenders.
-Phoenix... I'll admit are such a mess that they could finish with a worse record than the overachieving Nets.
Sacramento - It's the team to watch if they finally move on from Boogie.

As for teams that are currently behind them in the standings?

-Dallas as of right now has the worse record in the league but have been racked by early injuries and history tells us they should go on a run about mid season.
-Washington has fundamental issues with their chemistry but IMO will go on a run when they get their heads out of their collective rear ends.

So who then? I don't think it's being a homer to think that the Nets will finish the season with a bottom 3 record this year. Are they better than last year? Absolutely. Are they playing against last years crop of bottom feeders? Nope.

[BitterJim]

But behind all of this lies the 800 pound Gorilla in the room... Brooklyn is still garbage! They seem good because they take advantage of everyone's favorite wrinkle in the rules: 3 point shots are worth more than 2.

The Nets have taken 39.5 percent of their shots from 3-point range, up from 21.8 percent last season. That's the biggest increase in the league by a wide margin.

www.nba.com/article/2016/11/09/one-team-three-stats-brooklyn-nets-3-point-shooting

Brooklyn is a sideshow. The model for their team is to shoot their opponents out of game by firing off a higher volume of 3's. This gives them a margin for era in that if both teams shoot relatively the same, your team should win because you've taken more 3's and the early returns have been largely positive. Their problem is that it's all they can do at a league average level.

They remind me of the 2012-13 Knicks team, but with much less talent. They shouldn't even be close to making the playoffs, but I think (baring injury) they'll have enough hot shooting nights to prevent them from being a bottom 3 team

Edit: And a TP for the Hitchhiker's Guide reference in the title

[Smartacus]

But behind all of this lies the 800 pound Gorilla in the room... Brooklyn is still garbage! They seem good because they take advantage of everyone's favorite wrinkle in the rules: 3 point shots are worth more than 2.

The Nets have taken 39.5 percent of their shots from 3-point range, up from 21.8 percent last season. That's the biggest increase in the league by a wide margin.

www.nba.com/article/2016/11/09/one-team-three-stats-brooklyn-nets-3-point-shooting

Brooklyn is a sideshow. The model for their team is to shoot their opponents out of game by firing off a higher volume of 3's. This gives them a margin for era in that if both teams shoot relatively the same, your team should win because you've taken more 3's and the early returns have been largely positive. Their problem is that it's all they can do at a league average level.

They remind me of the 2012-13 Knicks team, but with much less talent. They shouldn't even be close to making the playoffs, but I think (baring injury) they'll have enough hot shooting nights to prevent them from being a bottom 3 team

Edit: And a TP for the Hitchhiker's Guide reference in the title

Ha thanks, Douglas Adams was a great man.

I gotta respectfully ask though BitterJim, than who? You say they won't be a bottom 3 team, then who are the 3-5 teams they'll be better than? I just don't see it. I think their going to suffer some tough losses... have no fun this season... Maybe trade Brook Lopez, though I've stopped banking on that... and slog through another lost year.

Barring injuries I have them over Phoenix and maybe Philly. Don't see any other team other than a post Cousins Sacremento that can match their level of mediocrity.

Edit: I'll throw in Miami to, since they could really use a top pick in this draft and have a fairly awkward roster.

[chilidawg]

They're "taking advantage of a wrinkle in the rules"?  I think every team in the league is aware of this wrinkle and is shooting copious quantities of 3 point shots.

[BitterJim]

But behind all of this lies the 800 pound Gorilla in the room... Brooklyn is still garbage! They seem good because they take advantage of everyone's favorite wrinkle in the rules: 3 point shots are worth more than 2.

The Nets have taken 39.5 percent of their shots from 3-point range, up from 21.8 percent last season. That's the biggest increase in the league by a wide margin.

www.nba.com/article/2016/11/09/one-team-three-stats-brooklyn-nets-3-point-shooting

Brooklyn is a sideshow. The model for their team is to shoot their opponents out of game by firing off a higher volume of 3's. This gives them a margin for era in that if both teams shoot relatively the same, your team should win because you've taken more 3's and the early returns have been largely positive. Their problem is that it's all they can do at a league average level.

They remind me of the 2012-13 Knicks team, but with much less talent. They shouldn't even be close to making the playoffs, but I think (baring injury) they'll have enough hot shooting nights to prevent them from being a bottom 3 team

Edit: And a TP for the Hitchhiker's Guide reference in the title

Ha thanks, Douglas Adams was a great man.

I gotta respectfully ask though BitterJim, than who? You say they won't be a bottom 3 team, then who are the 3-5 teams they'll be better than? I just don't see it. I think their going to suffer some tough losses... have no fun this season... Maybe trade Brook Lopez, though I've stopped banking on that... and slog through another lost year.

Barring injuries I have them over Phoenix and maybe Philly. Don't see any other team other than a post Cousins Sacremento that can match their level of mediocrity.

Edit: I'll throw in Miami to, since they could really use a top pick in this draft and have a fairly awkward roster.

For one, Philly is pretty much a lock to be worse than them. It would take some super-human efforts from Embiid (and Simmons if he plays this year) or a win-now trade for them to have a halfway decent win total.  I don't see it happening.

For a second one, I think the Mavericks are the real deal losing-wise.  Dirk is well past his prime, and a team led by Harrison Barnes isn't going to be competing for much besides a top pick.  I think they'll end up trading Bogut at some point this year.

The third team that will be worse is a toss up.  At least one of the Suns, Timberwolves, Wizards, or Heat will struggle/tank this year and beat out Brooklyn for a top pick.  I don't think the Pelicans will be in the mix for it despite their bad start, but the Kings might be able to slip in if they trade Cousins (but I think that's doubtful).

The biggest issue with rooting against Brooklyn isn't gonna be having some teams bottom out under them, but them just winning 30 games based on shear luck and hot shooting.  That could all change if there are injuries or trades, but I just don't see any possible way that they end up with the best lottery odds

[GratefulCs]

3 words:

Ravaged

By

Injuries