Nets Pick?

[droopdog7]

The nets squeak into the playoffs next year.

Any reasoning behind this?

Yes.  First, the East is terrible.  Second, some have suggested that removing Darren Williams could be a plus.  Third, they were a playoff team last year.  Fourth, they will go all out to win since they do not have their draft pick (from the coached to the players).  They DO NOT want to hand the Celts a lottery.  And finally, don't like to get my hopes up because we all know luck has never been on our side when it comes to the draft.  With our luck, they will all stay healthy and overachieve.

And did I mention the East is terrible?

[Rondo9]

The nets squeak into the playoffs next year.

Any reasoning behind this?

Yes.  First, the East is terrible.  Second, some have suggested that removing Darren Williams could be a plus.  Third, they were a playoff team last year.  Fourth, they will go all out to win since they do not have their draft pick (from the coached to the players).  They DO NOT want to hand the Celts a lottery.  And finally, don't like to get my hopes up because we all know luck has never been on our side when it comes to the draft.  With our luck, they will all stay healthy and overachieve.

And did I mention the East is terrible?

With the Heat, the Knicks and the Pacers improved do you really believe that the Nets are better than them? I don't Nets are better than the Celtics as it stands right now.

[loco_91]

It depends so much on health. If Lopez and JJ are healthy, they are not a terrible team. Losing DWill hurts them (he was overpaid but still a good player), but also adding Thad helped them a lot last year, and maybe RHJ will contribute too. In the everyone-healthy scenario, I'd say they still miss the playoffs and end up somewhere 11-15.

If either Lopez or JJ, or any other starter, gets injured, they are in real trouble. This team lacks depth, and they will not find an adequate replacement with their lack of assets or cap space. They won't be actively tanking, so other teams will still be worse, but 7-9 seems like a reasonable range if they lose any of their key players.

Best case scenario, they lose two key players, Billy King makes another boneheaded move for a washed up vet who doesn't want to play for such a depressing franchise, the team stops trying, and they bottom out.

[Big333223]

7-9.

They'll be trying and they have a good coach in Hollins so they should finish ahead of the likes of Knicks, Sixers, Magic, Timberwolves, Lakers, Nuggetts, and Trailblazers. They'll be in the mix with the Pistons, Pacers, Hornets, and Mavericks.

[PhoSita]

I believe both the Nets pick and the Mavs pick will end up in the 8-14 range.

[droopdog7]

The nets squeak into the playoffs next year.

Any reasoning behind this?

Yes.  First, the East is terrible.  Second, some have suggested that removing Darren Williams could be a plus.  Third, they were a playoff team last year.  Fourth, they will go all out to win since they do not have their draft pick (from the coached to the players).  They DO NOT want to hand the Celts a lottery.  And finally, don't like to get my hopes up because we all know luck has never been on our side when it comes to the draft.  With our luck, they will all stay healthy and overachieve.

And did I mention the East is terrible?

With the Heat, the Knicks and the Pacers improved do you really believe that the Nets are better than them? I don't Nets are better than the Celtics as it stands right now.

The heat added a rookie in Winslow that won't add much this year.  Wade is a year older.  And considering they are borderline, you can question how much they will want the 8th seed versus lottery again (i think this really matters).  The knicks?  Grease fire.  The pacers maybe.  They will be adding George but lost their center.  Frankly, they are going in the wrong direction too.  Shoot, there is no guarantee that we will be in the playoffs.  Obviously folks expect it but things do not always turn out the way people expect.

Ultimately, too be really really bad (i.e., not make the playoffs in the east), you almost have to shut it down at some point.  We know the Net's won't do that.

[mef730]

3-6, only because I decided that I have to be an optimist in at least one thread on CB. I've decided that this is the one.

I can draw up a not-implausible scenario, even without a BL injury, where they are the second-worst team behind Philadelphia.

Mike

[Big333223]

The nets squeak into the playoffs next year.

Any reasoning behind this?

Yes.  First, the East is terrible.  Second, some have suggested that removing Darren Williams could be a plus.  Third, they were a playoff team last year.  Fourth, they will go all out to win since they do not have their draft pick (from the coached to the players).  They DO NOT want to hand the Celts a lottery.  And finally, don't like to get my hopes up because we all know luck has never been on our side when it comes to the draft.  With our luck, they will all stay healthy and overachieve.

And did I mention the East is terrible?

With the Heat, the Knicks and the Pacers improved do you really believe that the Nets are better than them? I don't Nets are better than the Celtics as it stands right now.

The heat added a rookie in Winslow that won't add much this year.  Wade is a year older.  And considering they are borderline, you can question how much they will want the 8th seed versus lottery again (i think this really matters).  The knicks?  Grease fire.  The pacers maybe.  They will be adding George but lost their center.  Frankly, they are going in the wrong direction too.  Shoot, there is no guarantee that we will be in the playoffs.  Obviously folks expect it but things do not always turn out the way people expect.

Ultimately, too be really really bad (i.e., not make the playoffs in the east), you almost have to shut it down at some point.  We know the Net's won't do that.

Not only did the Heat add Winslow, they only had Goran Dragic for the final 26 games and they only had Chris Bosh for the first 44 games. On top of that, they only figured out Hassan Whiteside was as talented as he is midway through the year. I expect that team to make a huge leap from the record they had last season.

[max215]

The nets squeak into the playoffs next year.

Any reasoning behind this?

Yes.  First, the East is terrible.  Second, some have suggested that removing Darren Williams could be a plus.  Third, they were a playoff team last year.  Fourth, they will go all out to win since they do not have their draft pick (from the coached to the players).  They DO NOT want to hand the Celts a lottery.  And finally, don't like to get my hopes up because we all know luck has never been on our side when it comes to the draft.  With our luck, they will all stay healthy and overachieve.

And did I mention the East is terrible?

With the Heat, the Knicks and the Pacers improved do you really believe that the Nets are better than them? I don't Nets are better than the Celtics as it stands right now.

The heat added a rookie in Winslow that won't add much this year.  Wade is a year older.  And considering they are borderline, you can question how much they will want the 8th seed versus lottery again (i think this really matters).  The knicks?  Grease fire.  The pacers maybe.  They will be adding George but lost their center.  Frankly, they are going in the wrong direction too.  Shoot, there is no guarantee that we will be in the playoffs.  Obviously folks expect it but things do not always turn out the way people expect.

Ultimately, too be really really bad (i.e., not make the playoffs in the east), you almost have to shut it down at some point.  We know the Net's won't do that.

Heat: They had just one fewer win the Nets last year and added depth and Chris Bosh
Pacers: Finished with the same record as the Nets without Paul George
Celtics: Finished with 2 more wins than the Nets and made nice, but not huge additions

You tremendously downplayed the improvements of two nonplayoff teams from last year. The Nets would have to be better than two of these teams to make the playoffs. Additionally, your claim that you have to try and lose to get a good pick in the East is untrue. Picks 8-11 last year were Eastern Conference teams who were in the playoff race until the very end.

[LarBrd33]

43% think they will finish 4-6... wild.  They made the playoffs the last two years.  The addition of Thad Young helped them.  Down the stretch, Thad and Brook Lopez played at a 57 win pace.  Maybe losing Deron Williams hurts a bit, but in the Eastern Conference a team that talented shouldn't struggle too much.   I figure they pick in the 12-17 range.  (I picked 13-15)

I suspect Ainge agrees that the Brooklyn thing is overblown or he wouldn't have been willing to include that pick in his offer for #9.

[86MaxwellSmart]

1-3....Because....well, because we are due...and Billy King.

[LarBrd33]

The nets squeak into the playoffs next year.

Any reasoning behind this?

Yes.  First, the East is terrible.  Second, some have suggested that removing Darren Williams could be a plus.  Third, they were a playoff team last year.  Fourth, they will go all out to win since they do not have their draft pick (from the coached to the players).  They DO NOT want to hand the Celts a lottery.  And finally, don't like to get my hopes up because we all know luck has never been on our side when it comes to the draft.  With our luck, they will all stay healthy and overachieve.

And did I mention the East is terrible?

I agree with Droop.   They look capable of winning at least 35 games.  I actually see them being on a par with the Celtics.  Both teams should win between 35-45.

They finished 13-6.  They are as likely as the Celtics to finish with less than 30 wins.

[oldtype]

7 teams in the East have to be worse than Brooklyn for them to make the playoffs. I honestly can't think of a plausible list of seven. (Charlotte, Detroit, Orlando, Philly, New York, Boston, Indiana? Well, in that case we're still getting a lottery pick, so yay.)

Pick will probably be somewhere in the 7-10 range, anything better than that is gravy. Things would have to go extraordinarily well in Brooklyn and extraordinarily badly in a lot of other places for them to make the playoffs though.

[Eddie20]

Per Bodova odds, the Nets are tied for the 5th worst odds, along with the Wolves, Pelicans, Knicks, and Kings, to win the title. Only the Nuggets, Hornets, Magic, and the minor league Sixers have worse odds.

[max215]

The nets squeak into the playoffs next year.

Any reasoning behind this?

Yes.  First, the East is terrible.  Second, some have suggested that removing Darren Williams could be a plus.  Third, they were a playoff team last year.  Fourth, they will go all out to win since they do not have their draft pick (from the coached to the players).  They DO NOT want to hand the Celts a lottery.  And finally, don't like to get my hopes up because we all know luck has never been on our side when it comes to the draft.  With our luck, they will all stay healthy and overachieve.

And did I mention the East is terrible?

1. This applies to every team in the East equally and is not an advantage of the Nets.

2. Those people are wrong, frankly. Deron Williams missed an entire month of the season last year (January, I think) and the Nets were terrible during that stretch, something like 2-10. During the several games before Williams went down, the team performed better. When Williams returned, the team performed better.

3. This is true, no denying it, but I'm not sure how this relates to next year. My guess would be that that you're pointing this out to us who assume the Cs will make the playoffs this year since they did last year. If so, fair criticism.

4. This is fair in the sense that it will keep them out of the bottom 3 in the entire league, but if teams with inferior talent could choose to win whenever they wanted, the Hornets would be NBA Champions every year. I understand that management doesn't want us getting a good pick, but I kind of doubt the players care all that much, and I find it just as likely that the players will give up due to poor morale and lack of hope as they will over perform just to spite the Celtics.

5. Again, a fair point. However, in this situation getting your hopes up would be expecting a top 5 pick, if you expect something in the 8-11 range, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Here's to the Nets being terrible