Brook Lopez probably kept us from Ben Simmons this year. Dude is legit.
He didn't take them to 35-40 wins though.
Nope. Health derailed the team. Pretty much no depth there at this point. Despite losing 2 of their starters to injuries and another being bought out, they've still managed to go 6-6 out of their last 12.
Luckily at this point they are in such a hole that even if they go .500 for the remainder of the season we're getting a pick in the top 6 most likely.
Right, because Jarrett Jack and RHJ were the difference between a 25 win team and a 35-40 win team.
Lack of depth was a precise reason why many of us slated BKN to be a sub-30 win team before the season even started.
I completely agreed that lack of depth was a possible issue for them. That's why I always acknowledged that they'd win less than 35 games if they didn't stay healthy. A team like that can't afford to lose their starting PG + their best 2 way player (RHJ top in defensive and offensive rating) + lose their starting SG/SF to buyout. If your team is only a handful of players deep and you lose 2-3 of those players, you're gonna have a bad time. And now just as I expected, decimated by injuries and a shattered depth chart, Brooklyn's best case scenario appears to be a mere 28 wins if they manage to keep up this .500 win pace... which luckily for us will most likely be a Top 6 pick. Wonderful time to be a Celtic fan. Here's hoping they struggle down the stretch.
RHJ isn't even a 2-way player, much less their best 2-way player, regardless of what offensive rating says. His shot is worse than Rondo's. He can slash and score, but otherwise is a complete non-factor on offense at this point as a rookie.
Sounds like you based your prediction on the premise that the entire Brooklyn squad would be healthy for the entire season. I don't know any knowledgeable basketball fan that would assume an injury-free season for an entire team.
Meanwhile, realistic projections that accounted for injuries to important players, even of Jarrett Jack's caliber, would probably have had Brooklyn at maximum 30 wins this season. Their two best players, Lopez and Young, have been completely healthy.