Will Nets set record for NBA futility?

[BDeCosta26]

Phosita you starting to pump breaks on your summer long 32-35 win prediction?

Things are certainly looking good for the Nets to crash well below that prediction.

Still, it's early yet.

My heart says, "YESSSS THE SWEET LOSSES PLEASE LOSE MORE I WANT THAT TOP PICK THE CELTS NEEEEED SO BADLY."

My head still thinks that being in the Eastern Conference with no incentive to tank will raise the floor for the Nets higher than we'd like. 

My belief remains that we're gonna need an injury to Brook Lopez or Thad Young to get us to the promised land of sub-20 wins.  But, on the flip side, it looks like Jarrett Jack and Joe Johnson could play all 82 games and that might be to our benefit.

I'm with you that its still early something like 32 wins is definitely in play.

The nice thing is that when you look at the 9 Eastern teams that are .500 or better, its hard to imagine any of them falling so hard that the Nets might catch them and those doesn't even include the Celtics. The worst case scenario, right now, would be something like the #10 pick in the draft. And that's not bad at all.

A number 10 pick in the draft would be devastating at this point. That would mean the Nets magically start playing near .500 ball for the season. I am serious that I think the Nets have a significantly better chance of ending the season with 15 wins than 32. Not sure how we get the fellowship of the miserable to finally come around on this and admit they are terrible.

Give it time. Pho is already coming around. After a while when the Nets are like 2-14, LB will reappear and admit he was wrong when he said "I think they're a likely 40 win team". Btw, I think "Fellowship of the Miserable" is an absolutely fantastic nick name for the pessimistic wing of this forum.

Since the summer when they got rid of D-Will and traded Plumlee to get RHJ, I've been saying that pick will be in the top 10, but even I didn't expect this. They look REALLY, REALLY bad. Like, Lopez could play 70+ games, and they could still give up a top 5 pick. Joe Johnson looks straight cooked. I mean, he's at the point where he should be playing 15-20 mpg on a contender in a limited role of he's gonna make an impact. The Jarrett Jack/Shane Larkin PG committee is just straight awful. They're running Lopez into the ground just to stay alive in games, and because their bench is maybe one of the worst in the league. If you start Jack/Bogy/Johnson/Young/Lopez, the best players you've got coming off the bench are T-Rob, RHJ, Bargs and Shane Larkin. I mean, just the thought of playing Bargs next to Lopez with Shane Larkin manning the point is enough to make a C's fan smile.

IMO, the Nets will be pretty lucky if they sniff 30 wins. They are an absolutely terrible team, and as these L's pile up, I expect the Nets to become increasingly demoralized. If your them, you HAVE to entertain the idea of trading Lopez and Young if you can get a good enough package back. The picks are coming to us regardless of what else happens. Get yourself into a couple decent 1st round picks, look for a few FA's or buy-low guys with upside and start rebuilding in earnest.

[mef730]

Phosita you starting to pump breaks on your summer long 32-35 win prediction?

Things are certainly looking good for the Nets to crash well below that prediction.

Still, it's early yet.

My heart says, "YESSSS THE SWEET LOSSES PLEASE LOSE MORE I WANT THAT TOP PICK THE CELTS NEEEEED SO BADLY."

My head still thinks that being in the Eastern Conference with no incentive to tank will raise the floor for the Nets higher than we'd like. 

My belief remains that we're gonna need an injury to Brook Lopez or Thad Young to get us to the promised land of sub-20 wins.  But, on the flip side, it looks like Jarrett Jack and Joe Johnson could play all 82 games and that might be to our benefit.

I'm with you that its still early something like 32 wins is definitely in play.

The nice thing is that when you look at the 9 Eastern teams that are .500 or better, its hard to imagine any of them falling so hard that the Nets might catch them and those doesn't even include the Celtics. The worst case scenario, right now, would be something like the #10 pick in the draft. And that's not bad at all.

A number 10 pick in the draft would be devastating at this point. That would mean the Nets magically start playing near .500 ball for the season. I am serious that I think the Nets have a significantly better chance of ending the season with 15 wins than 32. Not sure how we get the fellowship of the miserable to finally come around on this and admit they are terrible.

Give it time. Pho is already coming around. After a while when the Nets are like 2-14, LB will reappear and admit he was wrong when he said "I think they're a likely 40 win team". Btw, I think "Fellowship of the Miserable" is an absolutely fantastic nick name for the pessimistic wing of this forum.

Since the summer when they got rid of D-Will and traded Plumlee to get RHJ, I've been saying that pick will be in the top 10, but even I didn't expect this. They look REALLY, REALLY bad. Like, Lopez could play 70+ games, and they could still give up a top 5 pick. Joe Johnson looks straight cooked. I mean, he's at the point where he should be playing 15-20 mpg on a contender in a limited role of he's gonna make an impact. The Jarrett Jack/Shane Larkin PG committee is just straight awful. They're running Lopez into the ground just to stay alive in games, and because their bench is maybe one of the worst in the league. If you start Jack/Bogy/Johnson/Young/Lopez, the best players you've got coming off the bench are T-Rob, RHJ, Bargs and Shane Larkin. I mean, just the thought of playing Bargs next to Lopez with Shane Larkin manning the point is enough to make a C's fan smile.

IMO, the Nets will be pretty lucky if they sniff 30 wins. They are an absolutely terrible team, and as these L's pile up, I expect the Nets to become increasingly demoralized. If your them, you HAVE to entertain the idea of trading Lopez and Young if you can get a good enough package back. The picks are coming to us regardless of what else happens. Get yourself into a couple decent 1st round picks, look for a few FA's or buy-low guys with upside and start rebuilding in earnest.

As a Celtics fan, I'm fully on board with the "trade Lopez" thing. And from an outsider's point of view, starting over now would seem to be the logical option. I guess they could hope to pick up free agents this summer, since they have cap space, but that puts them in a category with about 29 other teams.

On the other hand, when has this management team done anything logical? They seem willing to do anything to win a game now, no matter what it will cost them down the line.

Mike

[LooseCannon]

People overrate the value of a player with Lopez's skill set if they think a healthy season from him is enough to guarantee 20+ wins.  I don't want them to trade him because they might acquire some young players with upside who energize the franchise into having a respectable rest of the season.

[danglertx]

Lopez can't guard the high pick and roll to save his life.  He is a dinosaur in today's NBA.  Totally overrated.

[jdz101]

Honestly I think they'd struggle to trade Lopez this season for anything that would justify them doing it.

They'd obviously want to get a first in the deal and get back in the draft to give their fans something to hope for. Which middling to lower team is taking on Lopez's salary and questionable injury history and trading away enough salary and a first round pick?

[crimson_stallion]

Phosita you starting to pump breaks on your summer long 32-35 win prediction?

Things are certainly looking good for the Nets to crash well below that prediction.

Still, it's early yet.

My heart says, "YESSSS THE SWEET LOSSES PLEASE LOSE MORE I WANT THAT TOP PICK THE CELTS NEEEEED SO BADLY."

My head still thinks that being in the Eastern Conference with no incentive to tank will raise the floor for the Nets higher than we'd like. 

My belief remains that we're gonna need an injury to Brook Lopez or Thad Young to get us to the promised land of sub-20 wins.  But, on the flip side, it looks like Jarrett Jack and Joe Johnson could play all 82 games and that might be to our benefit.

I think the error here is that you seem to be of the assumption that all it takes to be a good team, is the desire to be one.

Sadly (or in this case, happily) that is not the case.

Wanting to be good is one thing.  Having the ability to be good is another. 

I can put together a team of high school players who have the ultimate hunger and desire, and get that group of kids to play against say, the Orlando Magic.  I'm pretty sure the Magic will win that 10 times out of 10.

Fact of this is that the Nets simply don't have more than about 6 guys on their roster who are genuine NBA caliber players.  Out of those 6 only two of them are legitimately good enough to start. 

You can't make a team with two starters, 4 bench players and 6 or 7 nobody's and hope to actually be competitive. 

Many people said that Brook Lopez would be the reason why the Nets will be a solid team.  Lopez is averaging 20 and 8, and yet the Nets have the worst win record and win differential in the NBA.  Worse than Philly - and they are actually TRYING to lose.

I am dying for the day where Brooklyn and Phily have to play each other.  I'm curious to see what will give first - Brooklyn's straight out 'rubbishness', or the Sixers overwhelming desire to lose every single game?
 
i can just see the Sixers coach speech pre-game:

"Ok guys...we have our toughest challenge yet today.  We face the challenge of trying to lose to the Brooklyn Nets.  I know it's going to be hard, but I need you guys to just go out there and play as bad as you can possible play.  They will be trying their hearts out to actually win the game, so if you work really hard we should be able to get this L in the bag". 

[mef730]

Phosita you starting to pump breaks on your summer long 32-35 win prediction?

Things are certainly looking good for the Nets to crash well below that prediction.

Still, it's early yet.

My heart says, "YESSSS THE SWEET LOSSES PLEASE LOSE MORE I WANT THAT TOP PICK THE CELTS NEEEEED SO BADLY."

My head still thinks that being in the Eastern Conference with no incentive to tank will raise the floor for the Nets higher than we'd like. 

My belief remains that we're gonna need an injury to Brook Lopez or Thad Young to get us to the promised land of sub-20 wins.  But, on the flip side, it looks like Jarrett Jack and Joe Johnson could play all 82 games and that might be to our benefit.

i can just see the Sixers coach speech pre-game:

"Ok guys...we have our toughest challenge yet today.  We face the challenge of trying to lose to the Brooklyn Nets.  I know it's going to be hard, but I need you guys to just go out there and play as bad as you can possible play.  They will be trying their hearts out to actually win the game, so if you work really hard we should be able to get this L in the bag".

I could never see the coach making that kind of speech.

Hinkie, on the other hand...

Mike

[celticsclay]

I honestly think this thread is going to have some legs as I forsee the Nets challenging the 76ers record for futility for 9 wins in a season. They are losing every game pretty easily at full strength and with the exception of RHJ there is little reason to believe any players will get better as the season progresses. They are also running their best players into the ground which can not continue given their age and health concerns. Ultimately I think they avoid the record by playing intentional tank teams very late in the season, however, this could be pretty close.

[PhoSita]

I think the error here is that you seem to be of the assumption that all it takes to be a good team, is the desire to be one.

No, but I think that part of what it takes to have the worst record in the league is a willingness to just pack it in and stink because you've got the promise of a top pick coming your way, as opposed to continuing to play Brook Lopez, Thad Young, and Joe Johnson big minutes, not having them sit out games even when their surgically repaired feet start to hurt.

[hpantazo]

I honestly think this thread is going to have some legs as I forsee the Nets challenging the 76ers record for futility for 9 wins in a season. They are losing every game pretty easily at full strength and with the exception of RHJ there is little reason to believe any players will get better as the season progresses. They are also running their best players into the ground which can not continue given their age and health concerns. Ultimately I think they avoid the record by playing intentional tank teams very late in the season, however, this could be pretty close.

Honestly , the Sixers don't look that bad this season. Okafor and Noel have been a tough tandem down low, and they have managed to hang in most nights against good teams. When they get Wroten and Marshsall back as semi actual point guards, they will win a few games here and there

[tankcity!]

I think the error here is that you seem to be of the assumption that all it takes to be a good team, is the desire to be one.

No, but I think that part of what it takes to have the worst record in the league is a willingness to just pack it in and stink because you've got the promise of a top pick coming your way, as opposed to continuing to play Brook Lopez, Thad Young, and Joe Johnson big minutes, not having them sit out games even when their surgically repaired feet start to hurt.

Somebody upset because they were wrong. Take it like a man and admit defeat.

[celticsclay]

I think the error here is that you seem to be of the assumption that all it takes to be a good team, is the desire to be one.

No, but I think that part of what it takes to have the worst record in the league is a willingness to just pack it in and stink because you've got the promise of a top pick coming your way, as opposed to continuing to play Brook Lopez, Thad Young, and Joe Johnson big minutes, not having them sit out games even when their surgically repaired feet start to hurt.

Somebody upset because they were wrong. Take it like a man and admit defeat.

Haha. There is that, or the alternative of slowly moving the goal posts until the season is over. I've never done a way back bump before because I think the board would be a disaster if everyone did that, but the Nets threads from over the summer may warrant that. The things the advanced stats people were writing look absolutely prophetic right now.

[wdleehi]

I honestly think this thread is going to have some legs as I forsee the Nets challenging the 76ers record for futility for 9 wins in a season. They are losing every game pretty easily at full strength and with the exception of RHJ there is little reason to believe any players will get better as the season progresses. They are also running their best players into the ground which can not continue given their age and health concerns. Ultimately I think they avoid the record by playing intentional tank teams very late in the season, however, this could be pretty close.

Honestly , the Sixers don't look that bad this season. Okafor and Noel have been a tough tandem down low, and they have managed to hang in most nights against good teams. When they get Wroten and Marshsall back as semi actual point guards, they will win a few games here and there

The 76ers are a team you could see improving over the season to the point of stealing a game or two.


The Nets are a team you could see becoming less interested as the year goes on. 

[Donoghus]

I honestly think this thread is going to have some legs as I forsee the Nets challenging the 76ers record for futility for 9 wins in a season. They are losing every game pretty easily at full strength and with the exception of RHJ there is little reason to believe any players will get better as the season progresses. They are also running their best players into the ground which can not continue given their age and health concerns. Ultimately I think they avoid the record by playing intentional tank teams very late in the season, however, this could be pretty close.

Honestly , the Sixers don't look that bad this season. Okafor and Noel have been a tough tandem down low, and they have managed to hang in most nights against good teams. When they get Wroten and Marshsall back as semi actual point guards, they will win a few games here and there

The 76ers are a team you could see improving over the season to the point of stealing a game or two.


The Nets are a team you could see becoming less interested as the year goes on.

I'd agree with this. 

One team is slowly on the rise while other team seems on its way to bottoming out.

[SCeltic34]

I honestly think this thread is going to have some legs as I forsee the Nets challenging the 76ers record for futility for 9 wins in a season. They are losing every game pretty easily at full strength and with the exception of RHJ there is little reason to believe any players will get better as the season progresses. They are also running their best players into the ground which can not continue given their age and health concerns. Ultimately I think they avoid the record by playing intentional tank teams very late in the season, however, this could be pretty close.

Honestly , the Sixers don't look that bad this season. Okafor and Noel have been a tough tandem down low, and they have managed to hang in most nights against good teams. When they get Wroten and Marshsall back as semi actual point guards, they will win a few games here and there

The 76ers are a team you could see improving over the season to the point of stealing a game or two.


The Nets are a team you could see becoming less interested as the year goes on.

Agreed.  A lot of the Nets players looked really deflated after losing to the Lakers at home. 

They gave a spirited effort against the Bucks, but only to sputter yet again down the stretch.  Morale is low.  Hollins couldn't hide his frustration even if he tried, evident by the multiple facepalms he's made recently.

Who's their leader by the way?  Jack?  Lopez?  I don't think they have a strong leadership presence in the locker room.