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

[SCeltic34]

The NBA is a strange league.  After scoring 88 points total against the Bulls 2 nights ago, Brooklyn puts up 71 points on 71%(!) shooting against Detroit in the 1st half.  Combination of terrible Detroit defense and the Nets making everything they throw at the basket.

brook Lopez showed up

They also regressed in the 2nd half, scoring only 38 points, 4 of which came in late game free throws from intentional fouls.  The 1st half was a fluke, but it was substantial enough to get them the win.

And people laughed when I said 35-40 wins.  That pick is gonna be worthless....

Some people came out with this doom and gloom prediction last season too.  They were way off.  The Nets look better this year so far, but it's still very early and I'd argue that 35 wins is a stretch.

I also didn't realize that lottery picks are worthless.  News to me.

[SCeltic34]

Exactly, and if guys like RHJ get his shooting stroke figured-out, all bets are off. 
For example, people were giving Jeremy Lin grief the other night because of his lack of assists against the Bulls.  He made a LOT of good passes to open Net players, but they were bricklayers all night. How's that on him, he did his job.  One of the passes Hamilton fumbled away but Lin was charged with the turnover.  Lin can't do everything for them.

Lin has looked really good so far.  Crafty player with a very solid offensive game.  Hate to root against him because he plays on the Nets.  He did leave the game with a hamstring strain today, but it didn't look bad.

As for RHJ, he's looked really bad offensively so far.  His shot is still really broken and other areas of his game are extremely underdeveloped.  He's basically limited to scoring as a slasher and on fast breaks.

[SuddenFame]

Some people came out with this doom and gloom prediction last season too.  They were way off.  The Nets look better this year so far, but it's still very early and I'd argue that 35 wins is a stretch.

Not sure what 'doom and gloom' you're talking about. The Nets started 0-9 last season, people all over New England were rejoicing that the C's actually had a shot at a transformative player like Ben Simmons.  At no point last season, did the Nets resemble anything but a dumpster fire, and we all knew they were a surefire top 5 pick once they were twenty games in.

[RockinRyA]

And people laughed when I said 35-40 wins.  That pick is gonna be worthless....

The Nets are 2-3, which equates to about 33 wins. Which is a top 10 pick last year. Given the depth of next years draft, how is that worthless?

[GreenShooter]

And people laughed when I said 35-40 wins.  That pick is gonna be worthless....

barring injury they can be much better than expected.

They may be better than expected (I predicted a top 3 worse record) but they just won by 8 while shooting 58% from the floor and 48% from 3. That is not going to happen often, if at all, the rest of the season. Let' wait till December to roll around to see what they actually are as a team. They got a road trip coming up so hopefully they'll only win one game (either Phoenix or Lakers), if that, and plummet back to earth.

[saltlover]

And people laughed when I said 35-40 wins.  That pick is gonna be worthless....

The Nets are 2-3, which equates to about 33 wins. Which is a top 10 pick last year. Given the depth of next years draft, how is that worthless?

Not to mention, yesterday they were on pace for 21 wins.  A single game throws "pace" off so early in the season.  They're not a good team.  Brook Lopez was 4-38 for his career shooting 3's before going 4-8 last night.  Congrats to him on a doubling his career total, but I'd bet he's not going to make 4 threes again in a game for his career.

[TheSundanceKid]

Some people came out with this doom and gloom prediction last season too.  They were way off.  The Nets look better this year so far, but it's still very early and I'd argue that 35 wins is a stretch.

Not sure what 'doom and gloom' you're talking about. The Nets started 0-9 last season, people all over New England were rejoicing that the C's actually had a shot at a transformative player like Ben Simmons.  At no point last season, did the Nets resemble anything but a dumpster fire, and we all knew they were a surefire top 5 pick once they were twenty games in.

Ultimately though it doesn't matter at what point in the season they win their games, only how many. The beginning of the season is more unpredictable than the middle and end. Some teams come in better prepared than others. What was clear even in preseason is that the Nets were on the same page early on, working hard for each other and remaining competitive. That will translate into early wins but once the other teams have ramped up the talent gap will start to matter more.

Someone compared it to the Philly team from a few years ago that started well and ended 15-67, the 2nd worst mark in the league.

[SCeltic34]

Some people came out with this doom and gloom prediction last season too.  They were way off.  The Nets look better this year so far, but it's still very early and I'd argue that 35 wins is a stretch.

Not sure what 'doom and gloom' you're talking about. The Nets started 0-9 last season, people all over New England were rejoicing that the C's actually had a shot at a transformative player like Ben Simmons.  At no point last season, did the Nets resemble anything but a dumpster fire, and we all knew they were a surefire top 5 pick once they were twenty games in.

In other words, some people, both before and after their 0-9 start, kept persisting that the Nets would pick up steam and hit 35 wins.  And they did pick up steam.  Recall that they were one blown Brook Lopez layup away from defeating Golden State on their home turf.  After they picked up a few wins, there was some panicking around here and knee-jerk reactions just like yours, calling the pick "worthless" and urging Danny to trade it away.

They beat Detroit last night (it became a close game in the 4th even after the Nets had led by 21 points in the 3rd quarter) because of an aberration of a 1st half, where they shot 9-13 from 3,  with Lopez hitting 4 of 5, and 71% shooting overall.  That's extremely unlikely to happen again.

I'll be happy to eat crow if the Nets do hit 35 wins.  I just don't see it happening, despite their "good" 2-3 start.

[SCeltic34]

Double post

[hwangjini_1]

Some people came out with this doom and gloom prediction last season too.  They were way off.  The Nets look better this year so far, but it's still very early and I'd argue that 35 wins is a stretch.

Not sure what 'doom and gloom' you're talking about. The Nets started 0-9 last season, people all over New England were rejoicing that the C's actually had a shot at a transformative player like Ben Simmons.  At no point last season, did the Nets resemble anything but a dumpster fire, and we all knew they were a surefire top 5 pick once they were twenty games in.

In other words, some people, both before and after their 0-9 start, kept persisting that the Nets would pick up steam and hit 35 wins.  And they did pick up steam.  Recall that they were one blown Brook Lopez layup away from defeating Golden State on their home turf.  After they picked up a few wins, there was some panicking around here and knee-jerk reactions just like yours, calling the pick "worthless" and urging Danny to trade it away.

They beat Detroit last night (it became a close game in the 4th even after the Nets had led by 21 points in the 3rd quarter) because of an aberration of a 1st half, where they shot 9-13 from 3,  with Lopez hitting 4 of 5, and 71% shooting overall.  That's extremely unlikely to happen again.

I'll be happy to eat crow if the Nets do hit 35 wins.  I just don't see it happening, despite their "good" 2-3 start.

well stated SC34 so a tp is headed your way.

it is too soon to make any accurate or precise predictions, particularly based upon a single game filled with unusually high shooting percentages.

all in all, the nets dont seem to have much talent to start with. add to that that injuries and trades for a rebuild may very well occur and i dont see much to justify the nets doing well this year.

the possibility of a bad, bad season looms large for brooklyn. how bad? that is harder to say right now. but it will be fun to see those loses pile up as the season rolls along.

[mef730]

Exactly, and if guys like RHJ get his shooting stroke figured-out, all bets are off. 
For example, people were giving Jeremy Lin grief the other night because of his lack of assists against the Bulls.  He made a LOT of good passes to open Net players, but they were bricklayers all night. How's that on him, he did his job.  One of the passes Hamilton fumbled away but Lin was charged with the turnover.  Lin can't do everything for them.

Lin has looked really good so far.  Crafty player with a very solid offensive game.  Hate to root against him because he plays on the Nets.  He did leave the game with a hamstring strain today, but it didn't look bad.

I saw he strained a hamstring but didn't see how bad it was (or wasn't). Fortunately for them, they only have three games in the next week, including a big gap from Friday to Tuesday. Same thing happened last year when Lopez had his foot scare. Right before a three day break.

Mike

[LarBrd33]

And people laughed when I said 35-40 wins.  That pick is gonna be worthless....

The Nets are 2-3, which equates to about 33 wins. Which is a top 10 pick last year. Given the depth of next years draft, how is that worthless?

boston is still searching for a superstar.  You wouldn't be likely to draft or trade for a superstar with a pick outside the top 5.

[Quetzalcoatl]

And people laughed when I said 35-40 wins.  That pick is gonna be worthless....

The Nets are 2-3, which equates to about 33 wins. Which is a top 10 pick last year. Given the depth of next years draft, how is that worthless?

boston is still searching for a superstar.  You wouldn't be likely to draft or trade for a superstar with a pick outside the top 5.

It's the deepest draft in awhile, they're not making the playoffs or even getting close and if B. Lopez gets hurt, they're the worst team in the League.  Calm yourself, it's going to be be ok.

[Vermont Green]

I was bummed to hear that they beat Detroit.  I doubt they continue to be a 0.400 team (33 wins).  I feel like any pick in the top 5 is great considering the original trade, 6-10 OK, 11 or higher, disappointing (in no case worthless, diminishing yes but not worthless).

I have an idea to hedge our assets.  Trade the 2018 Nets pick back to them and maybe another future first round pick (even the Memphis one that is looking better all the time) and/or one of our current stashes plus Amir for Lopez.  Then they will likely be worse for the 2017 pick and can tank one more year and go for gold in 2018.  I think that is a fair trade for them.  They won't do better for Lopez than a sure fire early lottery pick.  We still get a really good pick in 2017 (without Lopez they are even worse) and Lopez makes us better right away.

Win-Win in my book.

I actually think they will still be bad in 2018 but you never know.  By cashing it in while helping the 2017 pick, we guarantee a certain level of value while giving up both some upside and some risk.  We can then flip Lopez at some point (hoping he doesn't get injured) or see how good we are with our twin towers of Lopez and Horford (who I think would be decent together though not championship level).

[tankcity!]

And people laughed when I said 35-40 wins.  That pick is gonna be worthless....

The Nets are 2-3, which equates to about 33 wins. Which is a top 10 pick last year. Given the depth of next years draft, how is that worthless?

boston is still searching for a superstar.  You wouldn't be likely to draft or trade for a superstar with a pick outside the top 5.

It would be Ainge's fault if he was depending on the Brooklyn picks to land him a superstar. Kind of dumb to rely on something so unknown. We should be happy with a top ten pick. We won the trade. They've had an opportunity to tank or trade the picks for a player.