They lost their starting PG early in the season and had no depth. So Lin is automatically an upgrade, but it's not like he's a star. As long as Anthony Bennett doesn't make an improbable late leap, it's hard to imagine them being too great this year. I still have more respect for Brook Lopez ability to win games than a lot of folks here. It's important to remember that prior to last year's disastrous injury-plagued season, the Nets had made the playoffs a couple years in a row. Playing out of the bottom 5 seems unlikely, but it's not unthinkable. Any team with no incentive to lose games is dangerous in this league. Not "playoff" dangerous but "play out of the bottom 5" dangerous.