2016-2017 Brooklyn Nets Season Predictions

[Trader_Joe]

Rodman is one of the greatest rebounders of all time. i dont think you just add mustle to RHJ and he becomes a 12 rpg player. only 2 players in the NBA averaged 12 a game last season.

I also dont think RHJ is "addin some muscle" away from being rodman. he was one of the strongest guys in the league. i dont see anything that lends credibility to an RHJ's potential being anything like rodman.

RHJ's shooting problems dont bother me. ideally he is either your 6th man where shooting means less or your 5th starter on a team with offense/shooters at PG/SG/PF.

Only 2 averaged that and yet didn't you say Brook should be 24/12? Who's tje last 24/12 guy?

cousins was the last 24/12 guy, he did it in in 2015. before that love and bosh.

Brook Lopez is 7 feet tall and 275 pounds. so his potential as a rebounder shouldnt be compared to a 6'7" small forward.

There is no reason brook isnt/shouldnt be a 24/12 guy, or close to it. i mean just working on his stamina to play more mintues should get him close to the scoring as he is already a 22 points per36 guy and was at 25+ per36 his all-star season. i think we can all agree with more agression and being the main/only real offensive option he should be able to get in the 24 ppg area. he really just needs more FGA and more aggressiveness. weve seen him do it for month long stretches several times.

rebounding, again he needs to be more detemined and more aggressive. he has the size and the skill and the technique. just not the aggressiveness. maybe he doesnt get 12.. bu 11+ should be realistic in a league full of smaller players.

he has all the tools and skills to be what demarcus cousins is. maybe 24/12 is lofty, but 22/10 should be what he gives you at least

24/12 is unrealistic and if he did he should be considered for 1st all NBA.

He's not quick footed or athletic enough to get 12 rebounds... only 2 players did last year as you pointed out. He will box out and do his best to get contested rebounds, but he's not agile enough (in many ways) to get 12 rebounds a game.

The PPG is another story. I think he will take that next step this year with Lin there and no JJ, Thad, Jack etc to take shots away like they did.

[Roy Tarpley]

Players I'm most excited to watch this year in descending order:

Lin -- I'm a Linophile, what can I say? This year on the Nets is the situation that all Lin fans were expecting when he signed with the Rockets but before Harden came aboard. Which is to say, a starting PG position with free rein to run the team. I hope Atkinson/Lin push the ball, with lots of fast breaks.

Levert -- A 6'7" guard who shot 40% 3PT in college and should finally be injury free after the Nets foot doctor worked his magic.

Bennett -- Ok, a bit of a project but he's still young and he seemed to play well for his Canadian team.

Booker -- I'm expecting a lot of Lin/Booker PNR-alley oops. And Booker is a defensive beast, maybe a step below RHJ. I'm willing to bet a Fresca that Booker shoots more than 100 3PTs this year.

RHJ -- Excited to see what this 2nd year pro can do in a full season.

Morris -- Poor man's Redick? Poor man's Korver? Poor man's Dougie McBuckets? Who knows?!

Hamilton -- I'm always intrigued by 7 footers who can shoot the 3 ball.

[jbeachboy]

Players I'm most excited to watch this year in descending order:

Lin -- I'm a Linophile, what can I say? This year on the Nets is the situation that all Lin fans were expecting when he signed with the Rockets but before Harden came aboard. Which is to say, a starting PG position with free rein to run the team. I hope Atkinson/Lin push the ball, with lots of fast breaks.

Levert -- A 6'7" guard who shot 40% 3PT in college and should finally be injury free after the Nets foot doctor worked his magic.

Bennett -- Ok, a bit of a project but he's still young and he seemed to play well for his Canadian team.

Booker -- I'm expecting a lot of Lin/Booker PNR-alley oops. And Booker is a defensive beast, maybe a step below RHJ. I'm willing to bet a Fresca that Booker shoots more than 100 3PTs this year.

RHJ -- Excited to see what this 2nd year pro can do in a full season.

Morris -- Poor man's Redick? Poor man's Korver? Poor man's Dougie McBuckets? Who knows?!

Hamilton -- I'm always intrigued by 7 footers who can shoot the 3 ball.

joe harris not morris. what does booker do well on defense? block shots? is he a lock down defender?

[Roy Tarpley]

Sorry, I meant Harris not Morris. Old age is dulling my brain.

babyjax13, a Utah fan, said this about Booker: "Booker doesn't block a ton of shots, but he is a great man to man defender that can switch and guard the 2 to 4 positions pretty effectively, while also being able to at least contest faster point guards or be physical with bigger centers if he gets a bad switch. He is most effective when up against less physical players, he will absolutely make their lives terrible."

[Prokorov]

Only 2 averaged that and yet didn't you say Brook should be 24/12? Who's tje last 24/12 guy?

cousins was the last 24/12 guy, he did it in in 2015. before that love and bosh.

Brook Lopez is 7 feet tall and 275 pounds. so his potential as a rebounder shouldnt be compared to a 6'7" small forward.

There is no reason brook isnt/shouldnt be a 24/12 guy, or close to it. i mean just working on his stamina to play more mintues should get him close to the scoring as he is already a 22 points per36 guy and was at 25+ per36 his all-star season. i think we can all agree with more agression and being the main/only real offensive option he should be able to get in the 24 ppg area. he really just needs more FGA and more aggressiveness. weve seen him do it for month long stretches several times.

rebounding, again he needs to be more detemined and more aggressive. he has the size and the skill and the technique. just not the aggressiveness. maybe he doesnt get 12.. bu 11+ should be realistic in a league full of smaller players.

he has all the tools and skills to be what demarcus cousins is. maybe 24/12 is lofty, but 22/10 should be what he gives you at least

24/12 is unrealistic and if he did he should be considered for 1st all NBA.

He's not quick footed or athletic enough to get 12 rebounds... only 2 players did last year as you pointed out. He will box out and do his best to get contested rebounds, but he's not agile enough (in many ways) to get 12 rebounds a game.

The PPG is another story. I think he will take that next step this year with Lin there and no JJ, Thad, Jack etc to take shots away like they did.

i dont think you need quickness to get rebounds when youre like 7 foot or 7'1" in a league where everyone goes small. maybe its not 12. but 10.5, 11, no reason he should be pulling down less then 10 rebounds a game... but whatever

scoring wise, no one took shots away from brook last year except for brook. to passive and/or too inconsistent with his aggressiveness. he defered to sloan and ellington at times. that cant happen when your the best player on the floor 1 in every 3 games and always far and away the best player on your team.

if he did get 24/12 he would be all NBA. not sure on first team but certainly one of the ALL-NBA teams depending how cousins/towns/jordan/davis do.

[Trader_Joe]

cousins was the last 24/12 guy, he did it in in 2015. before that love and bosh.

Brook Lopez is 7 feet tall and 275 pounds. so his potential as a rebounder shouldnt be compared to a 6'7" small forward.

There is no reason brook isnt/shouldnt be a 24/12 guy, or close to it. i mean just working on his stamina to play more mintues should get him close to the scoring as he is already a 22 points per36 guy and was at 25+ per36 his all-star season. i think we can all agree with more agression and being the main/only real offensive option he should be able to get in the 24 ppg area. he really just needs more FGA and more aggressiveness. weve seen him do it for month long stretches several times.

rebounding, again he needs to be more detemined and more aggressive. he has the size and the skill and the technique. just not the aggressiveness. maybe he doesnt get 12.. bu 11+ should be realistic in a league full of smaller players.

he has all the tools and skills to be what demarcus cousins is. maybe 24/12 is lofty, but 22/10 should be what he gives you at least

24/12 is unrealistic and if he did he should be considered for 1st all NBA.

He's not quick footed or athletic enough to get 12 rebounds... only 2 players did last year as you pointed out. He will box out and do his best to get contested rebounds, but he's not agile enough (in many ways) to get 12 rebounds a game.

The PPG is another story. I think he will take that next step this year with Lin there and no JJ, Thad, Jack etc to take shots away like they did.

i dont think you need quickness to get rebounds when youre like 7 foot or 7'1" in a league where everyone goes small. maybe its not 12. but 10.5, 11, no reason he should be pulling down less then 10 rebounds a game... but whatever

scoring wise, no one took shots away from brook last year except for brook. to passive and/or too inconsistent with his aggressiveness. he defered to sloan and ellington at times. that cant happen when your the best player on the floor 1 in every 3 games and always far and away the best player on your team.

if he did get 24/12 he would be all NBA. not sure on first team but certainly one of the ALL-NBA teams depending how cousins/towns/jordan/davis do.

Size isn't that important.
Look at Yao, Sabonis or Hibbert and other guys 7'2" and up (Brook is close to 7'2") now compare them to some of the best rebounders like the 6'7" Rodman, 6'8" Evans or B.Wallace, heck even J.Kidd. You need to be quick and powerful to be a 12 rpg guy. And there is a big difference between 10rpg and 12rpg. A 20% difference that's even more illustrated by how few players get 12+ rpg.

[Prokorov]

24/12 is unrealistic and if he did he should be considered for 1st all NBA.

He's not quick footed or athletic enough to get 12 rebounds... only 2 players did last year as you pointed out. He will box out and do his best to get contested rebounds, but he's not agile enough (in many ways) to get 12 rebounds a game.

The PPG is another story. I think he will take that next step this year with Lin there and no JJ, Thad, Jack etc to take shots away like they did.

i dont think you need quickness to get rebounds when youre like 7 foot or 7'1" in a league where everyone goes small. maybe its not 12. but 10.5, 11, no reason he should be pulling down less then 10 rebounds a game... but whatever

scoring wise, no one took shots away from brook last year except for brook. to passive and/or too inconsistent with his aggressiveness. he defered to sloan and ellington at times. that cant happen when your the best player on the floor 1 in every 3 games and always far and away the best player on your team.

if he did get 24/12 he would be all NBA. not sure on first team but certainly one of the ALL-NBA teams depending how cousins/towns/jordan/davis do.

Size isn't that important.
Look at Yao, Sabonis or Hibbert and other guys 7'2" and up (Brook is close to 7'2") now compare them to some of the best rebounders like the 6'7" Rodman, 6'8" Evans or B.Wallace, heck even J.Kidd. You need to be quick and powerful to be a 12 rpg guy. And there is a big difference between 10rpg and 12rpg. A 20% difference that's even more illustrated by how few players get 12+ rpg.

sabonis and yao played in an era where everyone used bigs. and sabonis was at the tail end of his career. both of those are poor comparisons imo. hibbert is a better comparison, but is kind of a giant scrub and no reason he doesnt get 10+ rpg either.

there is 1 and only 1 reason lopez doesnt average 10+ rpg. and that reason is a lack of aggressiveness

[Trader_Joe]

i dont think you need quickness to get rebounds when youre like 7 foot or 7'1" in a league where everyone goes small. maybe its not 12. but 10.5, 11, no reason he should be pulling down less then 10 rebounds a game... but whatever

scoring wise, no one took shots away from brook last year except for brook. to passive and/or too inconsistent with his aggressiveness. he defered to sloan and ellington at times. that cant happen when your the best player on the floor 1 in every 3 games and always far and away the best player on your team.

if he did get 24/12 he would be all NBA. not sure on first team but certainly one of the ALL-NBA teams depending how cousins/towns/jordan/davis do.

Size isn't that important.
Look at Yao, Sabonis or Hibbert and other guys 7'2" and up (Brook is close to 7'2") now compare them to some of the best rebounders like the 6'7" Rodman, 6'8" Evans or B.Wallace, heck even J.Kidd. You need to be quick and powerful to be a 12 rpg guy. And there is a big difference between 10rpg and 12rpg. A 20% difference that's even more illustrated by how few players get 12+ rpg.

sabonis and yao played in an era where everyone used bigs. and sabonis was at the tail end of his career. both of those are poor comparisons imo. hibbert is a better comparison, but is kind of a giant scrub and no reason he doesnt get 10+ rpg either.

there is 1 and only 1 reason lopez doesnt average 10+ rpg. and that reason is a lack of aggressiveness

Again major difference between 10 and 12 rpg. Shifting the goal posts and thus the relevance of my argument.

[Prokorov]

Size isn't that important.
Look at Yao, Sabonis or Hibbert and other guys 7'2" and up (Brook is close to 7'2") now compare them to some of the best rebounders like the 6'7" Rodman, 6'8" Evans or B.Wallace, heck even J.Kidd. You need to be quick and powerful to be a 12 rpg guy. And there is a big difference between 10rpg and 12rpg. A 20% difference that's even more illustrated by how few players get 12+ rpg.

sabonis and yao played in an era where everyone used bigs. and sabonis was at the tail end of his career. both of those are poor comparisons imo. hibbert is a better comparison, but is kind of a giant scrub and no reason he doesnt get 10+ rpg either.

there is 1 and only 1 reason lopez doesnt average 10+ rpg. and that reason is a lack of aggressiveness

Again major difference between 10 and 12 rpg. Shifting the goal posts and thus the relevance of my argument.

i already said after your first post "maybe he doesnt get 12, maybe its 10.5 or 11". the main point was less about some magic number of 12 and more about lopez should be a guy producing on a level closer to what cousins does. whether its 24/12 or 23/11 or 23/10.5....

20/7 on relly good efficiency is nothing to knock brook for... but the only thing keeping him from matching the numbers cousins puts up is his lack of aggression.

Lopez has the size/skill/talent to be a top 12 player... and at the very least should be a top 20-25 player. atkinson hopefull can get more out of lopez then the last 4 or 5 coaches.

[Rockice_24]

sabonis and yao played in an era where everyone used bigs. and sabonis was at the tail end of his career. both of those are poor comparisons imo. hibbert is a better comparison, but is kind of a giant scrub and no reason he doesnt get 10+ rpg either.

there is 1 and only 1 reason lopez doesnt average 10+ rpg. and that reason is a lack of aggressiveness

Again major difference between 10 and 12 rpg. Shifting the goal posts and thus the relevance of my argument.

i already said after your first post "maybe he doesnt get 12, maybe its 10.5 or 11". the main point was less about some magic number of 12 and more about lopez should be a guy producing on a level closer to what cousins does. whether its 24/12 or 23/11 or 23/10.5....

20/7 on relly good efficiency is nothing to knock brook for... but the only thing keeping him from matching the numbers cousins puts up is his lack of aggression.

Lopez has the size/skill/talent to be a top 12 player... and at the very least should be a top 20-25 player. atkinson hopefull can get more out of lopez then the last 4 or 5 coaches.

Nah it's more than that. He's got slow feet and unless the ball is coming right to him the quicker more athletic guys get there first.

He doesn't have the attack the ball mentality like the good rebounders so you're not completely wrong but his slow lateral movement is a big factor.

I think we see 22 and 7.5 from Lopez this year. He's going to have a very good season.

[Trader_Joe]

sabonis and yao played in an era where everyone used bigs. and sabonis was at the tail end of his career. both of those are poor comparisons imo. hibbert is a better comparison, but is kind of a giant scrub and no reason he doesnt get 10+ rpg either.

there is 1 and only 1 reason lopez doesnt average 10+ rpg. and that reason is a lack of aggressiveness

Again major difference between 10 and 12 rpg. Shifting the goal posts and thus the relevance of my argument.

i already said after your first post "maybe he doesnt get 12, maybe its 10.5 or 11". the main point was less about some magic number of 12 and more about lopez should be a guy producing on a level closer to what cousins does. whether its 24/12 or 23/11 or 23/10.5....

20/7 on relly good efficiency is nothing to knock brook for... but the only thing keeping him from matching the numbers cousins puts up is his lack of aggression.

Lopez has the size/skill/talent to be a top 12 player... and at the very least should be a top 20-25 player. atkinson hopefull can get more out of lopez then the last 4 or 5 coaches.

I don't see why you are comparing him to Cousins who is much quicker and more agile.
Agility is more important here than size. Other big guys that aren't getting 10+ rpg which similar size to Lopez and in his era
Monroe
Vucecic
R.Lopez
Dieng
M.Gasol
S.Adams
etc.
etc.

The only ones who get more than 10?
Drummond
Jordan
Cousins
Howard
Whiteside
Gobert
KAT
A.Davis
P.Gasol

Other than Pau all very quick and athletic.

[jrob23]

Whatever happens with wins and losses this Nets team has the potential to be pretty fun to watch. When my favorite teams have been in rebuild mode I almost enjoy those valleys as much as the peaks. Something about watching kids develop and exceeding expectations resonates with me. I'd prefer you guys to lose as much as possible but on paper, with the additions and solid draft, I think you are a better team than last season. Most of the other Eastern Conference teams improved as well though so maybe it won't result in many more wins. There are at least "stories" which will make the season interesting. Who gets dealt? How good is LeVert? Can Lin be a legit above average PG? I'm obviously going to be tuning in hoping the Celtics get the highest pick possible. I have to admit, considering everything, it was a very underrated offseason for you guys. There's a chance you screw us out of a top 3 pick (if for no other reason than not having the worst record and subsequent highest chances in the lottery).

[Prokorov]

Whatever happens with wins and losses this Nets team has the potential to be pretty fun to watch. When my favorite teams have been in rebuild mode I almost enjoy those valleys as much as the peaks. Something about watching kids develop and exceeding expectations resonates with me. I'd prefer you guys to lose as much as possible but on paper, with the additions and solid draft, I think you are a better team than last season. Most of the other Eastern Conference teams improved as well though so maybe it won't result in many more wins. There are at least "stories" which will make the season interesting. Who gets dealt? How good is LeVert? Can Lin be a legit above average PG? I'm obviously going to be tuning in hoping the Celtics get the highest pick possible. I have to admit, considering everything, it was a very underrated offseason for you guys. There's a chance you screw us out of a top 3 pick (if for no other reason than not having the worst record and subsequent highest chances in the lottery).

when i look at this season fun doesnt come to mind.

lame duck players on 1 year contracts and vomiting comes to mind.

my hope is lopez finally becomes a legit no question all-star and raises his value or impacts wins on a larger scale. beyond that most of the young guys i like will be in the dleague or be role guys,

[jrob23]

On to other predictions...

I am hopeful that we will start to rebuild in a similar way that Boston did after the trade. The 2013/14 Celtics were horrible on paper and won 25 games. Only Bradley and Olynyk are left from that team but that's where it all started for them. They hired an awesome coach (if Kenny is half as good as Brad Stevens than we'll be in a good spot) and used their cap space to take on unwanted players and draft picks.

I think we will be very active at the deadline. I would be surprised if Bogs is still with us after the deadline. Unless he proves he is an above average starter, I don't think Marks will want to eat up 10 mill in cap space to resign him next year, so look for us to get some value for him while we can. With all our space, it would be great to take on unwanted guys and get a 2nd rounder or two. Who knows, maybe that unwanted player might turn into Isiah Thomas or Jae Crowder.

While we don't have our own picks we will have a huge amount of cap space to spend next year (most in the league I think) and our young guys have more potential than the Celtics post trade.

The Celtics added picks (not even including ours which they only used this year), some hidden gems and a coach that develops talent. They went from 25-57 to 40-42 to 48-34 in 3 years. If we can develop RHJ, CMC, LeVert and Whitehead, add a draft pick or two and land a free agent, perhaps we can follow a similar path.

all that is well and good about my Celtics but Danny has been an awful drafter three years running. While I like Rozier and Smart as backup role player types and Brown could be really special, the other picks were squandered. The Celtics aren't so good that they can afford to throw picks away. This draft was imo the best class in a decade. The talking heads and pundits disagree, and everyone regurgitates their talking points, but when we all look back on this draft in a few years, people will realize just how strong it was. It more deep than it was loaded with franchise type players but teams need role players and in that regard this draft class was very talented. While Danny was busy trading picks, taking Euro stashes, and D-League scrubs, other teams were taking guys that could have helped this year and were better than the trash he drafted last few years. But then, that would have meant admitting he screwed up in those drafts. Meanwhile, you had no picks but were able to land a lottery talent in Levert and an attacking scorer. You might have struck out on the big FA names but you did get several guys that improved the bench plus Lin. So much better than the previous regime.

[jbeachboy]

anything that keeps the celtics as 3rd pick or higher should be considered a success. and some young guys develop or show something.

[Chris4Vikes]

anything that keeps the celtics as 3rd pick or higher should be considered a success. and some young guys develop or show something.

This is a perplexing view. Those picks are gone. Nothing can bring them back. Marks is making moves with the LT future of the Nets in mind, and as fans, you should let it go. It's irrelevant now.

[jbeachboy]

anything that keeps the celtics as 3rd pick or higher should be considered a success. and some young guys develop or show something.

This is a perplexing view. Those picks are gone. Nothing can bring them back. Marks is making moves with the LT future of the Nets in mind, and as fans, you should let it go. It's irrelevant now.

i know but they are in same division and we play them often. do you want them getting the best player in draft or perhaps a worse player?

[Net Sentence]

anything that keeps the celtics as 3rd pick or higher should be considered a success. and some young guys develop or show something.

This is a perplexing view. Those picks are gone. Nothing can bring them back. Marks is making moves with the LT future of the Nets in mind, and as fans, you should let it go. It's irrelevant now.

Marks made one move, Levert, that could be considered long term. Everyone else is on 2 year contracts with many not having guarantees for next season. How is that making moves for the long term? King already freed up the cap space before Marks got here. The more accurate statement is that Marks tried to sign a bunch of guys and failed miserably, sacrificed this season and isnt likely to do much better next year.

[KM6]

anything that keeps the celtics as 3rd pick or higher should be considered a success. and some young guys develop or show something.

This is a perplexing view. Those picks are gone. Nothing can bring them back. Marks is making moves with the LT future of the Nets in mind, and as fans, you should let it go. It's irrelevant now.

Marks made one move, Levert, that could be considered long term. Everyone else is on 2 year contracts with many not having guarantees for next season. How is that making moves for the long term? King already freed up the cap space before Marks got here. The more accurate statement is that Marks tried to sign a bunch of guys and failed miserably, sacrificed this season and isnt likely to do much better next year.

I could be wrong, but i would love to see the shocking reactions of Nets fans when the team surprises everyone next season by winning more games than expected and screw up Boston's pick swap.

[jbeachboy]

anything that keeps the celtics as 3rd pick or higher should be considered a success. and some young guys develop or show something.

This is a perplexing view. Those picks are gone. Nothing can bring them back. Marks is making moves with the LT future of the Nets in mind, and as fans, you should let it go. It's irrelevant now.

Marks made one move, Levert, that could be considered long term. Everyone else is on 2 year contracts with many not having guarantees for next season. How is that making moves for the long term? King already freed up the cap space before Marks got here. The more accurate statement is that Marks tried to sign a bunch of guys and failed miserably, sacrificed this season and isnt likely to do much better next year.

what did you want marks to do? what options does he have when king and ownership traded away our future draft picks? it was either free agency or find some euro or d league guy. he grabbed a couple young guys that he hopes atkinson can improve somewhat while adding vets on 1 year deals. nets have no choice but to either develop who they have or get lucky that some free agent wants to play here until they get their draft picks back.