Call It Now: Auto-Bid, Play-In, or No Playoffs

[ecuhus1981]

Hello, my friends.

You know who we are by now, and if you've watched preseason around the league, you may have an idea where you think we stand.

I want to know your predictions for the season, specifically our W-L record. I'll list some of my other predictions in the comments.

For reference, here is Hoopshype's Preseason Eastern Conference Rankings:

1) Boston
2) Milwaukee
3) Philadelphia
4) Miami
5) Cleveland
6) New York
7) Atlanta
8) Brooklyn
9) Indiana
10) Chicago
11) Orlando
12) Toronto
13) Detroit
14) Charlotte
15) Washington

[ecuhus1981]

OK, so I think that anywhere from 7th to 12th are reasonable outcomes for our Nets. But, the likeliest of them all is 11th seed IMO.

Our offense is gonna be clunky, y'all. The return of Cam J will help spacing and flow versus how we've looked in the half-court during preseason. Then again, I don't expect DFS and O'Neale to shoot as well as they did, so it may average out. Also, despite our numerous elite defenders, I'm not sure we collectively are an elite defense. The change to drop scheme should help the Twins, and it might make Nic's stats look even better. But the jury's out on that.

IF Ben is 100% healthy, finding open shooters and IF he continues to at least keep defenses honest with a mid-range J, then we have a chance. I'm not counting on it.

I do think that Mikal will be an All-Star coach's injury replacement for somebody, just because of the exposure and image he portrays.

I expect us to abandon hope in Johnson ever becoming a credible off-the-bounce threat (love him for who he is, don't try to make him more), and instead lean secondary actions more heavily into Nic's short roll playmaking and self-creation.

I predict 35-45 aside from the as yet unannounced play-in games. I would love to see better, but I'll cheer em on win or lose.

[Stone]

Unless we see major improvements from Ben, Day'Ron and Claxton. I see us as a play in team 9 or 10 seed. Too many unanswered questions. Where are the points going to come from? Where are the rebounds going t come from? JV said it will be done by committee.

It is going to boil down to , if we can win the games we should win. So far I see a team that does not look prepared and does not have the confidence needed to make noise.

[Netaman]

I chose the mid-point #7-10 because it's the mid point and i have no idea what this team will look like.

I've said this in a few threads but my biggest concern/unknown is if they will get elite defense from what should be an elite defensive team. They are starting 3 players who have received DPOY votes in the last few years. They have several strong defensive role players backing those 3 up. They clearly have the capability but defense requires chemistry and system. And in today's NBA good offense beats good defense.

If everything clicks this can be a team not too unlike regular season Miami last year (44-38, 7th seed, 2nd best in points allowed, worst in points scored). Claxton can anchor the front court like Bam, Bridges can be a viable top option even if he's not quite as good as Butler because Simmons, Dinwiddie, Cam J, Royce, DFS, Cam T, Walker can provide a little more than what Miami had with Lowry, Herro, Robinson, Strus, Vincent. Good shooting, enough creativity, all anchored by hard work and defensive commitment. Last year Brooklyn was 10/30 defensively, so while I won't compare their scoring since post-deadline was small sample size it shows they should be a top 10 defensive team at the last since this team should be better defensively than last year's at any point.

Oddly, relative to general expectations I think the offense will be a little better than expected but the defense not as improved as it should be. I think Simmons looks good and will have a big offensive impact most of us werent counting on. but im not as certain the defense takes the leap from top 1/3 to a true top 3-5 unit. which is why i'm settling my prediction #7-10 and closer to .500 record.

[ecuhus1981]

Great analysis, guys!

[vincecarter4pres]

You know what? I’ve been saying we’re closer to the 6xth overall pick then the 6 seed, but I’m going to walk it back on some night before Christmas homerism.

I’m going to say we play way above the level, are like 8 games above .500 at the deadline and make a big move, continue playing well through the adjustment period, wind up with wins in the high 40’s and nab the 5 seed and make it to at least the 2nd round.

This post may not age well.

[ecuhus1981]

You know what? I’ve been saying we’re closer to the 6xth overall pick then the 6 seed, but I’m going to walk it back on some night before Christmas homerism.

I’m going to say we play way above the level, are like 8 games above .500 at the deadline and make a big move, continue playing well through the adjustment period, wind up with wins in the high 40’s and nab the 5 seed and make it to at least the 2nd round.

This post may not age well.

I respect the honesty, bruh, hope springs eternal this time of year!

[vincecarter4pres]

You know what? I’ve been saying we’re closer to the 6xth overall pick then the 6 seed, but I’m going to walk it back on some night before Christmas homerism.

I’m going to say we play way above the level, are like 8 games above .500 at the deadline and make a big move, continue playing well through the adjustment period, wind up with wins in the high 40’s and nab the 5 seed and make it to at least the 2nd round.

This post may not age well.

I respect the honesty, bruh, hope springs eternal this time of year!

I’m just going to bury my head in the sand and imagine Ben Simmons absolutely invigorates this offense and is his old All Defensive self, Mikal lifts everyone’s spirits and does his thing, Cam kills it, and we score some surprise home run trade for Mitchell or Zion.

[TheNetsFan]

Most likely 7-9 range, but ...
1) Miami is hugely overrated
2) It would be a totally Knicks thing to underachieve after overachieving.
3) Philly is potentially combustible if they get out to a bad start.

[Netaman]

You know what? I’ve been saying we’re closer to the 6xth overall pick then the 6 seed, but I’m going to walk it back on some night before Christmas homerism.

I’m going to say we play way above the level, are like 8 games above .500 at the deadline and make a big move, continue playing well through the adjustment period, wind up with wins in the high 40’s and nab the 5 seed and make it to at least the 2nd round.

This post may not age well.

I respect the honesty, bruh, hope springs eternal this time of year!

I’m just going to bury my head in the sand and imagine Ben Simmons absolutely invigorates this offense and is his old All Defensive self, Mikal lifts everyone’s spirits and does his thing, Cam kills it, and we score some surprise home run trade for Mitchell or Zion.

it's not as crazy as it all seems. i think ben and bridges are gonna be really good and they have so many spare pieces you have to think a few will find roles.

almost all my questions are whether or not JV can get the team playing defense. it sucks Udoka got tanked by the off court stuff. I don't hate JV but with Udoka instead I'd feel a lot more confident this team will have a top 5 defense they can rely on.

[NetsJets]

Play In team

[Papi_swav]

We're a play in team right now, I have us at #9 with the Pacers ahead of us. CamJ is who he is, a catch and shoot player, pretty much a taller Joe Harris like I've been saying but that seems to offend ppl here for some reason.

We'll be a good defensive team but we don't have any fire power on offense. Cam Thomas is our best scorer by far, Bridges is solid too and that's about it. Dinwiddie has his games but he can cost us games too. Even if Ben Simmons plays to his all star self I still see us as a play in.

We don't have a coach that knows how to run plays and sets, Vaughn is a defensive minded coach. I don't have much hope for this season, just hoping for fun games and developing of players.

[Marvin Martian]

Play in. Unless we pull off an Embiid mega deal, this team will be locked into mediocrity for the next 4+ years

[3pt_chucker]

Is JV the coach the whole season? I'll bet the bank on missing the playoffs.

[3pt_chucker]

Nets now out the play-in and next 11 games has no teams below .500.

Hope y'all followed my advice and bet Nets to miss playoffs.

[ecuhus1981]

It doesn't look good for us, it is true.

I think that a tiny bit of the Vegas line on our W-L total has to do with our position in the market, as a franchise most likely to trade for a big star. I know most people think that trading for Dame or Spyda would have been dumb at the asking prices. But without making any moves, we look even dumber IMO. Marks has taken over the title from Ujiri, as the GM who overplayed his hand the most. Now, we need to make some move to choose a direction.

[Netaman]

I chose the mid-point #7-10 because it's the mid point and i have no idea what this team will look like.

I've said this in a few threads but my biggest concern/unknown is if they will get elite defense from what should be an elite defensive team. They are starting 3 players who have received DPOY votes in the last few years. They have several strong defensive role players backing those 3 up. They clearly have the capability but defense requires chemistry and system. And in today's NBA good offense beats good defense.

If everything clicks this can be a team not too unlike regular season Miami last year (44-38, 7th seed, 2nd best in points allowed, worst in points scored). Claxton can anchor the front court like Bam, Bridges can be a viable top option even if he's not quite as good as Butler because Simmons, Dinwiddie, Cam J, Royce, DFS, Cam T, Walker can provide a little more than what Miami had with Lowry, Herro, Robinson, Strus, Vincent. Good shooting, enough creativity, all anchored by hard work and defensive commitment. Last year Brooklyn was 10/30 defensively, so while I won't compare their scoring since post-deadline was small sample size it shows they should be a top 10 defensive team at the last since this team should be better defensively than last year's at any point.

Oddly, relative to general expectations I think the offense will be a little better than expected but the defense not as improved as it should be. I think Simmons looks good and will have a big offensive impact most of us werent counting on. but im not as certain the defense takes the leap from top 1/3 to a true top 3-5 unit. which is why i'm settling my prediction #7-10 and closer to .500 record.

was a little afraid to reread my preseason prediction but this ended up pretty decent. of course simmons got hurt right away which i probably should have predicted as opposed to him having a big impact. fooled me 3x. time to get dejounte and move on from expecting anything out of ben.