Apr 15, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Johnson (7) shoots over Orlando Magic forward Andrew Nicholson (44) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Brooklyn Nets
By Nicholas Hughes
Record: 40-42
First Round Opponent: Cleveland Cavaliers
Season Series: Tied 2-2
The Brooklyn Nets are one of those teams you have to scratch your head at when you realize that they’ve managed to squeeze their way into a playoff berth. That especially hurts to say seeing as I’m a Nets fan. A once promising crop of playoff-savvy veterans and perennial All-Stars has dwindled since the heyday of the organization just a couple of years back.
Gone from this Nets team are all of the pieces they acquired in the Pierce/Garnett deal a couple of summers ago. Looking back on it the only good that lingers is that the division-rival Boston Celtics are stuck with the poison pill contract of Gerald Wallace for a couple of more seasons.
Brooklyn draws the top seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs which won’t bode well for Coach Lionel Hollins’ squad. In all likelihood the 2015 Nets’ playoff miracle run will balloon to a total of 1 game; and that’ll only happen because either Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, or Brook Lopez will go on some unpredictable hot streak for a few quarters and the Hawks won’t really be prepared for it.
The real postseason contest for the Brooklyn Nets won’t even begin until after the playoffs are done with altogether. That’s when they’ll be tasked with trying to figure out what direction they’re going to go in. Will they look to implode and start anew like the cross-town Knicks. Or will they look to spend big bucks and put together a team ready to bounce back and contend next season.
When judging the outcome of a playoff series I like to a lot at least one victory per true superstar a team might have. For example, last season’s Western Conference Finals saw the Thunder and Spurs meet as the top seeds in the conference. Simply because of the fact that the Thunder had both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, I figured they could each go off for a huge game to take a win despite San Antonio being the much better team.
Applying that theory to Brooklyn is a bit of a stretch but you can make a case for it nonetheless. While both Williams and Johnson appear to be well past their respective primes, they’ve both proven as recently as this season that they can light up the score board on occasion. Add to that the fact that Lopez is bound to get paid like a superstar this off-season with the increased salary cap, and you have yourself three potential victories that the Nets might come by just because of their biggest stars.
If they could find a way to win a fourth, then just like that the Nets are moving on to round two.
Next: Staff NBA Finals picks