Brooklyn Nets: How will the rest of the regular season playout for the Nets?

How will the regular season playout for the Brooklyn Nets? 

The Brooklyn Nets have had an up-and-down season so far. At the end of December, the team had an overall record of 23-10. Since then, the Nets have gone 8-18 which was punctuated by an 11-game losing streak.

Now that the All-Star break is over, I’m sure both the team and fans are looking to get back on track.

Only 23 regular-season games are left for the Nets, who have the 18th easiest remaining schedule in the league. Ten of their final 23 games are away. Normally this would be a positive because it is always better to have the homecourt advantage whenever you can. The reason for it not being normal is the fact that Kyrie Irving still cannot play in home games.

Currently the eighth seed in the East, the Nets need Kyrie for every game possible. Not having him for the final 13 home games definitely hurts the team. Some home games coming up where the team will be without Kyrie’s services are:

• 2/24 vs. Boston Celtics
• 3/3 vs. Miami Heat
• 3/16 vs. Dallas Mavericks
• 3/21 vs. Utah
• 3/31 vs. Milwaukee Bucks
• 4/8 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Nets front office and coaches knew they were going to be without Kyrie until the vaccine mandate changed. To help the roster out, Brooklyn traded James Harden for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks. This trade was beneficial for the Nets as they got three players that they desperately needed.

Curry and Drummond played the final three games for the Nets before the All-Star break and they were key pieces in snapping the 11-game losing streak. Seth is averaging 18.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game with the Nets (albeit, a small sample size). He was an instant spark of offense to a Brooklyn team that was struggling to consistently score and win games.

Drummond came as advertised, a big man who dominates the boards on both offense and defense. He’s averaging 9.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.

The newest addition to the Nets is the 35-year-old from Slovenia, Goran Dragic. He is a crafty guard who has the ability to handle the ball and distribute to his teammates. Dragic was a part of the Miami Heat team that made the NBA Finals a few years ago. Not only does he bring his basketball abilities, but he also brings a high basketball IQ being in the league since the 2008-09 season.

I am a huge fan of the roster that Brooklyn has put together. They have a lot of skilled players who also have a lot of experience and know what it takes to win in the postseason. Brooklyn’s goal going forward should be to clinch a top 6 seed in the East to avoid the play-in tournament.

The Nets are a full seven games back from first place and only 2.5 games away from the sixth-place Boston Celtics. Avoiding the play-in tournament is not an unreachable goal. Some assistance would be nice though as the team is still without Durant and Simmons.

Both KD and Simmons have no timetable as to when they will be returning to the starting lineup. Though, it appears that Durant is close. However, it would be smart for the Nets to play it safe when it comes to Durant’s return. You want the healthiest version of Durant, even if that means surrendering playoff seeding.

As for Simmons, he continues to be a real question mark. During his introductory press conference, Simmons said he “hopes” to be back for a March 10 meeting against the Sixers in Philly.

The Nets open their post-All-Star break slate against the Boston Celtics later this week. Heading into the stretch run, the true question is when we’ll see the Nets’ new big 3 (Simmons, Durant, and Kyrie) all on the floor together and whether they will be good enough to make a serious run at an NBA title?