Predicting the Brooklyn Nets’ 2014-15 Win Total
By Joseph Martinez
@JMartinezNBA
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This season, the Brooklyn Nets don’t have sky-high expectations as they did last season, and honestly, that’s probably the best thing for Brooklyn. Last year they crumbled after a disastrous 10-21 start with a rookie head coach. They regrouped and made the playoffs before eventually getting knocked off in the second round by the Miami Heat.
Things are different this season. Deron Williams had offseason surgery on both ankles. Brook Lopez looks great other than the mid-foot sprain he suffered against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 12 in a preseason game, but he should be back on the floor in two weeks at the max. Brooklyn also has the best closer in the game in Joe Johnson. If there is a shot to win the game, he’s Brooklyn’s guy.
Brooklyn lost some key players from last season including Paul Pierce, Shaun Livingston and Andray Blatche. So this season, the Nets are definitely coming in under the radar. Nobody is expecting much of the team with still the highest payroll in the league. The Nets, in my opinion, benefit greatly from not having high expectations. They didn’t come through last season, and this was the best thing that could’ve happened to Brooklyn.
The only thing that I see that could plague this team is health. Mainly that of Williams and Lopez. Both have been injured constantly over the past two seasons. Williams of course had the ankle issues, but he hopes the surgery cleared that up. Lopez has foot problems as he fractured it last season as well. Both Williams and Lopez must stay healthy.
Brooklyn replaced Livingston with veteran point guard Jarrett Jack and kind of replaced Pierce with former Euro stud Bojan Bogdanovic, but he’s still a question mark. Kevin Garnett is returning for his 20th NBA season where he’s expected to have a bigger impact this season than he did last year. The Nets also have a new head coach in Lionel Hollins who I think fits this job perfectly. He’s not going to put KG on a minutes restriction like Jason Kidd did. Hollins is a veteran coach who knows the game very well.
Not having high expectations, coming in under the radar or being doubted — whatever you want to call it, the Nets are in a better position than they were last season.
Prediction: 48-34
Joseph Martinez is a Brooklyn Nets/NBA writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @BKN_Martinez08, find him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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