Brooklyn Nets' Schedule Breakdown and Predictions for Season's Final 6 Weeks
The Brooklyn Nets are starting to get back on track, but it might be too late.
The Nets, who are coming off a big win over the Dallas Mavericks, have won three of five, all on the road. The two losses in that stretch were close defeats at the hands of the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans.
Thaddeus Young is contributing off the bench. Markel Brown is dunking everything in sight and annoying everyone on defense. Deron Williams is playing like the fresher D-Will we saw at the start of the season.
Brooklyn is playing respectable basketball again. Now, the Nets have to hope the teams around them start to dive.
The Nets currently hold the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference, .003 percentage points back of the "surging" Indiana Pacers, but it's not just those two contending for spots at the bottom of the East's playoff race.
The Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Pacers and Nets are all clumped together within 2.5 games of each other in the standings.
The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds are anyone's to win. The Nets just have to take advantage of an opportunity.
Week of March 2
1 of 8
Home: Golden State Warriors (March 2), Charlotte Hornets (March 4), Phoenix Suns (March 6), Utah Jazz (March 8)
Away: N/A
Predicted record: 3-1
Talk about making up for lost time...
The Nets finally found the positive effects of clicking their heels together for three weeks straight. After almost a month on the road (with an extended All-Star break plugged in), they're coming home.
Brooklyn's game on March 2 will be its first contest at Barclays Center since Feb. 6.
There's good news and bad news here: The bad is that the Nets are going to be welcomed in by the Warriors, who currently hold the best record in the NBA. The good, though, is the Nets get to stay in Brooklyn for a while now, compensating for that long road trip with a five-game homestand.
It gets easier after Golden State, too.
Brooklyn actually beat up on Charlotte earlier in the season, but the Hornets, who have come up in Nets trade news throughout the season, are playing far more proficient basketball now.
Phoenix and Utah, meanwhile, are both quality teams (the Jazz are far better than their record and are playing improved basketball of late), but with these games coming at home and with the Suns getting worse after future-minded deadline deals, this week offers a chance for the Nets to get themselves going a bit.
Week of March 9
2 of 8
Home: New Orleans Pelicans (March 10)
Away: Miami Heat (March 11), Philadelphia 76ers (March 14)
Predicted record: 2-1
Here's the Nets' greatest chance to come away from this week with a winning record: Anthony Davis might be out.
Davis has been dealing with problems ever since he hurt his shoulder in early February, an injury that kept him out of All-Star Weekend and later resurfaced to create even more issues. He hasn't played in a week and may still find himself on the sidelines when the Pelicans head to Brooklyn next week.
That New Orleans game ends the Nets' five-game home slate. After that, they head to Miami to start off a four-game roader against Goran Dragic and the Heat.
Of course, Miami is missing Chris Bosh for the rest of the year, but the Nets haven't won a game this season against Dwyane Wade's team, and it doesn't seem to matter whether the shooting guard plays or not. (Also, two of the Heat's wins over the Nets have come by a score of 95-91. What are the chances of that?)
Considering how well Miami has played Brooklyn this year, it'd be hard to predict a road win to cap off the season series, though it is quite difficult to sweep an opponent for the whole year.
Then, there's the Thomas Robinson Bowl, a matchup between the Sixers and Nets which pits one team that thought it signed Robinson against the one which actually did.
It's also a revenge game for Brooklyn after Philly squeaked out a close victory at Barclays in early January. The Nets better get a win there. Splitting the season series against the 76ers wouldn't bode well for a team fighting for the No. 8 seed.
Week of March 16
3 of 8
Home: Milwaukee Bucks (March 20)
Away: Minnesota Timberwolves (March 16), Cleveland Cavaliers (March 18), Indiana Pacers (March 21)
Predicted record: 1-3
The Timberwolves are a nice break to sandwich into the middle of a long road trip. At 13-45, Minnesota owns the worst record in the Western Conference and could be even worse for the present after unloading Thaddeus Young for Kevin Garnett.
Speaking of which, this is a sneaky high-motivation game for Young, who spent only a half-season in Minny and has a chance to show off exactly what the Wolves are missing.
Young has averaged only 22 minutes per game as a Net, but his playing time is building, and he went for 16 against Dallas over the weekend. By mid-March, he should feel more comfortable with his integration into the Brooklyn rotation.
Life gets tough for the Nets after that.
Do we even need to talk about the Cavaliers, the team that is arguably playing better than any other squad in the NBA at the moment? It doesn't feel like it's going to stop, either. That Cleveland game is going to be a loss.
The Pacers game is nearly impossible to predict, because...well, all games are nearly impossible to predict three weeks in advance, but more so because we won't know the status of the team.
If Paul George is back by March 21, which is completely possible, then Indy becomes the front-runner to get the No. 7 or No. 8 seed in the East. If not, then this is the same Pacers squad that's accumulated a 24-34 record to this point.
Week of March 23
4 of 8
Home: Boston Celtics (March 23), Cleveland Cavaliers (March 27), Los Angeles Lakers (March 29)
Away: Charlotte Hornets (March 25)
Predicted record: 2-2
The Celtics are starting to develop an identity, even with Jared Sullinger out for the season. Somehow, even after trading Rajon Rondo, losing Sully and having its fair share of issues throughout the year, Boston is actually tied with the Nets in the loss column.
Brad Stevens' team is just a half-game out of the playoffs and actually has a legitimate shot at getting into the postseason. Who would've thought it? Still, because this game is in Brooklyn, and because the Nets are starting to play a bit better, they'll be the favorites in that one.
Charlotte is in a similar position to Boston, sitting with the exact same record. But the Hornets game is actually on the road—Brooklyn's one away game of the week—so the Hornets become the probable winners of that future game.
Then there's the Cavs. And again, we're not talking about that game because it's just a waste of time.
The Lakers have become phenomenally strange, one of the ugliest-looking teams in the league, even if they did recently rip of three straight victories. With their top-five protected pick belonging to the Philadelphia 76ers, it only makes sense for them to lose. Yet, the organization's take on tanking has always been ambiguous.
It's hard to pick the Lakers as a favorite against anyone, let alone an East Coast team on the road. The Nets should win this one.
Week of March 30
5 of 8
Home: Indiana Pacers (March 31), Toronto Raptors (April 3)
Away: New York Knicks (April 1), Atlanta Hawks (April 4)
Predicted record: 1-3
Hey, it's the Pacers again. And this time, there's a pretty decent chance they'll have Paul George ready to go, considering Indy's best player is already practicing with the team.
Once the Nets finish with the Pacers game, we head into April for the final two weeks of the year. That leaves only nine games remaining in the regular season with Brooklyn presumably still fighting for the No. 7 or No. 8 seed with the Heat, Pacers, Hornets, Celtics and Pistons.
That's why the Nets could use that win over the Knicks, because losing to the team across the river is just about the most embarrassing thing that could happen to them. They're going to need wins—however they can pick them up—and the Knicks offer a prime example of a team to beat.
Brooklyn is desperate for a victory over the Knicks, partly because the schedule will be on the verge of rocking the Nets as they head to Madison Square Garden for the final New York "rivalry" game of the season.
The Nets jump on the 6 train, head back to Barclays and play the division-leading Raptors a couple of days later. Then, they have to fly down to Atlanta. And the schedule brutality only begins there...
Week of April 6
6 of 8
Home: Portland Trail Blazers (April 6), Atlanta Hawks (April 8), Washington Wizards (April 10)
Away: Milwaukee Bucks (April 12)
Predicted record: 0-4
The Nets better find themselves holding on to a playoff spot heading into April, because if they don't, their season might be over before it even ends.
Brooklyn has those two difficult games—home for Toronto and at Atlanta—to close out the first week of the month. The second doesn't get any easier. The Nets may have three out of four home games, but they might not find many wins at Barclays.
Brooklyn, who has a better record on the road than at home, is actually a perfect example of the dwindling advantage that home court is allowing in 2014-15.
So, the Nets start their slate of three straight home games with the Blazers. LaMarcus Aldridge is a horrid matchup for Brooklyn's bigs. He's the exact type of power forward with which Mason Plumlee struggles, so if the starting lineup remains the same to this date, Brooklyn could be in line to watch the All-Star power forward throw up some huge numbers at its place.
The Nets play the Hawks again the following game. Atlanta's ball movement and depth can outlast the Nets even in New York.
The final two games of the week come against the Wizards, who are falling off a cliff right now, and the Bucks, who play the Nets well and have one of the league's stingiest defenses.
Brooklyn's best chance for a win in this run probably comes against Washington, which might not even have the same coach in a month that it does right now. But it's unclear exactly how the Wizards will evolve over the final few weeks of the season. Either way, an 0-4 week seems perfectly possible.
Week of April 13
7 of 8
Home: Chicago Bulls (April 13), Orlando Magic (April 15)
Away: N/A
Predicted record: 1-1
Nope, the horror doesn't end on the previous slide. The Nets catch no breaks during the final few weeks of the year. It's almost like their schedule takes on Western Conference difficulty just to mess with them.
The Bulls are one of those teams. Even without Derrick Rose, Chicago still holds names like Jimmy Butler, Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and a bunch of other familiar ones. The team has been inconsistent all year, but it's still going to be the favorites to earn a road win over the Nets, even if its defense hasn't exactly been on point.
By that time, the Bulls will also be more used to playing without Rose. Or maybe, with a little bit of luck (OK, a lot of luck), Rose will be back on the court by then. Either way, you won't convince anyone that the Nets should win that game.
Brooklyn should, however, win the Orlando one to close the season, but it may be too late by then.
Final Thoughts
8 of 8
The Magic may not actually provide the Nets with any magic of their own on the final day of the regular season.
Heading into that game, Brooklyn could have already finished itself off, possibly reeling off a seven-game losing streak against good-to-dominant teams like the Raptors, Hawks, Blazers, Hawks again, Wizards, Bucks and Bulls. Uh oh.
Over the final six weeks of the year, the Nets project a 10-15 record (as scientifically as me going, "Hmmm...seems like they'll win or lose that game"). That would bring Brooklyn's overall record to 34-48 to finish the year, 10 games worse than the final win-loss record from last season's disappointing performance.
Now, the East is so bad that 34, 35 or 36 wins could earn an eighth seed, but with the Pacers heating up (presumably getting P.G. back), the Heat acquiring Dragic and the Hornets and Celtics keeping pace, it does seem unlikely so few wins will sneak someone into the postseason. Bold statement, I know.
The Nets will need to enter their final eight games solidly in the East's top eight to convince anyone they have a valid shot at playing past April 15. And they have a chance to do that. They just need to pull off some upsets first.
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