Despite having fewer wins than losses, that Brooklyn Nets are a good shot to make the playoffs this year. The fact that a sub-.500 team is making the playoffs should be no surprise to anyone; in the (L)Eastern Conference, it’s an annual tradition. The fact that it’s the Nets as currently constructed making the playoffs, however, should be surprising to many.
I just assumed that the Nets were, if not tanking outright (do they even have their pick or is this year’s one of the ones Billy King couldn’t legally trade away), just not going to be very good this season. They are making the most out of the roster apparently, because I’m still looking at that roster today and it’s kinda booty. It’s not a roster that screams “7th seed”.
They are helped by having D’Angelo Russell turn from a snitch into an All-Star, and by having Spencer Dinwiddie be almost the same caliber of player but coming off the bench. Such a one-two punch of PG play (when one or the other isn’t injured) isn’t common in the league right now, and I feel like it’s the main reason the Nets have won the incredible amount of games they have the season.
The other main reason is that Richard Jefferson is doing commentary for some of their games. But not this one, so don’t get your hopes up.