A nice start to the preseason... excellent pace, good ball movement/motion, improved 3pt shooting, more commitment to defense, and a deeper bench already stand out when watching the first 2 games. Other highlights----
- Allen looks the part... he is long, understands the game and spacing, and will immediately be a solid rim protector. He may press for minutes early
- DaMare Carrol looks healthy... that is great for the development of younger players and improving on the defensive side of the ball... and spacing
- RHJ showing more diversity on offense
- Booker/Acy combo should provide nice bench toughness/depth up front
- DLo and Lin will have early struggles playing together, but each provides the creativity on the pick and roll to get the offense moving. DLo, under Atkinson and in this system should be able to put up numbers more efficiently.
- we haven't even seen Levert and Crabbe play yet, who will be two key components for the present and future likely logging 25+ mins a night.
My expectation is that the Nets finish out of bottom 6-7 teams given that they show up each night to compete, and have no reason to tank. If they get off to a decent start they could push above 30 wins.
Thoughts from my 5 other nets fans on here?
Russell looks smooth and very capable of filling Lopez' scoring production. How efficiently remains to be seen, but he and Lin look good together and will help immensely at the end of games.
Carroll, RHJ, Booker and Acy look very well suited to the roles their in. Dinwiddie too.
Mozgov looks active and adding a 3 could be interesting. I don't expect Allen to get a ton of minutes right away but in his flashes he's looked better than I expected.
Levert and Crabbe are 2 wildcards, and not just because they're banged up. Remains to be seen if either can step up to being a real impact player and not just a nice bench piece. Kilpatrick, Harris and Whitehead seem more destined to be bench guys but they are very good insurance options.
It's still early, but I think the Nets really knocked it out of the park with the Atkinson/Marks hires. They are tackling this thing the right way. This is the perfect time to be a rebuilding team in the NBA. It's really nice to see a team that actually enjoys playing together on a nightly basis.
I think 35 wins is a reasonable target for this season. If Lin is healthy all of last year, the Nets were likely close to a 30 win team. The depth and veteran upgrades this offseason should push them out of the bottom 5 in terms of record.
I'm hopeful that the team has secured 3/5 of their future starting core in Russell, LeVert, and Allen.
Mozgov, Booker, Carroll, and Lin are the perfect veterans to mesh with and mentor the young talent. They all seem on board with the vision.
I'm curious about what type of return we may be able to get on a Lin/Hollis-Jefferson package at the deadline.
That said, they’re still a few years away from being even somewhat relevant but battling for an 8 seed would be a nice step this season.
yea he's looked better than expected. I still don't think there's enough offense to be much more than defensive specialist off the bench, but if his length looks like it can play at the 4 so maybe that can make him more of a matchup problem for other teams.