The Nets have been anticipated to win 18.5 video games this season. That’s it. And after buying and selling away Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith in December, they seemed to be nicely on their solution to utter futility.
Whereas Brooklyn stays one of many worst groups within the NBA document sensible, it nonetheless exceeded expectations beneath first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez. Monday’s 97-89 defeat of the Charlotte Hornets at Barclays Middle marked the franchise’s nineteenth win this season.
That quantity issues within the Nets’ locker room.
“We remember when that list came out,” Trendon Watford stated. “We definitely kept that in the back of our heads. How they doubted us… Shoutout to the experts.”
The Nets someway eclipsed their projected win whole, earlier than hitting the All-Star break, regardless of buying and selling key gamers and a plethora of accidents and prolonged absences up and down the roster. And after shedding seven straight video games from Jan. 15 to Jan. 27, they enter Wednesday’s house matchup in opposition to the Philadelphia 76ers with 5 wins of their final six tries.
Brooklyn’s solely loss throughout that stretch was in opposition to the Washington Wizards final Wednesday. For holding gamers motivated in what many anticipated to be a misplaced season, Fernandez and his workers deserve tons of credit score.
Cam Thomas has been out for over a month. Cam Johnson lately missed weeks value of video games.
“I told them [we were projected to win] 19, so don’t tell them that I lied to them,” Fernandez stated. “I don’t do 18.5, I rounded up to 19. It’s what the odds is. You have to find ways to be competitive. We’re at 19 right now, but the point is to keep going and play the right way. When the odds are against you, you try to be a competitor and respond. I think the guys have done a great job. We have 29 games left, so we have to keep trying to get better, keep building what we want to build here.”
There’s a flip facet to this surge of success. The Nets’ probabilities of touchdown a High 4 choose within the 2025 NBA Draft proceed to dwindle with every win. Brooklyn has the sixth-best lottery odds coming into Tuesday’s video games, with a 37.2% likelihood at a High 4 choose and a 9% likelihood at touchdown the No. 1 total choose. Three video games behind the Toronto Raptors for fifth.
The loopy half is, the Nets (19-34) are simply three video games again of shifting into the ultimate Play-In Event slot within the Jap Convention. Additionally essential to bear in mind: the Atlanta Hawks had 3% odds at touchdown the No. 1 choose after ending tenth within the Jap Convention at 36-46 final season — and nonetheless hit the jackpot.
The Nets received’t be capable of management the aerodynamics of ping pong balls on the Draft Lottery in Chicago on Could 12, however they’ll management their effort down the stretch of the common season. As an alternative of ending the tank robust, they might battle their method into the Play-In Event, finish their 2024-25 season with objective, and perhaps nonetheless get fortunate by way of draft place when it’s all stated and executed.
This all of the sudden surging workforce now has a option to make: Guess on the lottery odds or wager on themselves.
“With all the trades and everything that’s happening, we still found a way to come together,” Day’Ron Sharpe stated. “I feel like we have a bunch of guys who know how to get along with people and that’s why it’s helping us.”
