Where Do the Brooklyn Nets Stand in Eastern Conference?
The 2019-2020 Brooklyn Nets will be a team to watch all throughout the season, but the Kyrie Irving led team will only be able to go so far.
The Nets had an off season to be remembered as they signed Kevin Durant, Irving, and DeAndre Jordan.
With that being said, Nets fans should look at this team realistically, and temper their expectations for the upcoming season. The team will not have Durant, the team’s best player for at least the majority of the season, and that will cause the Nets to run into a road block in the wide-open Eastern Conference.
Since Kawhi Leonard bolted the Eastern Conference to head out west to play for the Los Angeles Clippers, there is no clear favorite in the east. The Nets will not be able to step into that vacuum this season as the team will find itself limited without the services of Durant.
As has been the case all throughout his career, when Irving is the number one option on a team the results are under-whelming. This was evident during Irving’s two-year stint for the Boston Celtics when the team had championship aspirations, but never lived up to the lofty expectations that were placed upon them.
The ceiling for this Nets team is a trip to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Nets will be unable to defeat any of the top three seeds in the east with Irving as their best player.
The top three seeds of the east this season look to be etched in stone with the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Celtics all looking like the teams which will finish atop the conference.
This means a top 4 seed in the east will be in reach, and even that will be a stretch for the Nets during their first season with so many new pieces to work into the lineup.
The Indiana Pacers are a better team today than the Nets, and that will round out the top 4 seeds in the conference.
The Nets, and its fans, should not expect a repeat of last season when the Toronto Raptors won the 2019 NBA Championship with only one superstar, and a roster full of wily veterans with defined roles.
Instead of a pipe dream the Nets will find themselves finishing as the number 5 seed in the Eastern Conference by the time the playoffs roll around.
Irving can never be confused with Leonard, and lighting never strikes twice.
The Nets will have to settle for a bottom four seed in the east, and gear up for half a decade full of championship expectations with the tandem of Durant-Irving leading the charge beginning in the 2020-2021 season.
