Breaking Down the Brooklyn Nets Amid the NBA's 'Bye Week'

The majority of the NBA is taking the week off due to the start of the NBA Cup's knockout rounds, so where do the Brooklyn Nets stand?

Dec 8, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson (2) reacts during the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

The majority of the NBA has entered somewhat of a bye week as just eight teams will continue action throughout the week in the NBA Cup. Because of the knockout rounds, regular-season action won't resume until Thursday, and the Brooklyn Nets aren't scheduled to play until Friday. Now there's time to look back and assess the team's situation up to this point.

Through more than a quarter of the regular season, the Nets are not where people expected them to be in terms of standing and record. Brooklyn is 10-14, and although it's a losing record, the team sits eighth in a weak Eastern Conference.

This could either have fans feeling surprisingly optimistic or in full panic mode. The Nets were expected to be at the bottom of the standings, resulting in the pursuit of a high draft pick in June 2025. However, they wouldn't even be considered a lottery team if the season ended today, which could panic fans.

The last thing you want in the NBA is to be good enough to not end up high in the draft, but bad enough to not be close to title contention. Based on the standings, that's where the Nets are right now, and they need to act fast.

Brooklyn could get serious value for the future if it trades the veterans so many playoff teams will line up to acquire. This season can't be a repeat of the last when the Nets 32-50 with the 11th seed in the East.

In terms of actual team play, Brooklyn has been a good offensive team, but an extremely poor defensive team. The Nets rank in the top half of the league in offensive rating (13th) but are a bottom-six defensive team (25th).

Head coach Jordi Fernandez has given the Nets some impressive wins and competitive games, as Cam Thomas, Cameron Johnson, and Dennis Schroder have been playing at a high level. However, they may be speeding up the timeline without taking the steps to acquire talent through the draft if they keep playing at this rate. GM Sean Marks should be inclined to make moves sooner rather than later and embrace the rebuild fully.

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