The Brooklyn Nets, fresh off a rough 20-62 finish last season, are apparently set to blow past some seriously low expectations this year. Seriously. Ricky O’Donnell from SB Nation just dropped his Eastern Conference rankings, and he has the Nets at No. 13, ahead of both the Chicago Bulls at No. 14 and the Milwaukee Bucks at No. 15. That’s a bold call, considering many expect Brooklyn to be one of the worst teams in the league.
Don’t Trade MPJ, Seriously
O’Donnell’s big prediction comes with a major caveat: the Nets gotta hold onto Michael Porter Jr. He enjoyed a career-year under head coach Jordi Fernandez last season, and O’Donnell thinks Porter is crucial for the team to beat those low expectations. Fernandez, widely seen as one of the best young coaches in the game, also got Cam Johnson playing great one year prior, showing he knows how to get the most out of his guys. The man makes players compete hard, and you gotta love that energy.
New Faces and Growing Talent
This summer, Brooklyn grabbed former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, and he’s not the only new face. Rookie guard Mikel Brown Jr. and veteran Keon Ellis are also in the mix. O’Donnell thinks this added talent, plus a potential sophomore leap from Egor Demin and Day’Ron Sharpe possibly taking over for Nic Claxton at center, could be a real upgrade. There’s even talk that Randle could have a statistical resurgence. The Bulls and Bucks are both in rebuilding mode, especially after Milwaukee shipped superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami. That makes these matchups against other rebuilding squads even more interesting.
The Nets’ season is all about developing their young talent and trying to win as many games as possible. If they can keep Porter Jr. and Fernandez keeps working his magic, who knows? This team might just shock some people and be more competitive than anyone expects.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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