Official 2015-16 Brooklyn Nets Season Watch Thread (21-59, 3rd slot as of 4/12)

[SCeltic34]

Perhaps the best thing about owning another team's first round pick - outside of actually being able to select a player with that pick or use the pick as a trade asset - is that it gives us another intriguing storyline to follow over the course of the season (assuming that the pick is not traded). 

It's no secret that we need the Brooklyn Nets to suck horribly this year, and ideally over the next three years.  This thread will be dedicated to the Nets' 2015-2016 season and will hopefully serve as the focal point for which all news regarding the Nets will be consolidated.  It will not be updated following every game they play; rather, it will focus on things of significance to the Nets team, such as injuries, trades, rookie performances, team/lineup chemistry issues, winning/losing streaks, etc.  I will do my best to update this thread with interesting news and tidbits that may affect the Nets team as a whole, (which obviously in turn may influence where our unprotected 2016 Nets 1st rounder lands), but input from others is greatly welcomed, particularly regarding player statistics and information about their salary cap situation as I am not fully proficient in either of these areas.

To any Nets fan who happens to come across this thread: I hope your team is as atrocious.  May your players' jumpshots fall short, your coaching strategies falter, your rookies struggle and fail to contribute this season and the next, and your team implode from poor chemistry and low morale.  I hope that even the hot dogs at Barclays Center taste bad.  It's nothing personal.  It's strictly business.

[Redz]

may they be the suckiest sack of suckage that ever sucked

[Eja117]

Oh behave!

[SCeltic34]

So let's get started.  Here's the projected Nets lineup:

PG: Jack/Larkin/Boatright
SG: Johnson/Ellington/Brown?
SF: RHJ/Bogdanovic/Karasev/Jones
PF: Young/Robinson/McCullough
C: Lopez/Bargnani/?

A few quick thoughts:
- If I were a Nets fan, just looking at that roster would drive me into depression.

- The Nets roster is sorely lacking depth.  They are ill-equipped to sustain an injury to a key player such as Lopez or Johnson, and should this happen they can kiss any chance of having a decent season goodbye.

- The Nets starting lineup is going to struggle severely to score the ball, and it's not going to get any better with their bench players.  I expect Jack and Johnson to have poor chemistry together, as neither are particularly effective playing off the ball.  How well will the ball move with ball-dependent players like Jack, Johnson, and Lopez? They don't have a lot of firepower off the bench either.  Lopez will have to shoulder the load on a nightly basis, and an aging Johnson will need to contribute consistently and efficiently for the Nets to win games.

- Defense will be a major issue.  The defense of the starting backcourt is poor.  Lopez is a liability in pick and rolls and is a subpar defensive center despite his ability to contest shots around the rim.  It only gets worse once Bargs comes off the bench.  Their bench doesn't seem to hold any promise either.

- Bargs is terrible.  Absolutely terrible.  I'd rather have an empty roster spot than have him on my team.  Did I mention that Bargs is terrible?

Notes that may generate interest/affect the Nets negatively:

1) Jarrett Jack had the worst +/- in the league last season, according to an article over at Nets Daily. The opposition outscored the Nets by 315 points when Jack was on the floor (this is significantly worse than the 2nd worst +/- in the league in our old friend Brandon Bass, who was -180 points).  82games.com states that his net was -313 points, with a net -6.7 points per 48 minutes.  I know that +/- isn't a perfect stat, but that's impossible to ignore.

He was also at net -10.8 points per 100 possessions.  Can it possibly get worse than that?

http://www.82games.com/1415/14BKN4.HTM

As a bonus, a lots of Nets fans have a strong dislike of Jack.  Reminds me of the vitriol towards certain Celtics players on this board.

2) Markel Brown may miss the start of this season with an oblique strain.  It's difficult for a player to miss training camp and come back during the season ready to contribute, especially a rookie or 2nd year player. 

http://nypost.com/2015/10/02/nets-guard-strains-oblique-may-miss-start-of-season/

[Surferdad]

Good idea, but can we get one thing straight right away?  This pick is top-7 protected right? What happens if the Nets draw pick #7 or worse? They already own the Nets pick next year too.

[SCeltic34]

Good idea, but can we get one thing straight right away?  This pick is top-7 protected right? What happens if the Nets draw pick #7 or worse? They already own the Nets pick next year too.

You're thinking of the Dallas 2016 pick.

The Nets 1st rounder for 2016 is completely unprotected.

[Surferdad]

 

Good idea, but can we get one thing straight right away?  This pick is top-7 protected right? What happens if the Nets draw pick #7 or worse? They already own the Nets pick next year too.

You're thinking of the Dallas 2016 pick.

The Nets 1st rounder for 2016 is completely unprotected.

In that case, only two things make me nervous that the Nets could play sort of Ok this season:
1) Thad Young is a sort of good player
2) Lopez started playing really good towards the end last season and carried the team into the playoffs.
Other than that, they should be awful.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Fine idea for a thread. You've ruffled my jimmies, and I'm giving you a TP for it.

[jpotter33]

Man, the season can not begin fast enough! TP for a great thread!

It's awesome to know that I now have three teams to either cheer for (C's) or cheer against (Nets and Mavs) this season!

[LarBrd33]

I still think they can hover around .500 this season.

[chambers]

I still think they can hover around .500 this season.

Puff puff pass buddy. I need some of that.

In seriousness,  only way I think that happens is if Lopez plays a full season at an All Star caliber level, and Joe Johnson somehow bucks the steady regression he's experienced for the last 5 seasons as his production goes down and his age goes up.
They'll need to get very lucky to get to .500, but it is possible.

[Csfan1984]

If Nets win 35 games I'll be impressed.

[GC003332]

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/bkn/seasontype/2/brooklyn-nets

12 of their first 16 games are against playoff teams from last season.
The other 4 games, home to the Lakers, at Sacramento, at Charlotte and at OKC.

If Lopez, Young and Johnson don't bring it early they could easily be staring down the barrel at a 4-12, 5-11 start.
I have my Nets doll ready to insert pins in it nightly.

[colincb]

4-10 without DWill last year with another 2 losses in games where he played less than 10 minutes due to injuries. Based on their net point spread, the Nets should have won 33 vs the 38 they did win, which means they pulled out a greater share of close games. The fall off in PG play from DWill to Jack should be enough to get them down there this year and the early Vegas line of 28.5 wins probably factors in expectations for an injury to Lopez who has missed an average of 40 games a year over the last 4 seasons though only 10 last year.

[Eddie20]

Lopez and Young having just signed longterm deals bodes well for us. I'd be more concerned if they were in a contract year.