Three reasons to watch the Brooklyn Nets this NBA season
With the 2016-17 NBA season on the horizon, USA TODAY Sports highlights the top three reasons to watch all 30 teams. We also recap any significant moves made in the offseason and project how your favorite team will finish.
Watchability ranking: 30th
What’s different? They hired GM Sean Marks from the San Antonio Spurs organization, tabbed former Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks assistant Kenny Atkinson as their new coach and made several noteworthy moves that should portend success. Eventually.
Lin’s back in New York: Reviving Linsanity might be a stretch, but the Nets believe in Jeremy Lin, their biggest offseason acquisition. He signed a three-year deal in large part because of his relationship with Atkinson from his time with the Knicks. Lin wasn’t a featured guard while playing second fiddle to Kemba Walker with the Charlotte Hornets, but his struggles (41% shooting from the field) could be attributed to circumstance. His defense is much improved, and he has talked a lot about strengthening the mental aspects of his game.
Adjusting to Atkinson: Atkinson is the sixth Nets coach since the franchise moved to Brooklyn in 2012. That suggests management is impatient, but he indicated he wouldn’t have accepted the job if he were on a short leash. Atkinson, noted for his player development, had a significant hand in developing Hawks guard Dennis Schroeder and former Hawks guard Jeff Teague during his time in Atlanta. His touch could help bring along first-round pick Caris LeVert, whom the Nets acquired by trading Thaddeus Young on draft night.
Atkinson to take things from Spurs, Knicks, Hawks
Breakout candidate? Aside from Lin and Brook Lopez, a casual fan might not recognize many names on Brooklyn’s roster, but one that could have a breakout season is Bojan Bogdanovic. Playing for Croatia in the Rio Olympics, Bogdanovic led all scorers with an average of 25.3 points a game. He shot better than 50% from the field, including 45% from three-point range. He had several huge games last season, though his production was largely ignored in the midst of the Nets’ losing.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
(Statistics from 2015-16 season)
- Jeremy Lin (with Charlotte) - Points: 11.7, assists: 3.0, rebounds: 3.2, steals: 0.7, field goal percentage: 41.2%
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson - Points: 5.8, rebounds: 5.3, assists: 1.5, steals: 1.3, field goal percentage: 45.7%
- Bojan Bogdanovic - Points: 11.2, rebounds: 3.2, assists: 1.3, steals: 0.4, field goal percentage: 43.3%
- Luis Scola (with Toronto) - Points: 8.7, rebounds: 4.7, assists: 0.9, blocks: 0.4, field goal percentageL 45.0%
- Brook Lopez - Points: 20.6, rebounds: 7.8, assists: 2.0, blocks: 1.7, field goal percentage: 51.1%
How good can they be? The Nets might not be better than last year. Don’t expect a playoff appearance anytime soon.
USA TODAY’s projection: 20-62
Follow Michael Singer on Twitter @MSinger
