Brooklyn Nets
The 2019-20 Brooklyn Nets can be defined as simply as waiting on KD.
What did we learn?
Uncle Drew began the season deep in his bag.
Kyrie’s 50 points on opening night in Barclays were the most ever scored by a player in his debut with a new team. The Nets lost that game in OT to the T-Wolves, but the Nets looked like they were going to be fun again. Kyrie can be fun, but he rips the heart and soul out of his teams in between injuries. It happened again.
It turns out that Kenny Atkinson was not the coach fit for the tall task of getting Kyrie to just show up and play basketball. Kyrie did not make it through the media without causing a ruckus. Kyrie blabbed to the media in January that it was glaring and transparent that he was playing on a roster with limited talent, needing to add pieces to give him more help, calling out specific teammates he deemed okay to stay and leaving off the others. Sure, Kyrie brought KD to Brooklyn with him, and Uncle Drew dropped another 50-piece while averaging 27 points per game, but the Nets this season had a better record without him.
Kyrie was injured and injured often, only playing 20 games in all, the first 11 games of the season and another stretch of 9 games in January. Injuries and distractions — at this point, it is just who Kyrie is. It would be a lot easier to deal with if it actually led to winning basketball.
Speaking of injuries and 50-pieces, Caris LeVert missed two months due to ligament damage in his right thumb, but at the beginning of March, LeVert scorched the the Celtics in TD Garden for 51 points — a one-man wrecking crew with 37 points scored in the 4th quarter and OT. That’s not something your average Joe Schmoe can pull off.
Spencer Dinwiddie filled in nicely for Kyrie during his absence. Dinwiddie came through in the clutch for the Nets on several occasions. We were elated when Bird called him Spencer WIN-diddie.
Jarrett Allen is the fro power dunker and power blocker. We learned that DeAndre Jordan can still jam! It actually started to look like DJ wasn’t completely washed, but Jarrett Allen’s fro should definitely be getting the lion’s share of the minutes.
It was surprising when it was all said and done to look up and see that the Nets had a top-10 efficient defense. It didn’t feel like a top-10 defense, it felt mediocre at best and inconsistent as hell.
The Bubble Nets without KD, Kyrie, Dinwiddie, DJ and Wilson Chandler played some good ole fashion chuck ball, letting that thang fly. And it worked! In one of the greatest upsets in NBA regular season history, the 18.5-point underdog Bubble Nets defeated the Milwaukee Bucks by chucking 57 three-pointers and making 21! Sure, Giannis didn’t play in the second half, but the Bubble Nets were playing five guys who were previously not even in the league and two players on two-way contracts.
The Bubble Nets and the 2019-20 Brooklyn Nets in general were always a mirage. They were always just waiting on KD.
During the Nets preseason media day last September, Kevin Durant talked about how it was easy to see what the Nets bring to the table, praising the Nets continuity and culture from the last couple of years. Well, upon KD and Kyrie’s arrival to Brooklyn, that Nets continuity and culture from the last couple of years has been wholeheartedly obliterated.
Goodbye Theo Pinson and the heart and soul of the young surprise team 2018-19 Brooklyn Nets.
Gone but not forgotten.
_____________________________________
What are the answers to our Season Preview Final Questions?
Will Kyrie fuck it up?
Basically. Not in the most direct way that we might have anticipated… yet nevertheless. Kyrie was injured on more than one occasion, but it was more than just the injuries. Kenny Atkinson and the Nets agreed to mutually part ways which means that Kyrie and KD did not want Kenny Atkinson to be their coach. And it means that Kenny Atkinson did not want to put up with Kyrie’s shit anymore -- the exact same as everybody else so far. But as is still the case, maybe KD will save him.
_____________________________________
Would our preseason Over/Under prediction have hit?
Even if he does, maybe KD will eventually save him. UNDER 44.5 wins. (54% winning pct)
Nets 2019-20 final record: (35-37) 49% winning pct
YES, our preseason Over/Under prediction would have hit!
_____________________________________
What’s Next?
Get KD and Kyrie healthy. (KD on da way.)
STEVE NASH in the building! With Mike D’Antoni?! Woah, baby. This could very well be the perfect situation for Kyrie.
Re-sign Joe Harris! It is known to be Priority 1. Beef Jerky Joe is one of the best three-point shooters in the league, shooting a sizzling hot 69 percent on left-corner threes. Talk about NICE.
KD’s legacy is in full swing mode for the 2020-21 season.
Kyrie’s is on full fucking trial.
_____________________________________
Favorite Nets Highlight from the 2019-20 Season:
Putting his tumultuous modus operandi aside, when Uncle Drew is playing at the top of his game, it’s truly breathtaking.
