Brooklyn Nets: 5 predictions for the 2018-19 NBA season

5. Crabbe returns to Portland form

When the Nets traded for Allen Crabbe last summer, he had already been on their radar for quite some time, as evidenced by the albatross offer sheet they gave him in 2016. The Portland Trail Blazers matched that egregious offer, but regretted the decision a year later.

Crabbe’s floor-spacing was his main attribute when he came to Brooklyn, although it didn’t translate nearly as well as expected. This could be due to the lack of penetrators who could get him open shots; no one on the Nets was collapsing opposing defenses like Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum.

Thanks to the improved roster, Crabbe is bound to improve on his 37.8 percent 3-point efficiency, which was still above-average. Crabbe was just taking way too many 3s a game (7.1) because he was the team’s best threat from downtown.

With other shooters like Napier and Graham in the fold, the floor should be much more open for Crabbe to knock down easy treys. As a result, his 3-point percentage could spike north of 40 percent, just like the old days in Portland.