The Brooklyn Nets finished as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference in 2018-19. Have their offseason additions positioned them to become a perennial playoff contender in the years to come?
The Brooklyn Nets raised a few eyebrows last year, as they finished with a 42-40 record. This win-loss total was good enough for the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
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In their first-round playoff matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nets showed they weren’t satisfied with merely making it to the postseason, they wanted to prove they belonged. They exactly that by providing the Sixers with an early wake-up call, defeating them 111-102 in the series opener.
Unfortunately for the Nets, thoughts of an upset would be short lived, as the Sixers took the next four games. Despite their remarkable season, though, the Nets came into the offseason wanting to take the next step.
While they added a number of players to the roster, the two most notable offseason acquisitions were two-time Finals MVP and two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant along with Kyrie Irving — who has also had a few notable moments on the league’s biggest stage.
Although the Nets did have a good offseason, there are a few questions that fans will be keeping an eye on. Will Irving learn from his mistakes in Boston? Are the Nets on track for another playoff appearance and if so, how far can they go?
So, without further delay, here’s a look at three bold predictions (that could actually happen) for the Nets as they prepare for the 2019-20 NBA season, starting with the least surprising one first.