Have the Brooklyn Nets finally turned the corner? They just might have as the team has been one of the best in the NBA over the last month. They’re the focus on the latest episode of Chris Sheridan’s podcast, Sports Betting Tips, as they get set to visit the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. Sheridan is joined by the Brian Lewis of the New York Post, who is with the team as they travel north.
“People look at the record and see a sub .500 team and figure they’re fair to middling,” says Lewis. “But since they’ve had a players-only film session since Caris LeVert went down, this team is 13-4 and beat some good squads”.
It has been an odd season for the Nets as they lost LeVert after just 14 games. The 2016 first-round pick had seemed to emerge as one of the key foundational pieces on the team, averaging 18.4 points per game along with 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The team had lost 10 of their first 12 games without him and the sentiment was that it would be another lost season for Brooklyn. However, looking up at the standings these days, this team has won 13 of their last 17 with their only losses coming on the road to Boston, Charlotte and Milwaukee, and at home to Indiana.
The question the Nets have to answer is do they want to stick with this team – in the short-term and long-term – because it’s unclear if they really have enough foundational pieces. “The Nets have their own first-round pick in 2019, Denver’s first-round pick and a bunch of seconds
coming in,” says Sheridan. That begs the question if the Nets are playing well right now, will they sell high on players who can return something on the trade market. D’Angelo Russell, for example, is having a strong season and the Nets chose not to extend him in the offseason. It’s possible – especially with Spencer Dinwiddie getting an extension and both players playing at the same position – that the Nets make a move. “If I had a dollar every time I heard General Manager Sean Marks talk about not skipping steps, I’d be doing a lot better,” said Lewis.
The Nets, of course, have a lot of capital with the stockpile of draft picks and they could accelerate this rebuild if they felt they already had the right pieces. However, Lewis, who follows the team quite closely, doesn’t believe that the Nets will be adding to this team. They’re more likely to sell high and keep an eye towards the future. For now, the Nets will test themselves against one of the best teams in the NBA when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. They’re a 9.5-point underdog, so they still aren’t getting much respect. After this, the Nets will host the Celtics on Monday, one of the four team’s that’s beaten them in their last 17 contests.
