Brooklyn's Rebuild - Digits Weekly

Just a few years ago, the Brooklyn Nets made a splash in free agency. They inked Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to multi-years in just one summer and had established themselves as future NBA champions.

Then, they had a rough start together, particularly with injuries holding each of the duo out at different times. Because of this, they made a blockbuster trade for James Harden, forming the best Big 3 in the league.

On paper, this big 3 could have been one of the best trio's ever. Unfortunately for the Nets, It was far from that.

Then, that did not work. They traded Harden for Ben Simmons.

That did not work. And alas, they traded Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. We arrive at the present.

The Nets are 41-35 and the 6th seed with just 6 games remaining. Being 1.5 games of the 7th seed Miami Heat and 3 games ahead of the 8th seed Atlanta Hawks, it appears likely that the Nets will slot into this 6th spot to play what appears to be a matchup against the 3rd seed Philadelphia 76ers.

The Nets are in a rather interesting spot headed into this matchup. The team that really got the Nets into this playoff position was led by Kyrie and KD, not Mikal Bridges. The offensive firepower that the old version of the team theoretically had did not result in elite offensive production this season, and since losing this duo, the offense has in fact dropped off.

The defense, however, was top 10 throughout the month of March. This isn’t a surprising fact, given the personnel of this team: Bridges, Cam Johnson, Royce O’Neale, Nic Claxton, Dorian Finney-Smith, Ben Simmons (when playing). All of these could combine for a really, really solid defense.

Players like Dorian Finney-Smith are the type of role players that bring the defensive presence that successful teams always tend to have.

What Mikal Bridges has been able to do as a Brooklyn Net is just amazing and rather mindblowing; nobody expected this type of offensive production out of him. In his 21 games in the black and gray, he’s averaging 26.8 points on 63.6 TS%, absurd efficiency for the amount of shots that he has had to create for himself (only 54% of his makes are being assisted on). He deserves some serious praise.

With the loss of Brooklyn's superstars, the offensive power the Nets once had seemed to be non existent. Mikal Bridges has helped fill that void.

It doesn’t feel like this team can beat the 76ers, though. They had a red-hot March, leading the league with a +8.9 point differential over the month. Their 11-5 record over the course of the month included an 8 game winning streak, although that was at the beginning and end of the month. Their 125.4 ORtg over the month was also the league’s best.

Despite Brooklyn’s defensive talent, it just seems like they won’t be able to slow down everything Philly can throw at them. Joel Embiid is just a force, and James Harden brings another legitimate star next to him. Not to mention, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris can get their own when needed, too. They have too much firepower for what this Brooklyn team can handle.

Despite the surprising resilience of the Nets, a likely matchup against Philadelphia and these two stars will be very tough to overcome.

Where the Nets truly could get backstabbed is in the future, given their pick -- or lack thereof -- situation. Through 2028, they only own their first pick twice: this year and 2028. They hold the Suns’ first round picks in 2023, 2025, and 2027, but those all project to be mid-to-late 1sts.

If the Nets start losing in the upcoming seasons, they are going to dig themselves into a hole that will be difficult to navigate. It’s going to be tough to bring in young talent. Outside of Cam Thomas (21), Day’Ron Sharpe (21), and Nic Claxton (23), nobody else who touches the floor is under the age of 25. Brooklyn, you may have a problem; the future is bleak.

Charlie Spungin , NBA Analyst

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