Because Kelly Irving is not qualified to play at home, coupled with the absence of James Harden and Kevin Durant due to injury, the lack of the Big Three, the Nets' combat effectiveness is naturally greatly reduced. Although the Opposite Nuggets also lacked jamal Murray and Michael Potter Jr. and two top-paid players, after all, there was still the core Nikola Jokic, coupled with the assistance of several high-quality deputies, so that the Nets experienced a hard battle, and finally failed to defend their home field, watching the opponent take away the victory.
To be sure, despite the lineup's disorganization, the players on the Nets did their best, with a total of six scoring double digits. Patrick Mills and LaMarcus Aldridge, who have always played the role of true thighs, needless to say; rookie Cameron Thomas has also played better and better, and he has played 25 points off the bench; in addition, some players who have played little in the past and even underperformed have contributed, DeAndre Bemburi shot 7 goals in 11 shots and cut 14 points; James Johnson had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, once again showing his all-round ability, which is really old and strong Even the largely discarded Javin Carter blossomed like an iron tree, scoring 13 points and three assists.
However, in the case of the big three have not appeared, the net's strength is indeed limited, the roof leak is partial to the overnight rain, after losing the game, there are still some unfavorable factors for the Nets. The first is that the Next Nets' schedule is very cruel, on the one hand, it is five consecutive road games, and the opponents are not easy to deal with, the Nets will challenge the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets in a row. In these few opponents, only the King's strength is limited, the remaining four teams, the Suns and Warriors record in the league to lead, even if the Nets lineup is neat, may not take advantage, now I am afraid it is more dangerous. As for the Jazz, although their state has fluctuated during this time, they are still in fourth place in the West, and the Diggers beat the Nets, they are currently in sixth place in the West, and the two sides will fight again. Not to mention that both the Jazz and the Nuggets have the Highland Devils home, which is a huge test for the Nets.
In terms of record and ranking, after losing to the Nuggets, the Nets have fallen to fourth in the East, and the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers are firmly in the top three. Not only that, but the team behind the Nets is also eyeing the tiger, the Bucks' record is equal to theirs, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Nets are only half a game apart, and even the Charlotte Hornets, who are seventh in the East, are only 2.5 wins away from the Nets.
It's clear that competition in the East has become more intense now, with the exception of the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons, who were determined early, and the Indiana Pacers, who have been affected by the injury wave, other teams have a chance to make the playoffs. In this case, don't look at the Nets in the fourth place in the East, but only the top six can lock the playoff qualification, because the Nets lineup is not in order now, and the schedule has been more than halfway, a little more troublesome, the Nets are entirely likely to fall directly out of the top six. Then if you need to participate in the playoffs, the chance is very large, even if the Nets with strong strength to cross the risk, the consumption of players will be very large, then when it comes to the playoffs, it will fall into a very passive situation.
In addition, if the Nets can't pick up next, or even fall all the way to the bottom, they will also send a rich return to the Rockets. Everyone should remember that last season, in order to get Harden, the Nets lost a lot of money, including providing the Rockets with a lot of draft picks. Originally, the outside world felt that the Rockets wanted to take advantage of at least after the big three dissoluted or even retired in a few years, before the Nets would begin to sink, and they would get some relatively high draft picks. As a result, Irving began to work, Durant and Harden are plagued by injuries, and now the Nets' expected draft pick is already in 23rd place, and this first-round pick will eventually give the Rockets. As the situation continues, by the end of the season, the Rockets may get a higher first-round pick pick.
For this plot, old fans may be somewhat familiar, as early as 2013, the Nets sent away a large number of young players and draft picks, in exchange for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry, who have entered the twilight of their careers, the result is that the Nets have not even played the division final during that time, but gave the Celtics multiple high-pick draft picks, becoming the laughing stock of the league. Originally the Nets thought of Harden, Durant and Irving, theoretically in the year of the fight, will not repeat the same mistakes so quickly, but the injury is fierce plus Irving's tumultuous operation, the Nets are very passive, and now the team has no second way to choose, can only do their best to maintain the lineup framework and continue to strengthen, once there is a difference behind the pool is a huge abyss.