2011-12 New Jersey Nets Predictions
Written by Steve Janus
The New Jersey Nets finished the 2010-11 season with a 24-58 record. For most teams that is a pretty bad year, but when you went just 12-70 the previous season it feels like a step in the right direction. Midway through the season the Nets surprised a lot of people by trading for All-Star point guard Deron Williams. At the point the Nets season was already finished. Williams ended up playing just 12 games for New Jersey. Whether or not the Nets are able to keep Williams after this season, could come down to their ability to make a trade with Orlando for Dwight Howard.
While everyone waits to see if the Nets can make the deal happen, the real question is how competitive will New Jersey be if they don’t make trade. Williams is one of the best point guards in the NBA and one of the most underrated players in the league. Williams is the complete package. He can score you 20 points, dish out 10 assists, and grab 4-5 boards every single night. He is also a very solid defensive player, and a proven leader. A lot of people will look at the Nets roster and say they don’t have a chance, but it’s not like Williams was playing with a bunch of All-Stars in Utah.
Teaming up Williams and Howard would be a deadly combination, but I think there is a lot of potential for Williams and fourth-year center Brook Lopez, who averaged a career-high 20.4 ppg last year. Lopez really came on strong at the end of the season, scoring 27+ in five of his last six games. He is only going to get better playing alongside Williams for a full season.
The rest of the starting lineup is where people start to get worried. Anthony Morrow is expected to start a small guard. Morrow has the potential to be a big time contributor. He averaged 13.2 ppg in 58 games (47 starts) with the Nets last year. This will be just his fourth season, and Williams has a way of making everyone around him better.
The team waived potential starting small forward Travis Outlaw and are going through some chances at power forward. They have former first round pick Johan Petro, but he hasn’t shown anything to make you believe he deserves to start. They added in free agents Sheldon Williams and Shawne Williams, both of which could start at power forward if needed.
For the Nets to be competitive and fight for a playoff spot in the East, they are going to need their rookies to give them big minutes off the bench. Marshon Brooks figures to see plenty of time at the 2-guard, while Jordan Williams will see some time playing behind Lopez.
Prediction: 4th Eastern Conference Atlantic Division - I think the Nets honestly have a chance at sneaking into the 8th spot with their current roster. If they are somehow able to team up Williams with Howard, this team will become one of the elite teams in no time. Williams is going to be playing in the final year of his contract, and if he wants a big check that means he has to make it work with whatever the Nets have. It’s going to be hard for New Jersey to win a lot of games with their current roster, but they should keep games a lot close than they have the past two seasons.
Find out where we have all 30 NBA teams finishing in our 2011-12 NBA Predictions article.
If you are looking to make some money this NBA season, be sure to check out what Steve Janus has to offer. Steve finished No. 7 overall in the NBA last year, thanks in large part to a 37-17 run towards the end of last season!
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