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New Jersey Nets Predictions

Written September 9, 2008 by Jack Jones

The Nets missed the playoffs last year for the first time in seven years, but it wasn’t much of a surprise when you consider the drop they have seen in wins over the last three years. With the team being dismantled and in rebuilding mode now, our New Jersey Nets predictions see the team finishing fourth in the Atlantic and missing out on the playoffs. You can bet the Nets to win the NBA Championship at +10000 at BetUS.

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For the first time since the 2000 season, Jason Kidd will not be the opening night starting point guard for New Jersey. Instead it will be Devin Harris who takes over, who came over to the Nets last year in the Kidd trade and immediately improved his numbers in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. His backup will be a new face in Keyon Dooling, who came over in a sign-and-trade deal from Orlando. With those two, the Nets didn’t need Marcus Williams so they dealt him away for a draft pick.

At off-guard the team has a winner in Vince Carter, but there isn’t a whole lot of depth behind him. Carter is going to lead the team in scoring, and his drive and kick play will allow him to rack up some assists as well, but he’s going to have to have heavy shoulders to carry the load alone. Chris Douglas-Roberts was taken in the draft and should fit in to Frank’s system since it’s so similar to what he ran at Memphis under former Nets coach John Calipari.

Who is going to step up and replace Richard Jefferson at small forward? New Jersey is hoping that Bobby Simmons can be that guy, who is tough on defense, can rebound, and has shot 39% from 3-point range over his career. Jarvis Hayes was signed as a free agent and is a good athlete who is a little weak on the defensive end. You’ll probably see both off-guard Douglas-Roberts and power forward Eduardo Najera see time here depending on if the Nets go with a big or small lineup.

At power forward the team has depth but no real standout. Seven-footer Yi Jianlian came over from the Bucks in the Jefferson trade, but he hasn’t proven himself in the NBA, putting up just 8.6 ppg and 5.2 rpg in his first season. With his size and athleticism he could develop into an elite player, but he’s a question mark. Najera will also see time here and he’s hard working, tough on defense, and can nail the three. Two more question marks in Stromile Swift, who has never seemed to live up to his potential, and Sean Williams, who doesn’t seem big enough to play power forward in the NBA. Someone needs to overachieve here.

At center Josh Boone performed pretty well last season, averaging over eight points and seven rebounds per game. The Nets also went out and drafted Brook Lopez out of Stanford. Lopez is known as an offensive threat who has range and can post up. The question with both of these guys is can they bang it around down low while playing defense?

Final Analysis

We don’t expect much out of the Nets this season, but then again neither do the guys who set the NBA odds, so there would be a big payday if they do succeed. This team is better than the Knicks, but it’s tough for us to see them catching the Raptors. Of course we feel like the Sixers and Celtics are significantly better than New Jersey right now. Check out our NBA predictions to see just how we see the how league turning out. You can bet the Nets to win the East at +4000 at BetUS.