Expectations can often be a double-edged sword, wielding much excitement through speculation on how things will transpire on one end and on the other, a harsh reality that rivals your initial notions. Unfortunately, the latter represents how this first week-plus has gone for the Brooklyn Nets this 2019/20 campaign.
Kicking a guy when he’s already down is shameful; it shows poor character and lack of compassion. However, I’ve never claimed to have moral attributes comparable to someone like an Immanuel Kant, or just a plain good guy like Steve Carrell, for instance
The Nets are 2-4 and that isn’t good. You could try and spin it and point the finger at a drastically altered roster or rhythm issues, but no matter which way you weave, they’ve only managed to win 33 percent of their games this season.
To make matters worse, according to teamrankings.com, the Nets have actually had the third easiest schedule thus far. It’s only going to get tougher and with a 5-game road trip looming that includes a 4-game west coast swing against some of the Western Conference’s best in Denver, Utah, Portland, and surprisingly…Phoenix. The next couple of weeks will be telling on how this team deals with adversity.
Is that to say their season is going to continue on this trajectory? No, of course not. For one, I don’t know what the future holds; I don’t have a crystal ball; I don’t get sudden visions or glimpses into what lies ahead like Raven Symone from That’s So Raven. What I can do, however, is look at the talent on this roster and make a semi-educated guess, which is that I expect that they will be just fine.
Before this five-game road trip ensues, they have to take care of business in their own backyard against a New Orleans Pelicans team that has also vastly underwhelmed. Like Brooklyn, they are coming into this season with a completely different roster, thanks in large part due to the dealing of their former-franchise cornerstone, Anthony Davis, to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Oh, and they managed to win some draft lottery, or something, I don’t know, something about a kid named Zion Williamson? He’s hurt at the moment and won’t make his debut in New York, but the Pelicans look like they have a very bright future—which is what makes their 1-5 start all the more confusing.
Do you know of that Paul Rudd video that has been circulating multiple social media platforms? You know, the one from his Hot Ones appearance where he jokes around with the host of the show about his shock in being situated where he is? That clip perfectly sums up where both Pelicans and Nets fans are in the early goings of this young season.
The Pelicans desperately want to kick start their season back into the right direction with a much-needed road victory, and the Nets want to maintain face before their schedule gets significantly more difficult.
I understand that we have only played six games thus far and the NBA season is long, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, I totally get all of that and for those who preach such a message—you are technically correct.
However, this is a game that the Nets simply can’t afford to lose. Come late-March, early-April, when seeds 3-6 in the east are a crapshoot, you don’t want your season to be defined by a 2-5 start to the season. Do the Nets want to be taken seriously? Then they have to win, it’s quite simple in this league.
The Pelicans’ roster depth does not translate over to their record. They are a lot more talented than a 1-5 start. It might be a grueling contest, that predicates on one team pulling out a gut-check type of victory—the Brooklyn Nets have to be that team.