There are 82 games in the NBA season and for the Nets, 81 are remaining. In the first and only one they’ve played so far this regular season, the Nets were overmatched by a rebuilding Boston Celtics team that looked like the team with established stars while Brooklyn looked like the young one that couldn’t find its way.
The Nets had the entire offseason to prepare for this game and they came up flat and looked awful during those 48 minutes on Wednesday night. There is just about no debating that when a team allows 67 first half points and 121 over the course of a game.
Sure, Brooklyn did have a lot of roster turnover this summer, which could possibly account for a rough start to a season just due to adjustments to new surroundings. But that excuse doesn’t cover a shellacking in Game 1, when players are the most rested they will be all year.
Brook Lopez didn’t play–due to the sore foot he has been dealing with–while the Celtics had Rajon Rondo–who was returning from a hand injury. This tilted the proverbial scale in Boston’s favor but still doesn’t rationalize the absence of effort and energy that accompanied the Nets during that game.
As bad as it may look, though, not all is lost. As I mentioned above, the Nets have played just 1/82 of the 2014-15 season. They have 81 more chances to make up for this terrible loss and the beauty of the NBA is that they can do that on Saturday night in Detroit against the Pistons.
Also, the Nets have two rookies and a new addition in their regular rotation so there are going to be growing pains.
Bojan Bogdanovic, who has spent all of his career playing the much-different European version of basketball, started and looked like someone not accustomed to the NBA style of game.
Markel Brown, who didn’t play in the opener, is an Oklahoma State product, who has a ton of raw athleticism but needs to refine his game.
Finally, Jarrett Jack is a league veteran who knows the ropes but still has to get used to Hollins and his new teammates, team and city. This stuff takes time and when fans assume it doesn’t, that’s when ridiculous, early conclusions are made that lead to overreactions.
So, Nets fans, don’t get that upset just because of your team’s atrocious showing in its regular season debut. It’s one game against a team that seemed to hit every open shot as well as getting every loose ball/other lucky breaks. Maybe the Nets won’t win the Atlantic or win 50 games. But they probably will sneak into the playoffs somehow, even despite getting crushed by Boston.
The season isn’t over, at least just yet. Calm down.
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