CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An iconic New York champion once said you are what your record says you are. Right now, the Nets’ record is decrying them as a losing bunch. Their place in the standings is labeling them a play-in team.
Many NBA fans are mocking them as one of the league’s biggest disappointments.
They have a chance over the next month — hopefully two — to change all that.
Despite being betting favorites to reach the Finals, the Nets are stuck in ninth place in the East with just 17 games left, in a tie with the Hawks and Hornets. They play eighth-place Charlotte on Tuesday in a game with huge play-in ramifications.
Meanwhile the next month or so will have ramifications not just on the play-in, but on a roster that’s going to be very much in flux. And perhaps on the performance team or even coaching staff as well.
If this season goes sideways, there could be consequences and repercussions.
Inexperienced Steve Nash got the job over title-winning Ty Lue due to relationships with Kevin Durant and GM Sean Marks. Despite Kyrie Irving’s part-time status, James Harden’s unhappiness and injuries that could put the performance team under fire, Nash has held the Nets together through sheer positivity.
But will that be enough?
For his part, Nash has claimed he’s gotten nothing but support from Marks and team owner Joe Tsai. But the play-in can’t be the return on investment Tsai envisioned for this supposed superteam with its huge luxury-tax bill.
The Nets have enough talent to win a title if they can get it on court; but they’re all but assured of being in the play-in, entering Monday 5 ½ games behind Cleveland for the last guaranteed playoff spot. If the season ended Monday, they’d host the Hawks in the play-in, facing single-elimination without Irving.
The teams with the top six winning percentages in each conference are guaranteed playoff spots, while seeds 7 through 10 go to a capricious play-in.
The 7-8 winner claims the No. 7 seed, while the loser hosts the 9-10 victor knowing it will either be bound for the last playoff spot or the lottery.
And that 9-10 loser? An early vacation and trip to the lottery. Well, not in the Nets’ case because their pick goes to Houston in the Harden deal.
In layman’s terms, teams Nos. 7 and 8 play double-elimination, while Nos. 9 and 10 have to win twice to survive and advance. And with the game at Barclays Center, the unvaccinated Irving would be barred from playing (as he would if the Nets climb into a 7-8 matchup versus Toronto, home or away).
This is the situation the Nets have found — no, put — themselves in.
The Nets need Irving and Ben Simmons; but Irving’s unwillingness to get vaccinated leaves him available for just six of the final 17 games, and only one of the last eight.
Simmons is still nursing a sore back. Even if he’s cleared to practice by the end of this week and debuts March 18 versus Portland — or three days later against Utah — that leaves Simmons just 11 or 12 games, and the new Big 3 at most three together.
When Marks swapped Harden for Simmons, league personnel said the move was as much about securing Brooklyn’s future. But how can a title run versus an embarrassing early ouster impact that future?
Durant, Simmons, Joe Harris, Seth Curry, Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe are the only Nets on guaranteed deals next season.
Andre Drummond, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin, Goran Dragic, Bruce Brown and James Johnson are all unrestricted free agents. Nic Claxton is a restricted free agent, while Irving and Patty Mills can opt out.
The Irving situation can be anywhere from tricky to nightmarish. They’d expected him to ink a max extension this offseason, but he didn’t. They expected him to get vaccinated, but he hasn’t. And contract talks ceased back in October.
While opting in could prove the best for both — putting the pandemic and Irving’s absence in the past — it’s one of a host of big decisions coming in what promises to be a pivotal (and stressful) few months in Brooklyn.