Brooklyn Nets given a grade of B+ for their first 40 games this season
The Brooklyn Nets (27-13) were given a grade of B+ for how they have performed during the first half of this season, according to an article published by NBA.com on Monday. At the writing of the piece, the Nets were 27-13 and had just beaten the Miami Heat the day before.
Over the course of the season after Steve Nash was fired, Brooklyn had a 25-8 and was one of two teams (the Boston Celtics being the other) to be in the top 10 in offensive rating and defensive rating. Leading up to the win over Miami, the Nets had impressive wins over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Milwaukee Bucks.
However, it should be noted that after during the win over the Heat, superstar Kevin Durant suffered an injury to his right MCL and is expected to miss at least one month with the injury. Here’s what NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner had to say about the Nets getting their grade:
“All it took for the Nets to fulfill a lot of the expectations and projections for them was to focus on, y’know, the actual basketball stuff. By the time Brooklyn got past Kevin Durant’s offseason fussing for a trade, Kyrie Irving’s off-court actions, the uncertainty of Ben Simmons and the termination of Steve Nash as coach, this crew was 7-9. Sticking almost exclusively between the lines since then, the Nets went 20-4, including an 18-2 stretch that was the best in franchise history.
The challenge now is to ride out Durant’s knee injury, suffered Sunday at Miami. Durant at 34 had turned back the clock for a renewed prime — 29.7 ppg, 55.9% FG — and had helped the Nets to an 85-44 record in games he played since arriving in 2020. But they were 34-31 without him, pending this upcoming stretch for however long he’s out.
Can Irving carry the primary load? Will assistance from Simmons, Nic Claxton, Royce O’Neale and the rest be as effective in Durant’s absence as they’ve been? That’s the challenge for them and coach Jacque Vaughn.”
The Brooklyn Nets next game is Sunday as they host the Oklahoma City Thunder.
List
Player grades: Kyrie Irving scores 24 in Nets' 109-98 loss to the Celtics
List
NBA Twitter reacts to Nets' 109-98 loss to the Boston Celtics
