- The
Brooklyn Nets are a title contender who might make the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed, creating potential for a first-round upset. - Chris Dudley, a member of the '98-99 Knicks team that made the Finals as an 8-seed, said momentum at the end of the season is key to any run.
Once again, an underperforming New York basketball team is primed to pull off a playoff upset.
The Brooklyn Nets had entered this season as heavy title favorites. However, a combination of injuries and
The Nets finished 44-38, seventh in the East, and will now face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the play-in tournament. If they win, they'll play the Boston Celtics as the seventh seed in the first round of the playoffs. If they lose, they'll play the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-Charlotte Hornets play-in game for the right to claim the East's No. 8 seed and face the Miami Heat.
As an assistant coach of one Eastern Conference playoff team told Insider, "Can you imagine playing the Nets as a 7- or 8-seed?"
The Nets situation is not unlike the one the New York Knicks faced in 1998-99. Heading into that season, the Knicks weren't considered juggernauts like the Nets were, but they were still a deep, formidable bunch, boasting All-Star-caliber players, like Patrick Ewing, Latrell Sprewell, and Allan Houston.
The Knicks stumbled out of the gates in the lockout-shortened season and fell to the outside of the playoff picture. They only clinched the eighth and final playoff spot after winning six of their last eight games.
The players, however, felt something clicking.
"That was a team that definitely struggled early and was getting better as the season progressed," said Chris Dudley, a reserve center on that Knicks team. "And in that regard, you could compare it to Brooklyn this year."
The Knicks upset top-seeded Miami in the first round of the playoffs. They then swept the Atlanta Hawks, beat the Indiana Pacers in six, and made it to the Finals, where they eventually lost to the San Antonio Spurs. They remain the only 8-seed to ever reach the Finals.
For all of the turmoil of this Nets season, they finished strong, winning four in a row and 12 of their last 17. They're now (mostly) healthy, wth Irving available full-time — a scary foe that could knock another contender out in the first round.
Dudley thinks a strong finish is important to any type of run.
"We went into Miami and we were the 8-seed. We were the underdog, but we didn't see it that way," Dudley said. "We saw it as at least being even, and this was going to be a battle, and we were ready. We were ready to go. At that point, there was no fear. We had a lot of confidence we could win."
Dudley added: "If the season had been an 82-game season, we wouldn't have been the 8-seed. We were rolling."
Since retiring in 2003 after 16
Dudley said he would feel better about the Nets' chances in the playoffs if Durant, Irving, and Ben Simmons all got a few weeks to play together. Simmons hasn't played since coming over in the James Harden trade, and the Nets have ruled him out of the play-in game. It's possible that he could return for the first round of the playoffs if the Nets make it there.
Still, Dudley said, "I never count out a team with Kyrie and
Likewise, NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton doesn't really consider the Nets an 8-seed. Payton has unique perspective on the matter: In 1994, his top-seeded Seattle SuperSonics were knocked out of the first round by the No. 8 Denver Nuggets.
"I think this [Nets] team is not an 8 seed or a 7 seed," Payton said of the Nets during a promotional interview for Hennessy.
"They weren't supposed to be in this slot anyway."
Regardless, Payton knows the dangers of giving an underdog some life. The 1993-94 Sonics went up 2-0 over the Nuggets in the first round. But then, "we got over-confident, and they got on a roll," Payton said. "In the NBA, once you get in a rhythm and get on a roll, you can beat anybody."
As it became clear that the Nets were going to be a low playoff seed this season, it sparked debate about whether top seeds in the East should re-position themselves to avoid the Nets. This may have happened: the Milwaukee Bucks sat all of their starters on the final game of the season on Sunday, dropping them from second place to third — and clear out of the Nets' path in the first round.
Both Dudley and Payton agreed that such maneuvering is risky.
"You gotta be careful with that," Dudley said. "You don't wanna be too cute.... You wanna be peaking at the right time."
"Don't avoid nobody," Payton said. "If you want to get rid of them quick, play 'em fast. And then you ain't gotta worry about them [in later rounds]. You know what I'm saying? So I wouldn't duck nobody."
Payton added: "Eventually you're gonna have to play them."
Rarely has a team's season teetered between disaster and success like this Nets team. Ironically, they have the chance to do that to another contender in the first round.