Nets have been careful about making any predictions for this season
Nets' Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons talk during a timeout against the Miami Heat in the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game at Barclays Center on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
How difficult is it to predict what kind of team the Nets are going to have this season? Even the NBA’s 30 general managers admit they don’t have much of a clue.
This year’s annual survey of general managers by NBA.com, released this week, featured the question: What team’s level of success is the hardest to predict? The Nets were the runaway winner, garnering 32% of the vote, more than double the second-place Lakers.
Of course, it isn’t hard to understand why GMs might be at a loss to figure out the Nets. Last year, 72% of the survey’s respondents picked the Nets to win their first NBA championship. Instead, they were swept out of the first round by the Boston Celtics.
Given all the drama and disappointment of 2021-22, the Nets have been very careful about making any predictions for this season, despite the fact their starting lineup will include All-Stars Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons.
Their caution stands in stark contrast to the attitude of the Miami Heat, who defeated the Nets, 109-80, in a preseason game Thursday night at Barclays Center.
Miami exceeded expectations last year when it came within a Jimmy Butler missed shot of beating the Celtics and heading to its second NBA Finals in three years. And the Heat, who are bringing back most of their core except for P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris, have high expectations for this season.
“Even though last season didn’t end the way we wanted it to, we thought we were a legitimate championship contending team,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before Thursday’s game. “ . . . Every team is different and every year is different. Frankly, we want to do better than we did last year.”
The two teams that took the floor Thursday had little in common with the two teams who could meet this year in the Eastern Conference playoffs, so it’s fair not to be overly concerned about the Nets' lack of offense.
Tyler Herro, Victor Oladipo and Gabe Vincent all sat out for the Heat. The Nets played without Irving, whose fiancee had a baby on Tuesday, and Joe Harris. Nets coach Steve Nash said Harris was being held out as a precautionary measure. He was listed as having a sore foot.
“Great night to put together some film and grow from it,” Nash said after the lopsided loss. “Miami sets a standard in the way they play and the physicality and attention to detail, and that’s what we have to strive for.”
Spoelstra on Simmons. Spoelstra said it isn’t easy to prepare to play Simmons, who sat out all last year. “He is a tough guy to game plan for because so much of what he does is in the open court or those unscripted plays,” he said. “His size, his ability to pass and his passing angles are much different than smaller players, he can just throw it over the top of a lot of different coverages. You’re just happy he’s back out there, competing again.”
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
