New Orleans Pelicans: 4 Teams that will Make a Big Leap Next Season
The Brooklyn Nets
2019-20 Record: 30-34 (7th seed in East)
Predictions for 2020-21: 59-23 (2nd seed in East)
Why they’ll be better:
Like the Warriors, the Brooklyn Nets never played at full strength after losing Kevin Durant for the entire season. The Nets knew this was a likely outcome, as they traded for Durant while he was injured, a risky move, but one worth taking, as they have the possible MVP of the league.
So the first reason they’ll be better is obvious; they’ll have a full season of Durant and Kyrie Irving together, and that duo is enough to potentially win the weak Eastern Conference.
The East is so bad that the Nets were in the 7th seed without Durant and getting only 20 games out of Irving. Without their two best players they were still in the playoffs, which bodes well for the Nets’ chances next year.
Though they will likely lose Joe Harris in free agency, the Nets will return everyone else and have a stacked roster.
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They should get improvements from young star Caris LeVert and wing Taurean Waller-Prince, who both had breakout seasons in 2019-20 that they can build upon.
The Nets have the right blend of youth with LeVert, Prince and Jarrett Allen balanced with veterans like DeAndre Jordan and Wilson Chandler.
Though they will have a new coach, rumblings were that some players (cough, Kyrie, cough) didn’t like Kenny Atkinson, so a new leader might improve team chemistry.
The Nets are talented and deep enough to withstand a couple of injuries or games missed to load management.
The Nets could easily win the East next year if they are at full strength. The only thing that could derail them is future injuries or the collision of massive egos.