2017-18 Brooklyn Nets Schedule is Ranked 7th Hardest But Playoff is Not Impossible

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The Brooklyn Nets 2017-18 Season Schedule is finally released and things are not getting easier for Jeremy Lin and his Nets teammates.

The complete schedule can be found in the Game Schedule page and the Nets Schedule page:

Nets Projected 7th Hardest Strength of Schedule

Based on the Strength of Schedule (SOS) ranked by 2016-17 W-L% and Pythagorean Expectation courtesy of Yaya Dubin, the Nets schedule is ranked the 7th hardest. It is important to note that since the Nets owns the worst record in 2016-17 and many good players moved from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference, things are not as bleak as it seems.

In fact, it seems like the Nets have a good break in the first 10 games (Pacers, Magic, Hawks, Magic, Cavs, Knicks, Nuggets, Cavs, Suns, Lakers) since only the Cavs is considered the strong playoff team on paper.

If it provides any consolation, the Nets SOS  improved from 8th hardest before All-Star Break to 15th after the All-Star Break so the schedule should be easier after the ASB

And with the worst record in 2016-17 season, it is not surprising that the Nets has the fewest national/network TV games tied with Atlanta Hawks with only 2 games.

Notable Nets Games

There are some notably interesting Nets games against Lin’s and teammates’ old teams that Lin and Nets fans will want to set reminders in their calendar.

  1. New York Knicks: Oct 27, Dec 14, Jan 15, Jan 30
  2. Charlotte Hornets: Feb 22, Mar 8, Mar 21
  3. Houston Rockets: Nov 27, Feb 6
  4. LA Lakers: Nov 3, Feb 2   (It’s also Brook Lopez’s new team and D’Angelo Russell’s old team)
  5. Toronto Raptors: Dec 15, Jan 8, Mar 13, Mar 23 (DeMarre Carroll’s old team)
  6. Portland Blazers: Nov 10, Nov 24 (Alan Crabbe’s old team)
Nets are Huge Underdogs but Playoff is Not Impossible for Healthy Nets

Many NBA analysts will underestimate the Nets team because of they own the worst record in 2016-17 but only knowledgeable analysts will recognize a healthy Lin led the young Nets to close the season strongly with 11 wins and 12 losses including key wins against playoff caliber teams (Memphis, Atlanta 2 times, Bulls).

If Jeremy Lin stays healthy, he will lead a more formidable team with the addition of D’Angelo Russell, Alan Crabbe, DeMarre Carroll, and Timothy Mozgov to replace the loss of Brook Lopez. If the Nets stay healthy and they continue to play unselfishly, Lin’s playoff goal in the weaker Eastern Conference will not be far from reality.

By psalm234