The Brooklyn Nets have some needs going into the 2023 NBA Draft like trying to balance out the roster by finally addressing the frontcourt by getting more bigs or by easing the ball-handling burden on starting lead guard Spencer Dinwiddie by bringing in more guards. However, Bleacher Report says that the biggest need for the Nets to address in the draft is playmaking.
Brooklyn finished the 2022-23 season with a 45-37 record that earned them the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a first-round matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers. Over Brooklyn’s last 26 games of the regular-season, excluding the last game of the season since none of the main rotation players played more than five seconds, the Nets went 12-14 and ranked 22nd in offensive rating (113.7).
Ever since the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, it was clear that Brooklyn took a step back in terms of playmaking and scoring despite the team having more depth. Brooklyn also ranked 24th in pace (97.63) despite being a younger, smaller team and that was probably due to the fact that Dinwiddie was essentially the only creator in the rotation. Here’s what B/R had to say:
“The first item on the to-do list, then, is giving this attack more juice. After the deadline, Brooklyn dipped to 23rd in offensive efficiency. In the playoffs, it had the second-worst offensive rating among the 16 participants.
This club needs a quarterback who positions himself and his teammates for success. Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are shot-makers, but not shot-creators. Spencer Dinwiddie can’t be the primary playmaker for a good team.”
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