In the latest edition of the NBA.com power rankings (week 9) by John Schuhmann, the Brooklyn Nets were ranked as the 12th-best team in the league. For context, the 13th-best team was the Los Angeles Clippers and the 11th-best team was the Golden State Warriors.
When this piece was written, the Nets were 16-12, but they are now 17-12 after beating the Washington Wizards 112-100 on Monday. With the win over the Wizards, Brooklyn has now won eight of its past nine games and are now fourth in the Eastern Conference standings.
Part of the reason that the Nets are ranked 12th is because of their upcoming schedule (15 of next 20 games are on the road). Schuhmann elaborates on certain factors that bring the Nets’ ranking down as low as it is on his list:
“The Nets weren’t exactly dominant on a seven-game homestand in which they faced mostly shorthanded opponents. They outscored those opponents by just 5.3 points per 100 possessions (and by just 4.2 per 100 with Kevin Durant on the floor) over the seven games, and four of the wins were within five points in the last five minutes. But a 6-1 homestand, over which they scored 38 points on 25 clutch possessions (with Kevin Durant 3-for-3 on clutch 3s), had the Nets three games over .500 and in fourth place in the East.”
The Nets’ next game is Friday at the Toronto Raptors.
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