The Brooklyn Nets are ranked as the 19th-best team in the NBA in Bleacher Report’s latest power rankings for the Association. This illustrates a sizable drop in the perception of how good Brooklyn is as in the edition of the power rankings that came before this, the Nets were ranked as the 15th-best team in the league.
While Brooklyn has the sixth-best record in the Eastern Conference at 34-28, they have won just two of their last 10 games and have had some crushing losses since coming back from the All-Star break. In the last four games, the Nets are on a four-game winning streak, Brooklyn’s average margin of defeat is 21 points.
The Nets are sliding down the standings at a decently fast pace and are only 1.5 games ahead of the Miami Heat. Despite the high expectations of the defense that Brooklyn was able to play, the Nets’ defense has been underwhelming to say the least. Here’s what Bleacher Report has to say about Brooklyn’s ranking on their list:
“There was some initial optimism that the Brooklyn Nets’ new-look, highly switchable roster could at least remain competitive following the departures of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
Mikal Bridges scoring 45 in a mid-February win over the Miami Heat certainly fueled that optimism, but Brooklyn is 0-4 since then. And a couple of the losses were ugly.
The streak started with a 44-point drubbing at the hands of the Chicago Bulls. And on Wednesday, the Nets lost by 24 and gave up 142 points to the New York Knicks.
They’re still in sixth place in the East, but suddenly, escaping the play-in tournament doesn’t feel like a given (the Miami Heat are a game-and-a-half back of Brooklyn). This team is serving as a possible reminder of the importance of star power and the time it takes to develop connectivity on defense.”
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