Even though they’ll be without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving when the 2019-20 NBA season resumes down in Disney, the Brooklyn Nets are still in a good position to make the 2020 NBA Playoffs. But there’s still work to be done on their end with eight games remaining on the schedule and the potential for a play-in game for the final spot in each conference now on the table.
When play came to a halt, the Nets held a half-game lead over the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference and a six-game lead over the No. 9 Washington Wizards — the only team from the East who will travel to Disney that has not secured a playoff spot.
Whether it be the Wizards, Magic or even the Nets that are in the ninth spot by the time the season concludes, that team must be within four games of the No. 8 team in order to force a play-in round.
The Wizards have to do a lot right in order to move to the No. 7 spot — and a lot has to go wrong for the Nets and Magic, too. But cutting the gap to secure a play-in is very much possible.
For the Nets, they’ll be without their two best players. But Brooklyn survived without Durant all season, and Irving only played in 20 games in 2019-20.
The Magic have had to weather some injuries throughout the season, as well. And they’ll still be without two key pieces when play resumes, according to Ron Parry of the Orlando Sentinel.
Jonathan Isaac suffered a left knee injury back in January and Al-Farouq Aminu had surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his right knee the same month. Parry is reporting both will “most likely will not be healthy enough to return.”
If teams wind up facing the next eight opponents on their original schedules — of the 22 that will be in Orlando — the Nets will face the Magic twice. Those games could play a huge role in Brooklyn’s spot in the standings. With Isaac and Aminu out, the Nets should have an easier time in those contests — while Orlando has to find a way to continue to thrive without those two players.