The Brooklyn Nets are a team in disarray. SI Gambling expert Corey Parson believes the team will fall apart to close the season and narrowly miss out on the postseason.
The Brooklyn Nets will not make the NBA playoffs. When the season resumes in Orlando, their season will only be eight games long, and I will be betting against them along the way. Last week, I wrote about how I thought the Washington Wizards had a good chance to make the playoffs. The odds on that are +1400 at the FanDuel Sportsbook. Well, I think the team that the Wizards will knock out of the playoffs will be the Brooklyn Nets.
Also on the FanDuel Sportsbook, the odds are +1200 that Brooklyn will not make the playoffs. Now let's imagine we hit both those big plus-money wagers!
The Nets seem to be a team in disarray right now. There are rumors that some of the players don't even want to make the trip to Orlando. Kyrie Irving (and Kevin Durant) will be sitting out due to injury, and the Nets will be coached by interim head coach Jacque Vaughn. I'm counting the money all ready, which is probably a mistake, but you get where I'm coming from.
Houston Rockets insider Michael Shapiro points this out: "The first round of the 2020 playoffs is slated to begin on Aug. 18, either one of two days after the potential play-in matchups for the No. 8 seed in each conference".
To get the eighth seed, the Nets would have to fight off the Orlando Magic, who are only a half-game behind them. My guess is that Brooklyn won't be able to do so and drop down to the eighth seed. Once Brooklyn falls to the eighth seed, they need to be five games ahead of the Wizards to qualify for the eighth seed. If they are not five games ahead of Washington, Washington would play Brooklyn in a play-in series. Finally, the Wizards would have to win both games to get the eighth seed. I think they have a legit shot.