The NBA Playoffs are right around the corner, as there are less than five games left in the regular season for most teams. That being said, the standings have still yet to be set.
There’s still room for a ton of movement all over the place. From the top of the East, to the Eastern Conference Play-In, to the middle of the West, to the very bottom of the West.
One team that still doesn’t know who they’ll be playing is the Brooklyn Nets. They’re stuck in the Play-In, as they struggled mightily during the months that Kevin Durant was out.
The 10th-seeded Brooklyn Nets are in some serious trouble
Plus, Kyrie Irving was obviously not available to play. But with the recent changes to vaccine mandates in New York City, Irving is allowed to play again – both on the road and at home (except for in Toronto).
Unfortunately, with their loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, the Nets find themselves stuck in 10th place in the Eastern Conference – the very last spot in the Play-In.
Luckily for them, it’s mathematically impossible that they miss the Play-In. No other team is close enough in the standings to catch them.
However, if you had told someone at the start of the season that the Nets would finish 10th in the East, they would have said you were crazy. Most people had them as favorites to win it all at the beginning of the year.
And with how poor their defense has been, it’s not wild to think that their playoff run might be short lived. With how the standings are shaping up, they will likely face either the Miami Heat or Milwaukee Bucks in Round 1.
Kevin Durant alone is enough to win them a playoff series, but he put up 55 against the Hawks and it still wasn’t enough. Brooklyn is in some serious trouble.
Not too long ago, people were crowning them as the new NBA dynasty. But one trade and one subpar season later, this season looks to be a wash.