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Brooklyn Nets: Is it Time to Panic?

By Tj Porreca

Jan 8, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the second quarter against Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center. Sixers win 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 8, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the second quarter against Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center. Sixers win 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Brooklyn Nets currently sit at 9-35 on the season. With all that has gone wrong this season, from Jeremy Lin‘s injuries to mounting losses, is it time to panic in Brooklyn?

With just nine wins on the season as of this writing, the Brooklyn Nets have the worst record in the NBA, and are the only team yet to surpass double-digits in the win column.

The 2016-17 season has been a trying one for the Nets thus far. The season has consisted of losses in multiple different fashions, with the Nets simply trying to find their way under first-year head coach Kenny Atkinson.

The most detrimental aspect of the season, of course, has been injuries. Jeremy Lin, signed to be the Nets’ starting point guard, has played in just 12 games this season, missing 32 games entering Wednesday. Lin has suffered two hamstring injuries, and a brief back injury. His latest hamstring injury, the Nets announced, will keep him out for 3-5 more weeks after Lin suffered a setback.

With Lin out for the foreseeable future and the Nets struggling to find wins, is it time to panic?

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Prior to the season, Nets general manager Sean Marks stressed patience, saying the Nets will prioritize progress over wins. Granted, it’s easy to look at their win total and struggle to pinpoint where progress has been made. Wins have been sparse, but the Nets, from an organizational standpoint, have made progress.

In the 2016 NBA Draft, the Nets found two solid players in Caris LeVert and Isaiah Whitehead, both of whom have high ceilings. Whitehead has seen plenty of playing time in Lin’s absence, and LeVert, after missing the beginning of the season due to a foot injury, has burst onto the scene and shown off his star potential in a relatively short amount of time.

In LeVert and Whitehead, the Nets have potentially two foundational players to build the roster around in the coming years.

But how do LeVert and Whitehead — and some of the other bright spots, such as Brook Lopez — ease the pain of having the worst record in the NBA?

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While this may be of little comfort to Nets fans, the reality is Brooklyn was not expected to make the playoffs this season. The Nets are in the middle of a rebuild, and Brooklyn was pegged by Las Vegas to have the lowest win total in the NBA this season, with the over/under set at 20.5.

If the Nets were at full health, with Lin playing a majority of the games, they would assuredly have more than nine wins. But even with Lin, the Nets weren’t destined for the playoffs this season.

Due to that, this should not be a time for Nets’ fans to panic. The Nets, to be fair, were not expected to be in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference or the league as a whole.

Instead of looking at the win-loss column in a panic, Nets fans should take solace in the fact that Marks has found some young talent through the draft. Over the course of the second half of the season, Brooklyn’s younger players will continue to get opportunities and gain experience.

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It would certainly be ideal if Brooklyn had a higher win total, and, in a perfect world, perhaps contended for a playoff spot. But the Nets are not there yet. In time, as their young talent continues to develop and Marks continues to put his stamp on the roster, the overall plan should fall into place.