Brooklyn Nets: Grading the Nets season heading into All-Star break

It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for Brooklyn thus far. Now, during the break we’ll evaluate how the team has fared heading into All-Star weekend

As it stands, the Brooklyn Nets currently have a 25-28 record, good for seventh in the East, reeling off of two back-to-back impressive wins against conference foes at All-Star break. One of those teams being the Toronto Raptors, who were hottest team in the league, riding a 15-game win streak before their defeat in the Barclays Center. This ultimately gave the Nets a 7-3 record in their last 10 games heading into the break.

This season has been hectic due to a multitude of reasons. Whether it be from a myriad of injuries throughout the season, a lack of an identity, or inconsistencies from core players.

Kyrie Irving has been featured in only 20 games, meanwhile, Caris LeVert has played in 28.

However, with that being said, head coach Kenny Atkinson and his squad have done a relatively nice job rebounding from these unfortunate occurrences and look to be heading in an upward trajectory.

Despite their countless injuries, to players such as Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert, and not to mention Kevin Durant, the Nets still manage to have the fifth best 3-point percentage(41.5), rank 10th in pace(101.83), and have recently found their defensive energy good for ninth in the league(107.7).

So even with all their mishaps they’ve somehow found a way to continue to win, while getting hot at the right time. At the beginning of the season, the point of emphasis was placed on the offensive end, with their increased pace and flurry of 3-point attempts. Now, they’ve gotten back to their bread and butter and focused intensely on the defensive side of the ball, similar to their blueprint from a season ago.

Their one consistent piece has been the play of Spencer Dinwiddie. He’s been spectacular all season long, keeping Brooklyn afloat in the playoff race throughout the entire season. He’s currently averaging 21.0 points per game along with 6.6 assists.

The Nets are firing on all cylinders as of late and that should continue to improve with the return of Kyrie Irving into the starting lineup. Dinwiddie continues to strive, LeVert has found his rhythm again, Harris is still a 3-point sniper, Jarrett Allen/DeAndre Jordan remain constant with their elite rebounding and defense, and now Irving will compliment the whole squad.

For all their issues early on, for them to have this record is extremely impressive.

Final grade: B