Brooklyn Nets: 3 things we need to root for before playoffs start

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Alright, Brooklyn Nets fans, it’s go time.

Almost.

The NBA Playoffs are right on the horizon, and plenty of the seeding issues throughout the league seem fairly settled…but are they really?

You need a guide to what exactly you should be screaming for (other than an easy pair of Nets victories in the team’s final two games, with an effortless continued return for James Harden), and we’re happy to have you covered.

What should you be looking for as you kick your feet up during the play-in tournament, you higher-seeded relaxers? What do the Brooklyn Nets want to avoid? What’s the best-case scenario for us?

And what about over the course of the final two days of the season. Is there a real chance things could change dramatically?

Well…yes, actually. It might involve a little bit of Knicks-related screaming, and we’re sorry about that.

With the regular season wrapping up in a matter of hours (if you consider 48 hours a “matter of hours”), these should be your final rooting interests as you watch the Big 3 pick apart the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls.

Nets fans should be rooting for these 3 things as the NBA Playoffs approach.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 25: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Duncan Robinson #55 of the Miami Heat in action against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on January 25, 2021 in New York City. The Nets defeated the Heat 98-85. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

3. Miami Heat to Drop to No. 6 Seed…Somehow

Quite simply, it would be great if the Miami Heat — against all odds — lost a few basketball games, especially now that they’ve helped us out by topping the Philadelphia 76ers, who had a chance to clinch the East’s top seed Thursday on the road and absolutely did not do that.

It would be beneficial for Brooklyn to avoid Miami’s unique combination of size and skilled guard play, with Bam Adebayo ranking as something close to a nightmare matchup for BK’s under-stuffed interior. However, a matchup with a Heat team that could be using up all their steam in the regular season’s final weeks could still be preferable to battling with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the playoff-tested Bucks in the second round. Neither team is an ideal matchup for Brooklyn, of course, but any chance you have for an upset to occur ahead of you in the bracket is something you should take.

The New York Knicks? God bless ’em, but they’re not beating Milwaukee as a six seed. The Atlanta Hawks? The odds they drop are extremely low, having already banked an additional win over low quality competition.

We want Miami in the Bucks’ rearview, we want them to push past the favorite, and then we want them to be tired by the time they reach us.

How can the Miami Heat drop to the six seed in the 2021 NBA Playoffs?

Miami owns the tiebreaker with the New York Knicks, so this would involve a lot of losing. For safety’s sake, we’ll definitely be rooting for the Bucks on Saturday night, hoping they don’t tank to usher in a more favorable matchup with the Knicks. Then we have to root for the Pistons on Sunday. Two losses, one against a team that might be trying to lose, the other against a team that’s definitely trying to lose.

Seems feasible!