Seeing the roster as basically set, Al Iannazzone becomes the first beat writer to offer his predictions for the 2010-11 season. In spite of major moves on and off the court, particularly Troy Murphy, Iannazzone thinks Mikhail Prokhorov's playoff promise will be broken.
"The Nets are better than last season and should have more of a homecourt advantage in Newark than East Rutherford," he writes in his Nets Insider column for YES. "At first glance, it says here they will win 26-30 games and miss the playoffs. Sorry Mikhail."
The big reasons why he doesn't think they will be among the East's top eight: "at least eight new faces, three new starters, no real stars and a very difficult schedule". He points out, among other things, that even if they are close at season's end, 10 of the last 16 games are on the road. Of course, Al did say, "at first glance".
- New big man will help - Al Iannazzone - The Nets Insider