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You want power rankings?! Well, we got them!! Oh wait, you don't want power rankings?! We understand, but here they are anyway. Yeah, they're bad, although not much worse than last week. After all, the Nets only played the 76ers and Bulls since last week's lists.
An interesting, if depressing, point: Kurt Helin of NBC Sports points out that the Nets have played the NBA's softest schedule so far. And he wasn't even counting the benefit of 17 days between flights, from flying back from San Antonio on November 22 to heading off to Chicago on December 9. In that period, the Nets play only two away games, vs. the 76ers last Wednesday (a bus trip) and the Knicks Tuesday night (subway?).
John Schuhmann, NBA.com, 23 (-)
In his 20th season, Kevin Garnett leads the league in both defensive rebounding percentage (for the second straight year) and bite attempts. He's been one of the only bright spots for the Nets, who have shot 34 percent over their last nine fourth quarters. Joe Johnson has shot 6-for-35 in the fourth over the last 11 games, after going 13-for-20 in the first three.
Marc Stein, ESPN, 22 (-1)
The best thing going for the visibly unhappy Nets is the sight of the five sub-.300 Leastern Conference teams below them in the standings. Brooklyn, mind you, is by no means safe with 10 of its next 16 opponents at .500 or better and Lionel Hollins at 0-7 thus far against such teams.
Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports, 22 (-2)
The Nets visit crosstown rival New York on Tuesday. The Nets won the first meeting 110-99 in Brooklyn on Nov. 7.
Drew Garrison, SB Nation, 20 (-1)
The Brooklyn Nets are the little Eastern Conference engine that could. They aren't a bad team, but they aren't a good team, either. Their current status reminds me of the Atlanta Hawks over the last bajillion years. Joe Johnson's quotes following their loss to the Bulls sum it up well enough:
Joe Johnson reacts to another loss pic.twitter.com/J0i8zoyKmN
— Stefan Bondy (@nydninternets) November 30, 2014
Kurt Helin, NBC Sports, 23 (-3)
Not that Nets fans should feel good about this record anyway, but here is some bad news: It has come against the softest schedule of any team in the NBA this season. On the bright side, Kevin Garnett does a great snapping turtle impression.
Matt Moore, CBS Sports, 23 (-3)
Brooklyn is in a bad place. When a team full of veterans has no answers for turning it around and as little trust in each other as this team, there aren't a lot of places to find solace. They have to keep slogging and hope some sort of rhythm presents itself.
Matt Dollinger, Sports Illustrated, 22 (-1)
Joe Johnson has "no idea" how to turn around the Nets and neither do I. Johnson scored just three points on 1-of-7 shooting in Brooklyn's latest lopsided loss.
Sam Amick, et al, USA Today, 19 (-)
Lionel Hollins has struggled to figure out what to do with Brook Lopez and all of his skills.
Michael Lee, Washington Post, 19 (+1)
Brook Lopez is back from his foot injury but struggling to regain his form — his scoring average is the lowest since his rookie season and Coach Lionel Hollins remains disappointed in his passing, rebounding and defense.
Fred Kerber, New York Post, 22 (-1)
Asked if the Nets can win with their Big 3 of Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, GM Billy King said: "We’ll see." Are the Nets ever going to beat anybody good? They’re 0-7 against winners.