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Thank God this exercise is almost over! With the team's top two players resting --and the team on a five-game losing streak-- power rankings are as to be expected bad news, with none of the pundits putting them higher than 27 and several putting them at 29. But hooray, no one has them at No. 30. That circle of hell is reserved for the Philadelphia 76ers who if they don't win another game will finish with nine wins, tying the NBA record.
Sunday was a good day for the Celtics, as the Nets shut down Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young (their two best players by a wide margin) for the season and lost their most winnable remaining game (vs. New Orleans) by 19 points. Not only does Brooklyn not have their first round pick, but it will have to swap second round picks with the Clippers if L.A. doesn't catch Toronto or Oklahoma City in the overall standings.
The Nets are shutting down Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young for the rest of the season while sporting the league's fourth-worst record. But they could easily slip into the bottom three, depending on how they and the Suns fare over the season's final 10 days, which has to read as pleasantly as Boston 109, Golden State 106 for the Celtics officials who know they'll soon be taking possession of Brooklyn's pick.
The Nets decided to shut down Thaddeus Young and Brook Lopez for the season, so they get more time to sit and think about the horrific decision they made to re-sign with Brooklyn. It's like the world's longest kindergarten timeout.
No Brook Lopez or Thaddeus Young for the rest of the season — which is the smart play by GM Sean Marks. Why risk injury to your two best players and trade assets for meaningless games? But nobody may be as happy about the news as Celtics fans (Boston has Brooklyn’ pick, unprotected).
Jeremy Woo, Sports Illustrated (29)
New GM Sean Marks made the most sensible basketball decision in recent Nets history by shutting down Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young for the season. That is positive, and also sad.
Tim Bontemps, Washington Post (27)
By sitting down Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, the Nets have removed any reason to watch this team.
Brooklyn announced it will shut down Thaddeus Young and Brook Lopez for the rest of the season despite no pressing injuries.
Dan Devine, Yahoo! Sports (29)
To be honest, I haven't much minded watching Brooklyn recently. Thanks to the returns of rookies Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris McCullough, the emergence of former D-League star Sean Kilpatrick and occasional spark from Markel Brown, and continued strong play by the frontcourt duo of Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, the Nets have looked more athletic, more aggressive and more competitive under interim coach Tony Brown than they did under Lionel Hollins.
But with Lopez and Young now shut down for the season, and the Nets owing their first-round draft pick to the Celtics as part of the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade, Brooklyn's now less compelling on the court and off it:
The Nets are in an incredible position where there is no incentive to win or lose.
— devin kharpertian (@uuords) April 3, 2016
Not exactly the stuff high drama's made of.