The NBA’s planned restart and how it will affect the Brooklyn Nets

We are all aware of the NBA’s four month hiatus and the affect it has had on the whole league. Ever since this stoppage of play, the league office has been attempting to find a way to resume the season and crown a champion. It seems over the past week they have came up with a solution. The 22- team return plan is expected to be approved by the league in the coming days. It needs 24/32 teams to approve it. This plan includes eight regular games against other opponents. These eight games are for the sole purpose of seeding the teams. The teams keep their records that they had pre-corona virus. The top eight teams in each conference after this short stint of games will play in the playoffs. The one twist is if the 8 and 9 seeds’ records are 4 games or closer then they will play in a one game playoff to determine who will play as the eight seed.

The Brooklyn Nets are currently the 7 seed in the East and only .5 games back of the 8 seed and 6 games back of the 9 seed. This gives them a good chance to make the 16 team playoff but there is a slim chance where they do not, especially without Durant. If the Nets were to post a 2-6 record, they could fall to less than 4 games above Washington which would lead them to a playoff game to determine the 8 seed. The schedule has yet to come out, but I’m guessing the Nets will most likely play all teams from their conference. The one unseen aspect is the eight seed in the East is the Magic who are basically playing all of their games from their home town, Orlando.

So the NBA's inviting 22 teams to Orlando: 13 Western Conference, 9 Eastern Conference. Eight-regular season games per team. Play-in for the 8th seeds. July 31-October 12. Vote tomorrow to ratify.
The NBA's back.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 3, 2020

If the Nets were to make it in as the 7 seed, they would most likely face the Toronto Raptors in a seven game series in the first round. Brooklyn went 1-3 in the regular season against the Raptors. If they were to fall down to the 8 seed they would ultimately play Milwaukee led by Giannis Antetokounmpo. In their previous meeting the Nets lost by a score of 117-97. As one can see, even if they were to make this tournament, it would be extremely hard for them to beat either of these teams in a 7 game series to advance.

The NBA's return plan includes 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference teams.

Here's who's in, according to @wojespn. pic.twitter.com/8s0qYYgLtt

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 3, 2020

The best case scenario for the Nets would be for Raptors to fall out of the two seed and then they would most likely play the Celtics or Heat. Brooklyn would be ecstatic to play Boston or Miami compared to Toronto. It should also be noted that even if Brooklyn goes 8-0 in these games, they can not possibly jump Philly for the 6 seed.

This is how the NBA season will be concluded and we discussed the best and worst outcomes for the Brooklyn Nets if this situation were to be passed. If Kyrie is healthy enough, this could be a great opportunity for Brooklyn to show off their true potential to the rest of the league.