Thank you everyone who submitted questions for our weekly mailbag! We've selected three of them for our Starting Five to tip-off the week with. As always, if you'd like to put forth your own opinions feel free to do so in the comments section below.
1) Realistic expectation for how far the Nets can go with this team?
Sam - Realistically the Nets are a first round/second round exit team. Since the Nets have an incredibly easy schedule for the second half of the season, they could easily make a push for the 5th or 6th seed. If the Nets get paired with the Hawks or Raptors, I think we could see them make a push for the second round, but it's clear that the Bulls have the Nets number.
Kyle - Depending on the matchup, I see the Nets getting eliminated in either the first or second round. If the season ended today, they’d draw the Miami Heat in the first round, and, despite the Nets’ regular season success against Miami, I think Miami wins in 5. However, the Nets will probably rise higher than the 7 seed they’re currently positioned in, and they could possibly win a series if they draw Atlanta or Washington.
Ed - I personally think that if they continue to play the way they have been in 2014, they'll make it to the second round. If they can find a way to sneak into a top-4 seed, I think they'll get to the second round. They just have to hope that they don't get Chicago in the first round again.
Ali - Obviously it depends a lot on how the Nets progress but let's assume they continue their current level of play. I think they can get up to say fifth, maybe fourth, in this weak conference. That would give them a not so bad first round match-up and if Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett can draw up on their experience to put some heart in this team (something that looked like it was missing last playoffs), then I can see them going to the second round. But that's about the furthest they'll get barring some massive improvement or miracle. If they somehow match-up against the Heat, Bulls or Pacers in the first round, then I don't think they can get past them.
Sam - Deron Williams had an incredible second half last season. He averaged around 22 points along with 10 assists. This year though things seem different for Williams. While Williams could easily come back and have a great year he has repeatedly said that he has very little confidence. He appears slower than he has ever been and really can't beat fellow point guards while penetrating to the rim. Still, his 3 point percentage is great and that's with his injuries. With Williams, it's all health.
Kyle - Deron Williams confuses me. Last year, he plays a great second half of the season after getting PRP injections into his ankles. This year, he received the PRP once again, but he’s still not playing well. It seems that Deron could possibly still be bothered by his ankles, and if so, the All-Star Break could be huge for him. After seeing his dreadful first half of this season, I don’t think he’ll play elite this season, even if he gets fully healthy (if he’s not right now).
Ed - I honestly don't think so. I'm thinking we've seen the last of elite Deron. I hope I'm wrong, though. The Nets will only go as far as Deron takes them. Right now, it's not looking like elite Deron will make any appearances. I would love to be wrong about that, but I don't think I will be.
Ali - I think he will get better, but I doubt he'll return to that elite form that he showed last season. It happened after the cleansing and some rest last season, and when the same happened earlier this season he did not produce at an elite level. If he can stay healthy, I can definitely see him showing flashes of his elite/Utah days, but honestly I don't see him performing at an elite level consistently.
Sam - I wish I thought the Nets were going to make a trade. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like they are going to. As I've written before I think they should blow up the team given the short window and the obvious and better eastern conference contenders who will easily knock them off in the playoffs.Trading Bojan makes complete sense because they don't have a lot of roster space and he is clearly, more or less, their most attractive piece.
Kyle - I doubt the Nets make a trade before the deadline. Billy King went all inthis summer, and there’s no escaping now. He has to hope the Nets get hot in the playoffs and somehow make a magical run. However, if a trade was to be made, it’d probably involve Bojan Bogdanovic or Paul Pierce.
Ed - I could see Billy King making a trade, and Bojan is really the only "value" the Nets have. Do I think there's a good chance of a trade? No. A trade will only be made if it will help the Nets, and I don't see Bojan bringing in a key player. We'll see, though.
Ali - I would like to think that the Nets would make a trade, but I'm thinking the Nets organization will only do so if it'll make a major impact. They've invested so much into the players they have now and they could be reluctant to part with any of the big players. If a trade does happen, it'd be something small. Given the circumstances, I can definitely see Bojan Bogdonavic being the first one out since he doesn't play much and there's a lot of interest in him.
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