We've arrived. Steve Nash's squad hit what feels like a zillion snags along the way but here they are, a 7th seed, set to play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers. If the Brooklyn Nets win their next game, they're in the playoffs as the 7th seed and will earn the right to ship up to Boston to take on Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics. If they lose, they'll wait to see who wins the other Play-In game. That second one would be do-or-die for the 8th seed.
But we don't see it getting to that do-or-die point. Here are three reasons the Nets will beat the Cavaliers during the Play-In.
Nets vs. Cavs Play-In Game
3. Former Net and 2021-22 All-Star reserve Jarrett Allen is unlikely to play
The Nets made a blockbuster offer for James Harden (when he was on the Houston Rockets) over a year ago.
Nets fans knew that Jarrett Allen had loads of potential so parting with the young, versatile lob threat as part of that package really hurt. But still, fans were happy to see The Fro find his groove in Cleveland. He's such a likable and fun player. He actually replaced James Harden on the All-Star team this season, when the Philadelphia 76ers guard was out nursing a sore left hamstring.
The Cavaliers are simply not the same team when Allen (recovering from finger surgery) is out of the lineup. They were 35-21 with him, and now they're a terrible 9-17 without him. Some of those Ls came without Evan Mobley as well. Their rookie phenom was nursing a sore ankle recently, but the Cavs never got back on course following Allen's injury.
“Even though the usage of his left hand and J.B. Bickerstaff's proclamation about progress were positive signs, sources tell Cleveland.com there's pessimism surrounding Allen's availability Tuesday night.”
Even if he could suit up, he'd likely be acclimating to basketball again and his conditioning and rhythm simply wouldn't be there.
Advantage: Nets
2. Vegas thinks the Nets will win
It never hurts to see who the casinos like for a big game. According Fanduel, the Nets are already 8.5 point favorites over Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and the available Cavs.
The Nets had the tenth ranked offense overall this season, dropping 113.2 points per 100 possessions per NBA.com. Cleveland ranks just 20th with 111 per 100.
Going a step further, since March 3rd (when Kevin Durant returned from the MCL injury which cost him 21 games, a date just a few days before Allen's finger injury occurred), the Nets have the third overall ranked offense. They have scored a blazing 119.9 points per 100 in that stretch. Cleveland ranks just 17th overall since that key date.
No doubt, Vegas has crunched all of the numbers and arrived at a number they feel is a fair projection. And we certainly don't discount that.
Advantage: Nets
1. Homecourt advantage featuring Kevin Durant AND Kyrie Irving? That'll do
We spent months of this season wondering if Kyrie Irving would be available to play in the biggest home games of the season. He got the key change from NYC Mayor Eric Adams thanks to the New York baseball teams beginning to lobby for change.
The Nets were +13 when Durant was on the floor, 97th percentile in the league per @cleantheglass. The team's eFG% was +6.2% when he was on the court too, 100th percentile.
— Reed Wallach (@ReedWallach) April 11, 2022
Now that Durant and Irving are both able to go, there's just too much firepower for the Cavs to contend with. And frankly, we'd have liked their chances even if Allen were available given this superstar duo's overall talent. There's just no way to stop them without featuring your own superstars to keep pace.
Brooklyn Nets Kevin Durant One Leg Sniper vs Cavs #NetsWorld pic.twitter.com/kdjqBdaVmu
— NetsKingdom 👑🗽 (@NetsKingdomAJ) April 9, 2022
And as much as the Cavs seem like an up-and-coming contender, they're not there yet. There is no Jayson Tatum, no Giannis Antetokounmpo, no Joel Embiid wearing maroon and yellow. There's not a couple of All-NBA caliber talents like Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. It's a team who is really really young and we'd pencil them in for some extremely harsh NBA lessons in buckets from KD and Kai.
Advantage: Nets
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