Getty The Brooklyn Nets updated Playoff Chances and Eastern Conference Playoff Picture.
On a night marred by a gruesome Jusuf Nurkic leg injury, four quarters of basketball wasn’t enough to decide the matchup between the Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers as the two teams needed two extra frames in order to decide the winner. While the Blazers had locked up a playoff position prior to tip-off, the Nets needed a win to help cement their playoff chances and battled hard on the road against a hobbled (and even more so after losing Jusuf Nurkic), but still dangerous Trail Blazers squad.
D’Angelo Russell leads the way in Portland with 18 first-half points!
📺: @NBATV
The Nets ended up falling just short and while the loss by no means puts the Nets out of the playoff picture (they still control their own destiny), it does muddy things up at the bottom of the East. In a tightly contested Eastern Conference playoff race for the 6-8 seeds, every game counts at this point.
Nets NBA Playoff Chances
Heading into the night, the Nets owned a 36-34 record, good for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO Projections gave the Nets an 84% chance of making the NBA playoffs while FiveThirtyEight’s ELO Forecast gave the Nets an 80% chance to make the playoffs.
Following the loss, the Nets slipped down to the seventh seed in the eastern conference playoff picture and moved to 38-37 on the year. The CARMELO Projection knocked the Nets playoff chances down three points to 81% while the ELO forecast was a bit more forgiving, dropping them a single point to a 79% playoff chance.
For a team that was expected to contend for a top lottery pick heading into the season, it would be safe to say that the Nets have far exceeded all expectations in the 2018-2019 season.
Updated Eastern Conference Playoff Picture
Standings
1. Milwaukee Bucks (55-19)
2. Toronto Raptors (51-23)
3. Philadelphia 76ers (47-27)
4. Indiana Pacers (45-29)
5. Boston Celtics (43-31)
6. Detroit Pistons (37-36)
7. Brooklyn Nets (38-37)
8. Miami Heat (36-37)
9. Orlando Magic (36-38)
10. Charlotte Hornets (34-39)
11. Washington Wizards (30-44)
12. Atlanta Hawks (26-48)
13. Chicago Bulls (21-53)
14. Cleveland Cavaliers (19-55)
15. New York Knicks (14-60)
Sitting just one game ahead of the Olrando Magic in the loss column, the Nets need a strong finish over their final seven games and will need to go at least 4-3 to have a realistic shot at making the playoffs. The Magic are playing motivated basketball right now and despite sitting under .500, could realistically make a run down the stretch and catch the Nets if they stumble late.
Nets were down by 28 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
DLo scored 27 in the 4th.
Nets win!
Unfortunately, the Nets have a brutal stretch of games to close out the year and will be facing some of the best teams in the NBA. After playing their next game against the Philadelphia 76ers, they face the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks (again), and Indiana Pacers before a final game showdown against the eighth-seeded Miami Heat that has some major playoff implications.
While the road won’t be easy, the Nets have surprised analysts at every turn and will look to lean heavy on emerging superstar D’Angelo Russell down the stretch to help lead them to the playoffs for the first time since the 2014-2015 season.
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Nets NBA Playoff Chances: Updated Eastern Conference Playoff Picture