The Brooklyn Nets will take on the Memphis Grizzles on Friday night following a four-day layoff. Brooklyn has already defeated Memphis twice this season, with the last win coming in a 106-104 down-to-the-wire victory on November 4th.
Since then, however, Memphis has gotten healthy and gotten on a role. After a 4-4 start to the season, the Grizzlies have gone 13-4 including winning nine out of their last ten. This, in short, explains why Brooklyn will enter action as 9.5-point dogs on the road.
The other reason? The Nets have started to fade in recent weeks Following the jubilant 127-117 victory over the Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn has lost four out of five and dropped to 10-14 on the season.
What makes it even worse for the Nets, is they still remain outside of the lottery odds in next year’s draft. The combination of a deep and competitive Western Conference along with a muddled Eastern Conference leaves a very odd-looking Draft order at the moment.
Seven out of the top ten per Tankathon.com 2025 Draft order reside in the East. 10-14 however are all Western Conference teams, who all have .500 or better records entering action on Friday.
San Antonio at 12-12 is very much reaching the crossroads of how they will approach the trade deadline. Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings are riding the three-game winning streak(13-13) while Phoenix has fizzled of late dropping their last three, now 12-11. Minnesota rounds out the lottery at 12-11 also, playing .500 basketball over the last ten games.
With only 1.5 games separating the 5th seed from the 12th, the West remains a deep and engaged Conference. Meanwhile...
After the top four in the East, it is a bit of a who’s who of who cares. Yes, the Miami Heat have won three in a row but rumors swirl around Jimmy Butler’s future. The Bucks, after a slow start, are certainly noteworthy even at 12-11.
Behind the 7th seed Atlanta Hawks(14-12) sits Brooklyn, IN THE 8TH SEED! The only team currently in a playoff position with a losing record. They are the only team in a playoff position that is an unequivocal seller as trade rumors heat up. Forgive me for my angst. This has to stop!
The good news is that after Friday, Brooklyn jumps right into the 10th spot in the lottery. The better news is that after the weekend, the Nets might be as high as 8th.
The best news is that the Nets are likely to make significant roster moves sooner rather than later, which should push their record deeper into the negative. But for the love of God, can these Eastern Conference teams wake up, win some games, and help a franchise out?
For more insights and a deeper dive into the Brooklyn Nets’ trade strategies and potential moves, tune into the Locked On Nets podcast for this and much more.
