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The Agony And The Ecstasy

Authored by Matthew McQueeny - March 19, 2005 - 5:25 pm

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The New Jersey Nets have seemingly gone through many seasons in this 2004-05 campaign. So many lineups, so many players, so many injuries, and so much inconsistency. Yet, on the heels of a 3-game winning streak, and with the inconsistency of the teams around them, they are very much in the playoff hunt. For me, making the playoffs as the eight seed is pointless. You might as well load up for the lottery instead of being the sacrificial lamb for the Heat. However, there is a good chance of getting even as high as the sixth seed right now.

The Nets sit 4 games back of the sixth seed Indianapolis Pacers. Coincidently, the Nets have a home-and-home with the Pacers starting in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon and finishing up in Jersey on Tuesday night. They will play one more in Indianapolis in late April. The Pacers continue to give Rick Carlisle the effort but without Artest or O’neal, and with the urgency of the games for New Jersey, the Nets need to take care of business if they are serious and poised for the playoffs.

The Nets are 3.5 games back of the seventh seed Chicago Bulls. New Jersey swept the season series 4-0, so there is not much more that they can do themselves to gain ground on the Bulls. The Bulls are quite young, however, and might just slip up themselves.

Lastly, the Nets are 2.5 games back of the eight seed Sixers. Whoever gets this seed will be dismantled by Miami, so the prospects of making the playoffs in this position are somewhat dire. However, it is the playoffs. The Nets have one more meeting with Philly in April. Philadelphia also still has a quick 3-game western swing where they could slip up. The Webber deal has not made an impact on their team and he has become a 20 million dollar a year role player, so there will probably be an implosion of some sort before the conclusion of the season. The Sixers may go the way of the Magic, who are right in front of the Nets, and just fall off the playoff cliff.

This season has been tough for New Jersey from the start. With Kidd and Carter, they are basically a .500 team. So, it is hard to look at the schedule and see them going on a prolonged winning streak. Going .500 the rest of the way will give them 37 or 38 wins. Will that be enough to get them in to the NBA playoffs? Will it give them a better seed than a Miami Heat first round tune up for the big boys? We shall see.