Will Brooklyn Nets win Atlantic Division?

Apr 25, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Johnson (7) advances the ball during the fourth quarter against the Toronto Raptors in game three of the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Barclays Center. Brooklyn Nets won 102-98. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

The Brooklyn Nets broke the bank and went way over the tax in an attempt to become a legitimate title contender, trading for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

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The Nets struggled early, getting off to a 10-21 start but won 34 of their last 51 games to finish 44-38 and win the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. They defeated the Toronto Raptors then fell to the Miami Heat in the playoffs. The Nets are hoping to improve this season and although they will get center Brook Lopez back, they lost Pierce, point guard Shaun Livingston and big man Andray Blatche.

Although he is the only one on the Basketball Insiders team who feels this way, Joel Brigham believes the Nets will win the Atlantic Division (Lang Greene and Yannis Koutroupis have them second while Alex Kennedy and Moke Hamilton have them third).

"Despite having spent obscene and unprecedented amounts of money over the course of the last couple of years to field as competitive a team as possible, the Brooklyn Nets have continually fallen short of expectations. This year, with Brook Lopez finally healthy, the Nets have to capitalize not only on what could be Kevin Garnett’s last year in the league, but also on what might be one of only a few peak years remaining for both Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. In other words, the time is now for this terribly expensive roster to earn its collective paycheck, and luckily for them, they look like they could have the best team in the Atlantic Division this season."

The Toronto Raptors remain the favorite to repeat while many expect the New York Knicks to be much improved.

Be sure to check FanSided’s official NBA page to keep up to date on the latest news and rumors from around the league as we close in on the regular season.

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