NBA Power Rankings: Cavaliers are right where they want to be

. Brooklyn Nets. 24. team. 147. Maybe the surprise of the early season has been the fact that the Brooklyn Nets have looked like a competent NBA team. First-year head coach Kenny Atkinson has gotten this rag tag group of castoffs and underappreciated players to believe in themselves and their team. The team was able to repay Atkinson for his work by securing his first win in the team’s home opener at the Barclays Center. <p>Atkinson has been able to make a player like Trevor Booker like the next great small ball power forward. His system opens the court and with more space comes more opportunities. Jeremy Lin has been great in his return to New York and his reunion with a man who was critical in the Linsanity explosion during their time together with the New York Knicks. Lin, however, is now sidelined with a leg injury. Without Lin, the Nets are still playing hard and solid basketball, but without Lin’s ability to knife into the lane and score from different areas of the floor things just aren’t the same in Brooklyn. Isaiah Whitehead held his own in his first start in Lin’s absence, but he just doesn’t have the game’s subtleties and nuances figured out yet like someone who’s been in the NBA as long as Lin does.</p> <p>This might be the highest the Nets make it on the list this entire season–that should be great for Boston Celtic’s fans to hear–but not being a bottom-dweller for the entire season is a huge improvement for this franchise. There weren’t many expectations of this year’s Brooklyn Nets’ team, and this season can already be chalked up as a success for the new front office of Sean Marks and others. If they can prove to be this effective with their offseason decision making heading into next year than Brooklyn could find themselves back into relevancy a lot faster than many had pegged them.</p>.