NBA Thanksgiving 2019: What each team has to be thankful for

Brooklyn Nets

That .500 basketball is good enough for the playoffs in the East

Everyone knows this is a basically a placeholder season for the Brooklyn Nets. We’ve already seen how teams led solely by Kyrie Irving top out as “good but not great,” and until Kevin Durant returns healthy next season, that’s not going to change for this group.

With that being said, the 2019-20 campaign isn’t meaningless for the Nets either. This season is all about jelling with Irving, as well as growth for the younger guys who will take on prominent roles for next year’s contender like Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince. Experiencing playoff battles together is the best way to do that.

The process has been a bit of a bumpy ride so far, especially for Jarrett Allen and Joe Harris, but even at one game above .500, the Nets are firmly entrenched in the playoff picture in the East. That’s unlikely to change as the season progresses, and as the Nets continue to build their chemistry, they may even find themselves climbing the ladder by simply being “good but not great.”