Examining Nets playoff odds after Steve Nash firing

After one of the vital tumultuous offseasons in NBA historical past, the Nets wanted a scapegoat after an abysmal 2-5 begin to the 12 months. They discovered one in Steve Nash. 

The previous Brooklyn coach parted methods with the group on Tuesday simply seven video games into his third season on the helm — the earliest a coach had been dismissed midseason since Tyronn Lue bought the unceremonious pink slip six video games into the Cavaliers’ marketing campaign in 2018-19. Whereas that workforce felt sure for the lottery earlier than the 12 months even started, it’s a lot rarer to see a workforce with title aspirations hit the panic button so early within the season. 

And, as you may anticipate, it’s typically a harbinger of much more dysfunction within the interim. And that’s not even stepping into the Kyrie Irving fiasco, with the star guard being suspended after doubling down on his anti-Semitic views over the course of the week.

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Since 2000, we had seen 76 groups changed their coach midseason previous to Nash’s departure this week. Solely 18 of these 76 groups finally made the postseason (23.7 p.c), and a measly 5 of them superior past the primary spherical. That’s an ominous signal for the Nets, who're nonetheless dealing at an awesome -420 to make the playoffs and 13/1 to win all of it at FanDuel

These odds fly within the face of what we’ve seen from previous groups on this spot — together with this very franchise. Tuesday’s transfer marked the sixth time within the final 20 years that Brooklyn has made a midseason teaching change, tied for probably the most by any group over that span. Two of the earlier 5 golf equipment missed the playoffs; one superior past the primary spherical; and 4 of 5 fell beneath their preseason win whole. 

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That’s rather more according to the outcomes from prior midseason teaching adjustments this century. A staggering 63 of 76 groups to make such a transfer cashed the Beneath on their preseason whole, falling brief by a mean of 8.7 wins. Look no additional than final season’s Kings, who canned Luke Walton after 17 video games and finally fell 6.5 video games shy of their already low whole — becoming a member of 10 of the earlier 11 groups to fireside their coach and finally find yourself wanting preseason expectation. 

After all, there’s a little bit of self-fulfilling logic at work: groups that fireside their coach are usually doing poorly already, which finally makes a profitable season much less seemingly. To that impact, when wanting solely at groups with preseason title odds shorter than 10/1, 5 of seven finally made the playoffs and two of them (2005-06 Warmth, 2015-16 Cavaliers) even hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy that season. 

Whereas that seemingly bodes properly for the Nets, who entered the 12 months as 7/1 contenders, 5 of these seven groups had a preseason win whole increased than their opening mark of fifty.5 — with 4 boasting a complete north of 55. Whenever you evaluate Brooklyn’s path to its contemporaries, the highway forward feels rather more dire. 

Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets
Kevin Durant
Getty Photos

Of the 20 groups to fireside its coach fewer than 20 video games into the season, 17 missed the playoffs and 19 fell wanting their preseason win whole. Amongst these with a win share beneath 30 p.c on the time of the swap, 23 of 24 missed the postseason with a 21-3 document to the Beneath. Even the final 10 seasons’ price of teaching adjustments paint a grim image: 16 of 21 missed the playoffs, and solely two of them superior past the primary spherical. 

There’s a operating theme right here: Firing a coach is never the answer, and it’s typically akin to preemptively waving the white flag. In reality, these 76 groups boasted a greater win share earlier than making a transfer (39.9 p.c) than after (39.4 p.c), and solely 13 of them met their anticipated win whole. 

That isn’t to say these Nets can’t flip their season round. Not each sputtering squad has top-of-the-line gamers in league historical past main the cost, in any case. However bettors must be cautious of any workforce dysfunctional sufficient to make such a drastic transfer this early within the season, and over 20 years’ price of knowledge suggests the ultimate chapter for this group has already been written. 

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