Well, Nets fans, the dust has settled on a dramatic NBA trade deadline, the NBA All-Star Break is officially behind us, and the East and West are both heading into the final two-month sprint to the NBA playoffs. It’s time to take the pulse on the Brooklyn Nets odds.
While the news cycle was reeling from back-to-back announcements of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant’s departures, the Brooklyn Nets organization was already moving forward.
On Tuesday of last week, Coach Jacque Vaughn agreed to a contract extension that should keep him through the 2026-2027 season.
Meanwhile, the Nets’ new and returning players from the Suns, Spencer Dinwiddie, Mikal Bridges, and Cam Johnson, are bringing some heat to the team’s performance. But it wasn’t enough to avoid a massive loss to the unranked Chicago Bulls on Friday and a narrow loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Can the Nets regroup before Tuesday’s game against the No. 2 Milwaukee Bucks? There’s a lot going on and a tough road ahead. But let’s take a look at Brooklyn Nets odds and see where oddsmakers set their chances.
Brooklyn Nets Odds to Make the Playoffs
Since we last checked in, the Nets are still sitting in fifth in the Eastern Conference, 9.5 games behind the Boston Celtics, who have held a commanding lead for most of the season. The top four teams in the East have a solid lead, and oddsmakers seem confident they’ll all make the playoffs – with the fourth-ranked Cleveland Cavaliers a whole five games ahead of the Nets.
With a record of 34-26, the Nets need to stay winning in order to keep ahead of the NY Knicks (35-27) and the Miami Heat (32-29). Friday and Sunday’s loss put them nearly even with the Knicks, who have one more win than the Nets but also one more loss. The Nets, Knicks, and Heat are competing to avoid a play-in situation. But for now, the Nets are holding a playoff position.
Oddsmakers still like the Nets’ chances to make the playoffs, with odds set at -625 at most top NY sports betting outlets.
See the league’s odds below.
Scroll through the table below to see the odds for all listed teams to qualify for the postseason.
Nets Odds to Win the East and NBA Championship
The Nets’ odds of winning the East or the NBA title have gotten far longer since the loss of Irving and Durant. Before their two superstars announced their departure, the Nets were at 3-to-1 odds to win the East. Now they’re at 80-to-1, even worse than they were directly after the trade deadline.
For the title, the Nets really don’t have a shot this year. Their odds, which were at 8-to-1 before the trade announcements, are now at 200-to-1, also declining in the last week.
Nets Outlook: Vaughn Contract Extension and a Strong Core
With Vaughn’s contract extension, the Nets can hopefully expect some stability to rebuild their core with new team members and several draft picks. Since Vaugh took over the team in November, they turned around a tough season, went on a 12-game winning streak in late December, and held onto one of the top ten records in the league.
Of course, there’s that little hiccup of losing their top two superstars, but Vaughn and the front office didn’t come out of that trade empty-handed.
Dinwiddie, Bridges, and Johnson have been showing up on the court since they debuted as Brooklyn Nets. In their last four games before the All-Star Break, Dinwiddie and Bridges swapped back and forth for highest scorer and notched the most rebounds a few times, too. In their two games since the break, Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas, and Cameron Johnson have carried the team in a big way, though not enough to win.
If they can focus on building a strong core with these players and make smart moves in the draft and offseason, they should be looking at a brighter future past this season.
Brooklyn Nets Upcoming Games
The Nets had their first game post-All-Star break on Friday night against Chicago, where they opened as 2.5-point road underdogs but were blown out 131-87. Next up, they faced the Hawks on Sunday and lost by just two points. Unfortunately, they take on the dominant Milwaukee Bucks next. The one glimmer of hope is that Giannis Antetokounmpo might not play that night.
Here are the Nets’ upcoming games.
- vs. Milwaukee — Tuesday, Feb. 28
- @ New York — Wednesday, March 1
- @ Boston — Friday, March 3
- vs. Charlotte — Sunday, March 5
- @ Houston — Tuesday, March 7
- @ Milwaukee — Thursday, March 9
- @ Minnesota — Friday, March 10
- @ Denver — Sunday, March 12
- @ OKC — Tuesday, March 14
Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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