Brooklyn Nets: So Far So Good Through First Half Of 2012-13

 

There were plenty of questions surrounding the Brooklyn Nets before the start of the season. The team had moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn, changed uniforms, and made a couple of major moves to fill out its roster. Re-signing Deron Williams and obtaining Joe Johnson were arguably the teams two best moves heading into the 2012-13 season.

There was talk before the season began, from within the organization and without, that the Nets would be a Championship caliber team right away. So far, they do not look like they will be winning the trophy this season, but they are not out of the running. A mid-season coaching change seems to have sparked a bit of life into a team that had gone flat earlier than anyone thought they should.

The combination of Williams and Johnson has been a nice look for Brooklyn, but it has been Brook Lopez that has been the star this season, showing his worth as one of the only true centers left in the league. He is the only Nets player that was invited to the NBA All-Star game.

At 31-22, Brooklyn sits just two and a half games back of the New York Knicks for first place in the Atlantic Division. Similarly, the Denver Nuggets are 33-21 and despite having an extra win than the Nets, they still sit a total six and a half games behind the top dog in the Northwestern Division.

Heading into the All-Star break, the Knicks have dropped their last two games, and now may have an injured Carmelo Anthony to deal with. Brooklyn, on the other hand, has won their last two games, and did so without their best player on the floor.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the Atlantic over the second half of the season, but so far, it looks as though the new look and location has done the Nets well.

 

Jeff Everette is a Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @jeverettesports, “Like” his page on FaceBook, or add him to your network on Google+.