Brooklyn Nets Need to Avoid Losing Streak for Playoff Positioning

The Brooklyn Nets are coming off a weekend where they dropped two straight games and dropped in the standings of the NBA’s Eastern Conference. They lost to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday and suffered another defeat at the hands of the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. The two losses bring them to 34-26 overall and 3-4 since the All-Star break.

The last couple of weeks has Brooklyn trending in the wrong direction. Rather than tuning-up for the Playoffs and improving their position, they’ve been barely clinging to life and creeping down the standings as they currently are just the six-seed in the East. This is a problem they need to fix.

The Nets really can’t afford to lose many more games for the simple reason that it would make their road through the playoffs a great deal more difficult. If the NBA Playoffs started today, the Nets would be up against their in-state rivals, the New York Knicks, a series where it could honestly go either way. However, if they continue to slip in the standings, they could wind up facing either the Indiana Pacers or the defending-champion Miami Heat, both of whom are teams that seem poised for the postseason.

Given this, the Nets really need to avoid going on a losing streak in the next couple of weeks. If they were to reel off a string of losses, they would really hurt their chances as a playoff team.

Luckily for Brooklyn, their next two contests are against the Charlotte Bobcats and the Washington Wizards, two of the more lowly franchises in the league. They should be able to grab at least one win out of those games and get things back on track. If they fail to do so though, it could spell trouble for the Nets.

Cody Williams is a Senior NBA Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.