SEASON FORECASTS AND FUTURES PICKS

They were projected to regress next year with D'Angelo Russell and win 38 games. With Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan they are looking at 44+ wins and when Kevin Durant comes back next season they are at 50+ wins and an elite team in the East. There are 3 teams who have 50/1, 2% odds to win the championship. Our projection recommends not betting on them to win it all. Their 0.9% chance is #15 in the league. In simulations, they win the East 3.7% of the time and are not a good value at 12/1, 7.7%. The Nets are averaging 44.2 wins per sim which makes them a decent bet to win over 43.5 games. At -310 the Nets are a good value to make the playoffs with a 90.3% chance. Their odds of winning their division are 12/1, 7.7%. They win the division in 3.8% of simulations. Their average wins per simulation puts them at #6 in the East.

For winning picks against the spread, total and money line for all NBA games by our proven computer model and leading handicappers visit SportsLine.com where you can also get fantasy basketball and daily fantasy optimal lineups from CBSSports' Top Experts.

REGULAR SEASON RECAP AND UPCOMING GAMES

Their 42-40 record last season was way ahead of what was expected of them. Their expected win percentage was just 44%. They were very good against the spread going 45-37 for (+430 profit). They went over 41 times and came in under 41 times. They are heavy favorites in their upcoming game vs the Minnesota Timberwolves. The table below shows their upcoming games, their simulation based win percentage and their recent head to head record (WL, ATS, OU).

TEAM STATISTICAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

SHOOTING (WEAKNESS): This is a below average shooting team with a true FG% of 55.4% (#18 in League). Despite the weak shooting %, they still average more points per game (112.2) than expected (110.6). On the road they average 110.7 (109.1 expected), and at home 113.8 ppg (112 expected).

DEFENSE (STRENGTH): They are an above average defensive team holding opponents to 55 true FG% (#8 in League). They allow 112.3 pts per game vs an expected value of 112.4. They are allowing 113.3 (113.5 expected) on the road, and at home 111.3 ppg (111.2 expected).

REBOUNDING (BELOW AVERAGE): They are slightly outrebounded by opponents by 0.5 per game (#16 in league).

TURNOVERS (WEAKNESS): Their average turnover margin is -1.1 per game (#22 in league).

TEAM FANTASY LEADERS

The table below show the most valuable fantasy players on the team led by Kyrie Irving who is projected to be the #7 Guard. The Better Option column shows the player directly above him and the Better Than column shows the player directly below him in the projected position rankings.