I just read through ESPN's East conference forecast( link). They have currently project the Knicks making the playoffs as an 8th seed  with 37-45 record. Charlotte is the 39-43 as the 7th seed. They have the Nets as 27-55 (which I think it load of crap.)

The consensus among many posters on Netsdaily seems be that Nets can win  33-35 games. If that's the case then playoffs aren't out of the question this season based on ESPN projections.

Don't know if anyone read this weeks SI "Where are they now?" issue. There was nice blurb about former  Net and Newark native Tate George. After his NBA career was over, he returned to the Newark started a successful real estate business. Apparently he was an outspoken supporter of bringing the Nets to Prudential Center for the next 2 seasons. he hopes by the Nets playing there it will help change the fortunes of Newark and it's communities.

(Updated 7/18/10)
A lot  has been made of the Nets attendance (or lack there of) over the last several years. Attendance  is a measure of success for a franchise, but there's a lot of things that the attendance stats don't show or at least account for(i.e How many people who attend games are actually fans of said team?). There's also the issue of accuracy. Teams used to measure attendance based on tickets sales rather #'s at the gate. So how do we really rate the success(or lack there of) of the Nets time in the Meadowlands and what does it mean for Newark and beyond.

  Over the last 29 years in the Meadowlands the Nets averaged about 14,328 people a season. Prior to the Meadowlands the spend 4 seasons at the RAC where the averaged about 5,838.  In their first season at the Brendan Byrne Arena the Nets were 4th in attendance that season(Seattle, LA, and Boston were higher). The team continued to be in the top 10, even as attendance declined as well went to the playoffs until the  86-87 season. Coincidentally from 1981-85  the Nets had better attendance that the Knicks of that era.
The lowest season attendance the Nets had was during the 86-87 season where they averaged about 11,041. After that season there's steady rise in attendance over the next 10 years resulting in highest during  the 97-98 season where the Nets averaged about 17,525. 

The Nets never saw those numbers again even with the Kidd years, but the came close during the 06-07 when the averaged 16,925.

All this is regular season mind you,but what really interesting is the playoffs. Compare the numbers between regular season and the playoff and some stuff really sticks out. In the Nets first run to the Finals the average regular season attendance was 13,761. During the playoffs/finals run (11 games) they averaged about 19,643. According to NBA.com the Nets had 5 sellout games during that run. Now this could certainly be disputed. As I've read from quite few posts that many of you could still buy tickets at the box office for the finals and playoff games.

During the second finals run the regular season average was 15,184 (about a 10% jump from the previous season), but in the playoffs the Nets averaged about 18,598 for home games. Overall throughout their 6 year playoff run they averaged 19,202 at home.

So what does this all mean ?

The Nets aren't really any different than your average NBA team. Success in attendance is based Wins and losses, playoffs, Finals, etc... The years the Nets had a good season attendance increases, the years that they suck it up attendance goes down. Fans show up for the playoffs

Meadowlands not so bad

 The Nets tenure in the Meadowlands might not have been all that bad, but it wasn't great either. We've already pointed out the numerous problems with the Meadowlands as far as access goes, so there's no need to rehash it.  It could be said that the Brendan Byrne Arena might have been obsolete within the 10 years of opening because of the change in the popularity of the NBA. Also as newer arenas came online, NJSEA didn't do major renovations like MSG did to keep up with times to meet the demand

Fanbase shows up in the playoffs

You really can't tell how many real fans you have from regular season  attendance.  To me there are too many variables involved. What's always telling to me is the playoff attendance. Real fans will go to playoff games.  If  the numbers for playoff attendance are true, then Nets where more popular than some would like to give credit.

Newark and beyond

Moving on to Newark and what lies beyond, the Nets have a lot to look forward to.

Everyone likes a new arena...

As far as attendance goes just about every time a team changes venues, there's usually a bump in attendance. When Nets moved from the RAC to the Meadowlands attendance jumped about 88%. Though the Prudential Center is smaller then the IZOD ,it's new, state of the art, closer to mass transit, and in a city more amenable to basketball. The Devils boasted a 10% increase  in attendance after they moved.  It will be interesting to see if the hype from last year's preseason games holds water. The Nets averaged about 14,255 for 2 games they played. So far the Nets have broken records as far as season tickets sales are concerned. My ticket rep told me that lower level is just about sold out, which is a good sign.

Precedent is on our side

So we didn't get LeBron, The Nets have already set a precedent for doing big things with a young team. From 91-94. Coached by Bill Fitch and Chuck Daly. Derrick, Kenny, and Petro (not the guy we just signed) took the Nets to the playoffs 3 years straight.  There was a huge jump in attendance when Daly came on as coach (about %20). Going into next season. We have Avery as coach and a young core of talent similar to what we had back in during those playoff runs in the early 90's. It's now a far stretch to think that the Nets can do it again.

I don't like to talk about Brooklyn but to be fair and balanced as long as the Nets do well in Newark it should carry over the Barclays. However there are variables that could effect the teams success once across the river.

Well enjoy this random information. If you want to know how I got my info check out

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NJN/

If you looking for playoff info the best thing you can do is google it by searching NBA playoffs and year you're looking for. It should to you a wiki or the actual NBA site from that year just click on the box score if you want the attendance #'s though i can tell you some don't work. In those cases Google Espn NBA playoff brackets and the year. and you should be able to find the box score with info that way.

Let the Discussion begin...