"Brooklyn Nets are walking a fine line" - Kendrick Perkins on Nets potentially missing NBA Playoffs because of strength of Eastern Conference

The Brooklyn Nets are unbelievably in danger of even missing the play-in tournament, let alone the playoffs. Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons do not have a definite time frame for their return, while Kyrie Irving is only eligible to play in road games.

Brooklyn currently owns a 31-29 record, which puts them eighth in the stacked Eastern Conference. They are a miserable 2-13 in their last 15 games. While there is still hope that once at full strength, they’ll be the team to beat in the East, nothing is guaranteed.

In an episode of Get Up on ESPN, former NBA player and current basketball analyst Kendrick Perkins weighed in on the Brooklyn Nets’ playoff aspirations:

“I'll tell you what, the Brooklyn Nets are walking a fine line because if they get into the play-in tournament and they have to face a young team like the Atlanta Hawks or the Charlotte Hornets, it could go either way and they could possibly not make the playoffs.”

Should the regular season end right now, the Toronto Raptors, Nets, Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks will vie for the last two slots to complete the playoff picture. Arguably, all the teams, except the Nets, have been playing solid, if not great basketball, in the last several weeks. Brooklyn isn’t assured of getting past these teams in the play-in tournament.

Even if the Brooklyn Nets’s Big 3 are available, there are still variables that could affect Brooklyn’s playoff hopes. It remains to be seen how Kevin Durant’s knee will hold up as his workload ramps up while it’s anybody’s guess the kind of shape Ben Simmons will be in.

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Kendrick Perkins stressed that Simmons’ conditioning will be crucial to the Brooklyn Nets, particularly when they play at Barclays Center.

“We don't know what type of shape Ben Simmons is going to be in. We haven’t seen Ben Simmons play in over seven months. He hasn’t touched a basketball court and played a full game in seven months and they have less than 30 games to get it together.”

The Brooklyn Nets has one of the toughest schedules left in the NBA

Two of Brooklyn's best players are still in street clothes during games. [Photo: The Sportsrush]

The Brooklyn Nets’ next seven games will be incredibly brutal. They will have to take on the Milwaukee Bucks, the Raptors twice, and then the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers. They could conceivably go 0-7 against these teams.

Five of these games will be away from Barclays Center, but Kyrie Irving’s presence may not be enough to turn the tide against these teams. Brooklyn’s biggest chance of staying afloat is getting one of KD and Ben Simmons on the court as soon as possible to pair up with Irving whenever possible.

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After the nasty seven-game stretch, the next 15 outings will be slightly easier if the Nets get at least one of their superstars back. They have matches against the Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic along the way. However, they still have to take on the Bucks, Heat and Hornets again.

All the games count in the sprint to the end of the regular season. Brooklyn will need to grab as many wins as they possibly can to at least have a chance at making the play-in tournament.