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Aww Crap

The offseason has been a constant build-up of hopes in Brooklyn, going from "hopefully next year is better", to "maybe we can make the playoffs", to "yeah, I think we can make the playoffs". Without trying to be overdramatic, a lot of that came back to Earth last night. Budding-star and longest tenured member of the team, Khris Middleton went down with a torn hamstring. After the news first leaked from the Nets' practice facility, it was quickly confirmed that the injury was so severe that Khris would require surgery and be out for nearly all of the regular season.

Given a relatively healthy season from injury prone guys like Danilo Gallinari, DeMarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe, this team was starting to look poised for success. Khris Middleton and who would start at shooting guard weren't supposed to be questions. There was so little question that the team felt comfortable trading away incumbent starter Avery Bradley because they wanted Middleton starting at the two.

That said, the season will still move on, the team has to gather themselves and prepare to fight for a playoff spot. The team wasn't built around Middleton and has a few pieces to plug in to fill the gap. This will be alright... right?

What does this do to the projected rotation? Does it call for a trade?

Early thoughts around the front office seem to be pointing towards running with what they've got. The team had been shopping for an Austin Rivers sign-and-trade right up until the injury was reported, but it sounds like they've quickly cut off those discussions in order to maintain depth.

Here are what their current options look like:

Go super-big - the team could buck the small ball trend and start all three of their main options at forward next to Bledsoe and Cousins. The biggest problem here is that the most perimeter-oriented of the three, Danilo Gallinari, doesn't have the athleticism to play at the 2, especially on D. Tobias Harris and Al-Farouq Aminu could probably man the 3/4 position next to each other very well, but this would be a struggle against teams starting two athletic guards.

Who's next up? - Obviously the easiest thing to do is plug in their second string shooting guard to their already-projected lineup. Rivers was expected to fight with Jeremy Lamb for that spot, so that battle could heat up with higher stakes... but are either of them ready for it? Lamb is a more similar fit to what Middleton provided, but Rivers proved himself a valuable player last year time and again.

Bledsoe at the two - Who is the best shooting guard on the team after Middleton? It's probably Eric Bledsoe. The issue there is that he's easily their top point guard as well. The team could put Cory Joseph, who has started more than 50 games at point for the Nets previously. They could also start Rivers next to Bledsoe and have Eric play off the ball if it gives the team a look they like better.

So that is four or five possible replacements for Middleton, just with what is already on the roster. None of them are ideal and every one of them will have to step up and fill the void in some way. The view has definitely switched from trying to ascend the seeding chart to trying to make the playoffs. Hopefully Khris can come back on or ahead of schedule, giving us a huge shot in the arm late in the season and make noise against a higher seeded opponent in April.

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