Predict this, bitch!

"'In the end'? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends." - Dr. Manhattan

BREAKING NEWS! The Nets season is over. For the second year in a row, our favorite non-singing Jersey boys have been sent packing early. The year had brights spots, like Brook Lopez and his near Rookie-of-the-Year season. But, there were disappointments, too, like the play of Yi Jianlian towards the end of the season. Overall, I'd say the season could've been worse - it was a rebuilding year, and I saw enough glimpses of potential from the team to have me looking forward to next season.

But, as I've said before, this is not a blog to come to for analysis. You can definitely find better opinions on Netsdaily.com or elsewhere in the interwebs. In fact, there is this one key fact I must make readers aware of: I am always wrong. Always. This was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in this particular Nets season.

Before the season, I predicted the Nets would finish with 22 wins. They only had 34 wins last year, and that was with Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd (for most of the season). I was not sure where the scoring would come from other than Vince Carter, and the team defense was (and still is) highly suspect. There was one particular preseason game I went to, against the Sixers, that depressed the Hell out of me, and not just because that was the first game I made that god-awful Secaucus Junction trip.

Then, I watched the first game of the season, and made a complete flip-flop. I was highly impressed. I had seen bad bad BAD teams in the past, and the Nets did not play like one at all. The team had talent, and the chemistry and young players were further ahead than I could've imagined. I revised my prediction to a bold 44 wins. Upon retrospect, the Nets did play the Wizards that first game, who ended up being the second worst team in the league.

Anyway, the final win tally? 34. Which is only one more win than the MOST AMOUNT I COULD HAVE BEEN WRONG ON BOTH PREDICTIONS!

So yeah, I suck. Big time.

The funny thing is, I'm a stickler for predictions. I like to make a few guesses at the beginning of the season, and stick with them furiously. My sleeper team of the year was Milwaukee - which was looking good until the end of the season (the Redd injury didn't help too much either). Another prediction of mine was a Celtics/Spurs Finals. Again, this seemed reasonable until around February - since then, though, those teams have aged 30 years.

The moral of the story is clear to me. Perhaps next season, I'll go with the George Costanza method and do the opposite of what my gut tells me.

Anyway, this blog will keep going throughout the summer to ease the pain of waiting for next season. There will be more podcasts, more "Random Nets Crap", and, generally, more awesomeness. Well, at least that's my prediction.