Why the Nets may be leaving some fans feeling a bit empty

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Back when I was in college (and stone tablets were all the rage), I had a friend who would attend the opening day or two of class and then conveniently find other things to occupy his time for the remaining weeks of the quarter. Finals time would come around, and my buddy would set out on a daunting journey through the school library to find someone he recalled seeing in those early classes to ask what the final essay topic was. Invariably, he’d track someone down, and because he was smarter than someone like me, he’d be able to cobble enough together to pass the class. And while that friend is still one of my favorite people in the world, he never did earn his degree. Nothing wrong with that, but I do wonder from time to time if he thinks that is a missing piece of his life given all the money he poured into the school.

Those memories came back to me as I tried to wrap my head around this Nets season. The Nets are entering the final weeks and face an exam tonight against a Bucks team that didn’t skip most of the standard team-building classes.

In a general sense, these Nets aren’t all that different from most elite NBA teams in de-emphasizing the regular season. If you have the talent to make a deep postseason run, if you expect to be playing hard minutes deep into May and June, it makes sense to take things easy on a random night in March. Time and again, we’ve seen LeBron James do exactly that and still end up in the Finals. But the Nets have taken the practice to the nth degree. It seems teammates don’t matter, the coach doesn’t matter, fans don’t matter, honesty doesn’t matter.

Only the final result matters.

Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert may have helped the Nets create a culture that attracted Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but when you can jettison them for a mercenary who is willing to leave in a year, you do it. Or DeAndre Jordan may be friends with the Nets’ two superstars, but when there’s no room in the rotation, it’s off to Detroit.

Kenny Atkinson may have made Brooklyn one of the most resilient teams in the league, but when your stars aren’t on board with him, you bring in someone Irving can minimize by claiming he didn’t see the Nets as “having a head coach.”

Irving may be one of the league’s most electric players, but when the NBA and the city you play in mandate that you get vaccinated against COVID to play in front of the fans whose season tickets help make this whole basketball experience possible, you sit out 53 games while stating your personal freedom is all that matters.

And when the media dutifully asks about injury updates on Joe Harris or Ben Simmons, or about the status of trade talks surrounding James Harden, the head coach is sent out to obfuscate or outright lie (this isn’t meant to be a media complaint, but not being straight up about the state of the team isn’t the best way to keep your fans informed.)

Put it all together and it feels all sort of…empty. Part of the joy in being a sports fan is the process of watching a core group of players make memorable comebacks or overcome losing streaks while coalescing into a unit that can win a playoff series or multiple series. But these Nets aren’t about that process. They’re about results. Just get whatever amalgamation of players is wearing a Nets uniform into the playoffs and we think we can out-talent just about any team in the league.

To be fair, there is a logic to that. Legacies are not defined by regular-season victories (case in point: Harden, James). The game largely isn’t consumed as a months-long narrative anymore but by viral highlights, so is there really all that much to get worked up about when Irving misses a loss to Washington in January when you can watch him drop 50 in Charlotte a few weeks later? And come this fall, if the Nets are raising a banner at Barclays, what does it matter that the team was less-than-forthcoming about Joe Harris’ ankle?

It’s not a formula for everyone, and it certainly isn’t a blueprint every team can adopt.

Take the Bucks. Yes, they’ve made their share of trades (Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday) and free-agent additions (Bobby Portis), and were reportedly considering firing coach Mike Budenholzer had he not reached the Finals last season, but they’ve also paid some respect to the journey that is the regular season. They’re trying on most nights, especially against those teams likely to challenge them in a potential Eastern Conference finals (posting a combined 7-6 mark against Brooklyn, Miami, Philadelphia and Boston). The Nets are 6-9 in games against that group, subbing in Milwaukee, of course.

If any team has a right to lay off the gas this season, it’s the Bucks in the honeymoon period after winning a championship. But they’ve coasted in a more traditional way, keeping themselves in the mix for the top seed in the East without overtaxing Giannis Antetokounmpo. And, really, that’s all you can ask as a fan of a team with championship hopes: Play well enough in the regular season so you can enjoy the ride before everyone has to buckle in for the playoffs. Can any Nets fan honestly say this season has been enjoyable?

And can the Nets, themselves, feel good about their chances? After their 22nd-ranked defense gives up 123 points to the Pistons at home? Or that if they make it out of the play-in, they’re likely to face one of the conference’s top teams in Round 1 of the playoffs instead of a potentially easier matchup against the Bulls or Raptors?

In the end, maybe talent wins out, but as with my college friend, it would have been a whole lot easier, and perhaps more rewarding, if the Nets had paid just a bit more attention to the classwork along the way to the final.

Next stop: Qatar

After embarrassingly failing to reach the 2018 World Cup, the U.S. men’s national team secured their ticket to this year’s event in Qatar (to be played from Nov. 21-Dec. 17), in less than rousing fashion, with a 2-0 road loss to Costa Rica on Wednesday night to close out CONCACAF qualifying. A lot has happened in four years and will happen in the months ahead. To get a clearer picture on how the team turned things around and what their chances are this fall, we reached out to The Post’s Mark Cannizzaro, a soccer aficionado, for some answers.

What changes did the USMNT make since it failed to qualify in 2018 that has it back in the field of 32?

MC: The biggest change is the coach. The U.S. went to the well with Bruce Arena one time too many after he’d led the Americans to the ’02 and ’06 World Cups, but in ’18 he got caught in the middle of playing the team’s older players (Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey) and developing a younger generation with little experience. Their failure to qualify was the first time the U.S. was left out of it since 1986. Gregg Berhalter represented new blood, and good results have followed. Berhalter’s roster is one of the youngest rosters in USMNT history, and the youth has meshed well with the experience it’s gained.

Another reason things have gone differently this time is the improvement of Major League Soccer and the pool of players it has added to the team, including defender Aaron Long from the Red Bulls, Walker Zimmerman (Nashville), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle) and Kellyn Acosta (LAFC) among others.

What decisions are left to be made between now and the start of the World Cup in November, and how do you see those playing out?

MC: Berhalter’s focus immediately must shift to his starting lineup. Because he wanted to experiment and because of injuries and strategy, he used an array of lineups throughout the qualifying process, but he must settle on his best 11, including who he’ll start in goal, most likely Zack Steffen.

Christian Pulisic clearly is the offensive leader of the squad, but beyond him, who on the roster will make or break their tournament run?

MC: Outside of Pulisic, I believe three players are linchpins to the squad’s success: Tyler Adams, the former Red Bulls midfielder who now plays for RB Leipzig; Gio Reyna, the midfielder son of former USMNT star Claudio; and midfielder Weston McKennie, who’s been out since February due to two fractures in his left foot. The hope is McKennie, who pays for Juventus, will be fit to play once the World Cup begins. Before he was hurt, he was the best player on the pitch for the U.S. at times, so his availability will be crucial. Reyna, after missing five months with a hamstring injury he suffered in September, is fit again and looked good against Panama on Sunday.

It’s one thing to qualify, another to make some noise, so where does the USMNT stand in assessing the World Cup field? What are their prospects in Qatar?

MC: Though the U.S. stamped five goals on Panama Sunday, scoring in World Cup play is much more difficult, and the Americans have traditionally found it challenging to find the back of the net. The U.S. scored just 23 goals in the 14 qualifying matches, but 12 of those goals came in three games, against Honduras and Panama — take out those three matches, and the U.S. scored 11 goals in 11 games against regional competition. And they’ll be more difficult to come by in the World Cup.

Catch a rising star

Outside of the soccer spotlight occupied by the USMNT Wednesday night was the latest exploit by a player who may be on her way to crafting one of the greatest careers in women’s soccer. Trinity Rodman (yes, we’ll get to the name in a second) scored a highlight-reel goal for the reigning NWSL champion Washington Spirit teammates in their 2-2 draw against the North Carolina Courage as part of the league’s Challenge Cup pre-regular-season series.

Rodman already has been an agent of change in the sport. Drafted No. 2 overall last year after she left Washington State early when the pandemic canceled her freshman season, Rodman led the Spirit to the title while tallying seven goals and seven assists. The league’s Rookie of the Year then made history in February when she signed a four-year, $1.1 million contract, the largest in NWSL history. Now there’s a long way to go to get in the same area code as what her male counterparts are making, but it’s a start. The landscape is changing. Women athletes in team sports are household names, and Rodman has the tools to be a superstar. She’s only 19, so presumably there are many more titles to be won. She has a name known to generations of sports fans thanks to her father, Dennis Rodman, who admittedly was not a drive-my-daughter-to-soccer-practice type of father, but is a presence in her life. And she is now in the women’s national team picture. Know the name.

What’s the best month in sports?

The end of March brings sports fans to what I would argue is the greatest sports month of the year. How can you say that, you might yell? Where are the NFL weekends? Where is the baseball postseason? Well, they’re not here in the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean spring’s first full month doesn’t have plenty to keep you glued to your screen/device/app/favorite newspaper. Let me explain further in ranking the months for their sports value, from least to most…

12. July: MLB’s All-Star Game hasn’t been meaningful in years, and it shuts down actual games for a week. ESPN found the month so dull they created an awards show that’s only good for the jokes the host uses to poke the overinflated egos in the audience. Even the events worth tuning in for — Wimbledon, the British Open — air at inconveniently early hours in the East and in the middle of the night out West.

11. August: Vacation month for many, which is good because there isn’t a lot to watch. NFL training camps are open and the preseason gets going, but that’s more about depth chart conversations than getting a true sense of how the football season will play out. Baseball’s dog days are in full swing, and with the trade deadline passed, the tank patrol is marching into dismal losses against real contenders. On the plus side, the WNBA playoffs arrive, which have become so compelling it makes us sad we get best-of-5 series at most.

10. February: This month is more talk than action. The Super Bowl is basically a football convention featuring retired Hall of Famers hawking the products of some company they never heard of before that week. The NBA All-Star Game is basically a weekend bacchanal with some poorly contested hoops thrown in. The NHL’s All-Star weekend is basically a few days of events that leaves fans more confused about what they watched than exhilarated. And the NBA trade deadline is basically a week of intense talking with maybe one or two transactions that matter.

9. January: The NFL playoffs give the opening weeks of the new year a bump, but otherwise a pretty sobering month (beyond the sobering up many of us are doing after the holidays). College football comes to an end with its title game. The aforementioned NFL loses volume with each playoff round, reminding us the end of the season is near. College hoops is weeks away from demanding all but the most devoted hoops junkies pay attention. At least the NBA and NHL start offering some idea of the shapes of their seasons, but look, it’s cold outside, whatever distractions the previous month offered are gone and winter is months from departing. That isn’t a recipe for fun.

8. December: College football conference title games get the month off to a fast start. NFL weekends keep the momentum going with games that can make or break teams’ seasons — and coaches’ careers. And in 2022, we’ll get the knockout rounds of the World Cup. So what’s the problem, you ask? It’s too distracting a month to focus properly on all the big games happening. There are parties to attend (at least there were, in the not-too-distant past), shopping to be done, family members to pretend you like. It’s a lot to process without having to devote the effort needed to truly appreciate Giants-Cowboys in all its glory.

7. June: It’s payoff time for all those winter nights watching late-night Rangers-Canucks games in January or the Nets take on Detroit in late February. The Finals arrive for both the NHL and NBA, which make for great viewing, but also some annoying off days with little to fill the spaces. Yes, baseball is chugging along, but at this point in the season, it’s a little too easy to absorb the games as background noise. Still, it gets the job done until the NBA Draft brings enough upside to everyone’s mind that even Knicks fans might find something nice to say about the team.

6. March: If sports had a small woodland rodent that foretold the end of winter like that fella in Punxsutawney, Pa., March would be it. The NBA and NHL pick up the intensity after their All-Star breaks. Football-starved fans can gnaw at scraps from the NFL Draft Scouting Combine in the way of 40-yard dash times and hand-size measurements. College hoops finally grabs everyone’s attention with conference tournaments and the NCAAs offering good reasons to call in sick to work. And then there is the true marker that spring is on its way — spring training baseball. No, it’s not pretty, but it offers the promise that summer is close.

5. November: It’s easy to overlook in New York, but this is a month for the college football fan. Conference rivalry games. College Football Playoff positioning. The Heisman race. And coaches getting to run off the field with multiple police deputies protecting them from all of the adoring fans apparently waiting to attack someone who may be the highest-paid public employee in that state. For those less revered coaches in the NFL, November brings a chance to emerge as a playoff contender in the heart of the season. And for the NBA and NHL, fans still get to enjoy that new car smell before their teams’ fates become clearer. (Boosting this month’s prospects this year is the men’s World Cup. Why so late in the calendar? Because it’s one of the few times of year Qatar’s temperatures won’t melt players into pools of sweat.)

4. May: Solid, workmanlike, which seems out of step with the weather outside at this time of year. But baseball shakes off the rust of the opening month and reveals more of what teams and players we need to be watching. The NFL sneaks into the conversation with rookie minicamps. The PGA Championship is a good weekend distraction. The hard work of this month, though, falls on the shoulders of the NBA and NHL, with games that teams actually care about. That makes for a lot of late nights with the TV, but it also makes for some meaningful drama and some career-defining narratives.

3. October: If September’s sports buffet didn’t get you to loosen that belt buckle, its successor will put you into a food coma. Postseason baseball makes for a must-watch almost every night. The NFL and college football seasons begin to offer some clues as to which teams matter and which don’t — without allowing you to write off anyone just yet. And if all of that wasn’t enough, the NBA and NHL get started to keep your fingers busy on the remote (or a good excuse to hide from the family).

2. September: A meat-and-potatoes sports month, but in a Gallagher’s New York sirloin-and-hash-browns type of way instead of what you might get out of the back of that van somewhere deep in Queens (i.e. August). Early college football provides a hearty appetizer. Pennant-race baseball and U.S. Open tennis bring a fine, aged wine to the proceedings. And well, is there a more filling feast than an NFL Sunday followed by a slice of Monday Night Football? Add in the changing temps and often perfect tailgating weather and you’ve got a near-perfect gateway to the fall season.

1. April: What doesn’t this month have? It starts with the men’s and women’s college basketball championships. Pivots immediately to baseball’s Opening Day and charges hard into the Masters. And that’s Week 1! Then the NBA and NHL seasons come to a close, hopefully with playoff spots on the line (or draft positions, at least) before the postseason ramps up late in the month. Feeling some football withdrawal? Not to worry, as weeks of NFL Draft rumors culminate in three days of expensive suits, Mel Kiper proclamations and every team claiming they got the exact player they targeted.