Out of the 10 experts ESPN is using for their playoff predictions, all but one is predicting the Nets to be the worst team in the Atlantic. In the East, the Nets are again predicted to be terrible, supposedly going to finish either 14th or 15th by nine out of 10 of the experts … thanks to David Thorpe for a little bit of New Jersey love.

What is surprising is how much talent the Nets actually have. When a team is pegged as one of the worst in the league one would expect them to be, well … terrible, but the Nets have Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, Terrence Williams and Courtney Lee. Brook Lopez was the best rookie last season and would have won Rookie of the Year if Derrick Rose wasn’t on national television so much, but experts are nervous that he doesn’t have a lot of potential to get better. Speaking of potential, the Nets are full of it. Yi Jianlian and potential are always used in the same sentence. If he can become half of what people thought he would be when he entered the league, then he will be an All-Star. OK, maybe I’m pushing it, but the Nets do have an All-Star in Harris. He is one of the fastest players in the league and will consistently get free throws regardless of which refs the NBA throws out there. If anyone on this team is going to become a stud, it is Lee. Don’t take it from me, take it from Shaq: “Oh, he’s gonna be a star. Telling you right now … Courtney Lee, that’s a star brother. Star, star, star.”

While everyone thinks the Nets are just waiting to be saved by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and NBA superstar LeBron James, they actually have a great core of young talent and good role players. Terrence Williams, the Nets’ first round pick, is going to be a great NBA player. From NJ.com, “Nobody wants to christen any rookie as The Next Big Thing, but everyone else we spoke to claims that T-Will the Thrill has absolutely torn up the gym.” Supposedly, “Terrence Williams — for reasons that elude logic — looks like the Nets’ best player two weeks before camp opens.” Since that statement, Williams has been a jack of all trades for the Nets, but hasn’t excelled in one area.

If one player has improved dramatically, it has been fan favorite Chris Douglas-Roberts. Apparently, he is challenging for the starting shooting guard spot on the team, but will most likely be a sixth man. CDR can put up huge numbers in a small amount of time, so look for him to challenge for sixth man of the year.

Now the rest of the Nets aren’t as exciting, but that may be a good thing. Great teams always contain two essential ingredients: depth and role players who know that they are role players. Well, the Nets have an abundance of both. Jarvis Hayes, Keyon Dooling, Trenton Hassell, Josh Boone, Tony Battie, Rafer Alston, Eduardo Najera and the volatile Sean Williams. If you aren’t a big NBA fan, you just said to yourself … who? Well let’s do a quick run-down.

Dooling is an extremely athletic scorer, and Boone is a great backup center. Battie was referred to by Dwight Howard as his “big brother,” so it’s obvious he brings leadership. Najera brings toughness, and Williams, if he plays at all, will bring blocks and energy. Lastly, Alston just started as a point guard on a team that went to the Finals, so he is certainly a serviceable backup.

There you go Nets fans, I hope you enjoyed your false hope.