Brooklyn faces a brutal March gauntlet, navigating nine matchups against winning teams and a grueling travel schedule that could define the franchise's aggressive new direction.
It's that time of year to analyze the freshly released schedules and determine which month is the toughest for the Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn is opening the season at the Barclays Center against the Charlotte Hornets. It will play its first away game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
November stood out at first as the toughest month of the season. The Nets have 10 road games, including a back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.
Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton is returning from a torn Achilles tendon sustained in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It killed all the momentum Indiana had of winning the championship.
Haliburton is the heart of the offense with his playmaking. He finished the 2024-25 season third in assists (9.2 per game).
New York is the reigning NBA champions, with its only key departure being Mitchell Robinson signing with the Boston Celtics. Robinson was the backup center, filling in for Karl-Anthony Towns when coach Mike Brown benched him.
The crosstown rivalry has been dubbed the "Battle of the Borough," but it hasn't been an equal battle for the past 14 games. The Knicks have won 14 consecutive games against the Nets.
Brooklyn goes on a four-game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies. The Hawks are the toughest matchup, as the other three teams did not make the play-in.
That slate lowers the overall toughness of the stretch. Looking at other months, March became the most difficult -- and most important -- part of the season.
The month is jam-packed with some of the most talented teams. The Nets will face squads like the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs on the road.
They open the month with four straight road games. Indiana is a home game that breaks up a two-game road trip before another one.
Brooklyn will face Cleveland and the Celtics at home toward the end of the month. Facing nine teams that finished with an over .500 record last season is a challenge for the team.
It ended 22-60 last year, and general manager Sean Marks flipped the organization's direction this offseason. Marks traded for Julius Randle, signed Keon Ellis and Mo Wagner, and drafted Mikel Brown Jr., Joshua Jefferson and Tyler Bilodeau.
The Nets' new-look roster puts them in position to compete and win games. The Houston Rockets owning their 2027 first-round pick swap gives the team motivation to make a playoff push to avoid Houston swapping into a lottery pick.
March is the month that could determine how Brooklyn's season ends in a year they aim to compete.
