As a Chicago-based NBA data analyst, I’ve been digging into the forgotten 2014 Brooklyn Nets — a team built on aging stars, unproven depth, and a single-minded offense. Was it really as flawed as history remembers? Or did Pekin’s '37% shooting' era hold hidden brilliance? In this deep dive, I’ll use real stats, player efficiency models, and predictive analytics to answer what every long-time Nets fan has whispered: Could this team have been a playoff threat if injuries hadn’t struck? And yes — that fast-forward comparison to today’s Clippers isn’t just nostalgia. It’s data.