Showing posts with label Brooklyn Nets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brooklyn Nets. Show all posts
Nets get mauled by undermanned Grizzlies
The Brooklyn Nets may have just suffered their worst loss than the season.
Against a Memphis Grizzlies squad that was missing five of its best players, the Nets found a way to squander a chance for a third consecutive victory.
Only Nick Claxton topped the 20 point plateau with 21 points, while Luke kennard notched to season high 25 points. Brooklyn missed 13 free throws and was out rebounded 50 to 33.
Kevin Ollie and company have no one blame but themselves But for a borderline embarrassing loss to a G-league Memphis squad.
Nets beat Hawks again to inch closer to final play-in spot
Behind Mikal Bridges' 38 points and a scorching hot 15 or 32 from downtown, the Nets won their second consecutive game.
Brooklyn is now two games behind Atlanta for the number 10 seed and the final play-in spot.
Cam Johnson went for 23 while Nick Claxton scored 12 points and ripped down 13 rebounds.
Without Cam Thomas and Ben Simmons in the lineup due to injuries, Brooklyn put on a show in front of the home crowd.
The Nets season has been in turmoil, but with a softer schedule coming up and two wins under the belts against the Hawks, life has been breathed backed into this often. Listless nets squad.
Brooklyn hosts Memphis on Monday looking for its third straight win.
Nets beat down decimated Grizzlies for Ollie's first win
The Brooklyn Nets snapped a four game skid with a 111-86 win over Memphis on Monday night.
The Nets fixed many of their defensive issues and kept the Grizzlies at bay as seven players reached double figures in scoring.
Even on a night the Nets came out on top, Cam Thomas turned his ankle and was not putting weight on his foot. Thomas told reporters after the game that he doesn't think the injury is as serious as the injury he suffered earlier this year, but it's not great news nonetheless
It's almost certain that Thomas will not be available on Tuesday night in a back to back against Orlando and the team already ruled out Simmons for playing for a second consecutive night.
It's been a feel good night for Brooklyn, but the Nets will need more than one win to catapult them back into the playoffs conversation.
Dream scenario for Brooklyn Nets revealed
The Brooklyn Nets made a major move on Monday following the All-Star break, relieving head coach Jacque Vaughn of his duties.
The Nets( 21-33) were underachieving in the first half of the year and closed out the first 54 games with a 50-point drubbing at the hands of the Boston Celtics at TD Garden Arena.
That game was the straw that broke the camel's back. Sean Marks and Joe Tsai, in consultation with team leaders, including Mikal Bridges, decided to make a coaching change.
Vaughn unsuccessfully tried to carry over Steve Nash's freelance and free-flowing offense that worked so beautifully with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Now, without superstar talent, the offense was inexplicably built around Ben Simmons, who could never stay healthy.
The Nets should have been a top flight defensive team, but Vaughn decided to employ a drop defense that had catastrophic results.
Bridges and other players were looking for clearly defined roles as Vaughn constantly tinkered with starting rotations.
Now, as the Nets look to the remaining 28 games of the year, it appears as if assistant coach, Kevin Ollie, who joined Vaughn stuff this year, will be name the interim coach.
Brooklyn will likely cast a wide net this summer in an exhaustive coaching search. Expect Mike Budenholzer to be atop that list.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's former coach could be the biggest recruiting tool for prospective free agents or superstar trade targets. Things haven't been exactly sunny in paradise in Milwaukee, as Doc Rivers taking over for Adrian Griffin has seen some growing pains.
The dream scenario for Brooklyn Nets fans is for Antetokounmpo to return this time as a hero in the borough and not public enemy number one. Perhaps the Greek freak will see that life without Bud isn't exactly all it's cut out to be.
Nets late comeback falls short against Celtics
In the front end of a home and home, Brooklyn came up on the short end of the stick.
Ben Simmons jump shots were as ugly as the muddy, melted streets throughout the Northeast.
Nic Claxton followed up one of his best performances against the Spurs on Saturday with a terrible outing on Tuesday against Boston.
The Nets had no answers for Jayson Tatum, who dropped 41, while Mikal Bridges had 27 and Cam Thomas 26.
The Nets get another crack at Boston in part of the home and home at TD Garden on Wednesday night.
Short-handed Nets shellacked by Cavs in latest embarrassing loss
The Brooklyn Nets had only eight available players on Thursday after the trade deadline passed.
With Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O'Neal no longer part of the equation, Brooklyn wasn't even able to keep a close against Donovan, Mitchell and company.
Mitchell had 27, while Mikal Bridges had 26 and Cam Thomas 17.
The Nets look like a team that is going to have a very rough second half of the schedule. The Cavaliers are the hottest team in the entire NBA, winners of 16 of their last 17 contests.
Sean Marks did unload a pair of expiring contracts and the only significant move was bringing in Dennis Schröder.
Brooklyn looks like a team that is stumbling into the All-Star break and will need a hard reset this summer.
While the fan base is clamoring for superstar talent back on the team, Jacque Vaughn will need to find a way to stack some wins and avoid an NBA lottery situation where the Nets don't even own their own pics.
Nets make two trades on deadline day
The Brooklyn Nets completed a trade with the Toronto Raptors acquiring point guard Dennis Schröder and forward Thaddeus Young in exchange for guard Spencer Dinwiddie
The Raptors subsequently bought out Dinwiddie and he is expected to be a coveted piece on the buyout market by several contenders, including: the Lakers and Mavericks.
Dinwiddie played in 348 games as a Net, in two separate stints, and is one of the most accomplished players in franchise history.
In a separate deal, the Nets sent out another expiring contract in Royce O'Neale, reuniting him with Kevin Durant, now in Phoenix. As part of the deal, the Nets acquire three future second round picks and Keita Bates-Diop and Jordan Goodwin.
And a corresponding move, the Nets cut forward. Harry Giles. Brooklyn still has a log jam on their roster and will need to release one more player.
While the trade deadline was not the splashy type that many Nets fans had hope for, the weren't that many marquee players available. Brooklyn now has the flexibility to revisit trades over the summer, especially a player they had on their radar and Dejounte Murray.
Kyrie dismantles Nets again, this time in return with Mavs
Kyrie Irving knows how to tear apart the Brooklyn Nets, whether he's with the team or in another uniform. On Tuesday night, Irving put on a show to a chorus of Brooklyn boo birds mixed with Dallas faithful.
The former Net point guard turned Dallas' problem dropped 36 and had 5 assists while Luka Doncic had 36 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists.
Mikal Bridges had 28, Royce O'Neal 18 and Cam Thomas 16. Dallas jumped out to an 18 point halftime lead and led by that same number after three quarters.
The Nets closed to within six points with 5:22 remaining but couldn't draw any closer.
Brooklyn is now ten games under .500 and welcomes a red hot Cavaliers team into Barclays Center on Thursday.
The team could look quite different after Thursday's deadline as changes are not only welcomed but sorely needed with this Nets team.
Curry takes over Brooklyn as Warriors down lackluster Nets
Not since the final two seasons at the IZOD Center in the Meadowlands and the two seasons to follow at The Prudential Center in Newark, have opposing fans taken over a home arena the way they have at Barclays Center this season.
Last month, it was Knicks fans chanting Jalen Brunson for MVP in a comeback win and now it was Steph Curry stans soaking up his 29 points.
Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges combined to go 9 of 36 from the field for just 31 points. The Nets shot just 38.2 percent from the field and 31 percent from deep.
Nic Claxton was ejected with a flagrant foul 2, Lonnie Walker IV left with hamstring tightness and Jacque Vaughn refused to use Trendon Watford or Harry Giles off the bench.
It was all around ugly for Brooklyn. While the stands in Brooklyn are filled with fans, the enthusiasm for the Nets is pailing in comparison to the roars for opposing players.
The deadline is fast approaching and with unrest in Nets World, fans are clamoring for Sean Marks to bring some excitement into an arena that has been comatose due to an inferior product on the court.
It's time for Marks to trade a Net fan favorite
.jpeg)
The clock is striking midnight on Nic Claxton. Set to to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, it's expected the center will earn $20-$25 million per year, whether he resigns with the Nets or not.
It's pretty clear that it is Claxton's preference to remain in Brooklyn. But as the Nets look big picture and possibly try to get into the big star hunting mode, Claxton would tie up a lot of the salary cap space and preclude them from taking on major superstars.
As much as Claxton has been a homegrown Net and has grown up before Nets fans' eyes, the lack of flexibility of the team will have with extending him long-term, coupled with the fact that is offensive game has plateaued, it makes it attractive for Sean Marks to consider moving him.
It's not a popular opinion, and one that I'm sure Net fans will push back on significantly. But if Brooklyn wants to maximize this window with Mikal Bridges under a team friendly contract as well as rising star Cam Thomas, adding a legitimate third star player won't happen easily with Claxton still on the roster.
The trade deadline is this Thursday and things are sure to change by the minute if not the second, but don't be surprised if Claxton is a name that is coveted by several teams and Marks at least takes phone calls on him.
Ben Simmons scoreless in return to Philly, Nets steamroll Sixers
The Nets built a 16-point first quarter lead and never looked back. Ben Simmons, who was scoreless and didn't attempt a shot in the game, made his impact felt in other areas with nine rebounds and five assists in 14 minutes.
Brooklyn's offense was humming with Simmons pushing the pace and finding open shooters. Cam Thomas went for 40, Mikal Bridges 23 and Lonnie Walker IV 20.
The splashed through 20 threes and dished out 35 assists. It's clear that a healthy Simmons has the Nets playing at a different level, but given his injury history it's hard for the team to put any faith in the point forward staying healthy.
Brooklyn plays again on Monday in a nationally televised game against Golden State.
KD sticks it to Nets one more time, this time in return to Brooklyn
Kevin Durant always loved the rims at Barclays Center and he barely needed them on Wednesday as he dropped 33 to go along with eight assists and five rebounds.
The Nets, led by Cam Thomas with 25 and Mikal Bridges with 21 for the game, hung tough in the first half, trailing by just three points.
Once the third quarter hit, Phoenix blew the doors off Brooklyn with a 42-26 frame, including a stretch where the Suns went 14 of 16 from the field.
The Nets allowed the Suns to shoot 62 percent for the game and despite a late charge to cut the lead to just ten points inside 5 minutes remaining, the Nets couldn't get any closer.
Prior to the game, the Nets showed a tribute video to Durant, one that was rumored, and Durant indicated on X that he neither wanted nor deserved due to his short stint with the team.
The Nets are sinking into oblivion while the Suns seem to be finding their footing. Anything short of a Phoenix championship will be an utter failure during Durant's contract, which runs through the 2025-26 season.
The Nets, meanwhile, are mired in a brutal stretch of basketball. With the trade deadline seven days away, Sean Marks' future with the club may depend on how he positions this roster for both short-term and long-term success.
Often injured Net lands on injury report, status downgraded
All it took was 18 minutes for Ben Simmons to wind up back on the injury report. According to the latest update released by the Brooklyn Nets, Ben Simmons has been downgraded from probable to questionable with a left knee contusion.
The Nets face Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns at Barclays Center on Wednesday night.
Brooklyn has sorely missed Simmons' play making ability, but his inability to stay healthy makes him an unreliable option for the team this season and moving forward.
If Simmons is unable to go, that will drastically reduce the Nets chances of pulling the upset against friend turned foe Durant.
While the team is not characterizing Simmons injury as anything to do with his nerve impingement, the franchise has toyed with and played around with injury updates surrounding Simmons.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out and whether this injury is totally unrelated or stems from his chronic back issues that he has had the past couple of seasons.
No Sleep in Brooklyn: Nets are becoming the butt of every joke
Not since the 0-18 start to the 2009-10 season where the franchise was playing the string out in New Jersey have things looked this bad.
Yes, there was a rebuild under Kenny Atkinson in Brooklyn, not one but two failed Big Three star experiments. But at those three junctures the Nets defined a direction, no matter how misguided it was.
All-in for three aging stars, all-in for three prime stars with supersized egos and break it all down to reset the organization and the culture.
Brooklyn now find itself in NBA purgatory. With Houston owning the Nets picks and swaps through the 2027 NBA Draft, there is no incentive for the Nets to tank.
If you look up and down the roster, it's hard to fathom how this team could be a whopping ten games under .500 just after the midway point of the year. The Nets don't have overwhelming superstar talent like they've had in years past, but this roster should be good enough to be around or above the .500 mark and avoiding a play-in type scenario.
As things stand now, Brooklyn is fighting tooth and nail with Atlanta just to be in the play-in and that's with Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas and the rest of the supporting cast.
Where do the Nets turn from here?
Big game hunting in the form of Zach LeVine or Dejounte Murray are possible scenarios with the latter being a more feasible option and better fit.
Do the Nets lurk in the weeds and wait for the next disgruntled superstar to ask out or be traded and make a play for him?
If that's the case, Marks will need to resupply his draft stock in a hurry to make it happen. The reality is, the more the losses pile up, the worse things look in Brooklyn and for Jacque Vaughn.
It's never easy trading away not one, not two, but three superstar players, but that's the situation that Brooklyn is in, searching for a direction, hope and positive vibes.
After a 13-10 start, punctuated by a win over Kevin Durant and the Suns, the Nets looked to be a fun, selfless team that could surprise a lot of people this season.
From that point on, everything that could have gone wrong, has gone wrong.
Mired in a brutal stretch of basketball, the Nets are looking for leadership. Vaughn's words seem to fall of deaf ears and the roster is filled with too many nice guys. Bridges, Thomas or the rest aren't the alpha-type of personalities that will get in guy's faces to challenge them.
The results are what they are and until the Nets find their footing and get things right, the pressure cooker is going to be piping hot for Vaughn, Sean Marks and Joe Tsai to get things right before they go from bad to worse in the borough of Brooklyn.
Nets suffer another crushing last second loss to Minnesota
.jpeg)
Mikal Bridges had two free throws to tie the game with 2.4 seconds remaining, but couldn't deliver.
The Nets top scorer missed the first attempt and intentionally missed the second with Brooklyn down 96-94. A lane violation by Dorian Finney-Smith and failure to foul on the ensuing position was all she wrote.
Brooklyn showed grit and fight by coming back from double digits and taking haymaker after haymaker from the Timberwolves. Karl Anthony Towns led all scorers with 27, Anthony Edwards had 24 while Cam Thomas paced the Nets with 25 and Bridges added 21.
Minnesota poured in 50 points in the paint and Brooklyn had difficulty dealing with the size and physicality the Timberwolves brought.
Despite a spirited effort and comeback attempt, the Nets are now 4-17 in their last 21 games.
Brooklyn travels to Houston on Saturday night to face the Rockets looking to end a three-game skid.
Nets are a rudderless ship with no captain in sight
Who is the leader of the 2023-24 Brooklyn Nets?
It isn't Spencer Dinwiddie, whose minutes have been shrinking, and body language is showing signs of frustration with limited playing time.
The same can be said for Cam Thomas, whose answers with the media are becoming shorter by the day as he gets frustrated with losses piling up and his minutes shrinking.
Jacque Vaughn is alienating veteran players and young guys alike as the locker room has been tuning out the coach that is already under siege.
Sean Marks has not made public comments since before the season started and while owner Joe Tsai has been present a handful of times this season, he's given no clear direction for the franchise.
All signs point to this being selling season ahead of February's trade deadline for the Nets, but with Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson as centerpieces, a complete rebuild isn't exactly in the cards.
So, will Marks be able to pick up the pieces from this season, add draft capital, while adding impact rotation players at the same time?
It's proposition and Nets fans have shown they're not exactly the most patient type. Serious doubt has been cast on Vaughn's coaching future with the club, adding to the uncertainty to where exactly this team is headed not only this year but in the seasons to follow.
Marks was in a difficult position when he took over as general manager in 2016 and successfully built an enviable culture that had been destroyed by Brooklyn's first failed Big 3 project.
While Marks had two superstars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant dropped into his lap, and a third force his way out to join Brooklyn in James Harden, none of those pieces remain, just the rubble.
Many fans have even been clamoring for the team to relocate again and return to New Jersey since the product they're putting on the court is not up to snuff.
There is no magic sauce or formula that Marks can cook up to fix all these problems, but the first step will be to identify a direction, whether that is retooling, rebuilding, or trying to go big game hunting after available superstars.
The Nets are currently in NBA purgatory, not holding their own draft picks and they're an afterthought in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Things have been bad for the Nets before and even bad since the move to Brooklyn, but this season may be a new low for a franchise that has experienced its share of them.
With Nets floundering in Brooklyn, move back to NJ not crazy after all
The Nets have played in eight different arenas since the franchise's inception in 1967. That's an average of a new home every seven years. So by that math, the Nets are overdue for a change in city and venue.
Brooklyn lost for its 16th time in its last 20 games and suffered yet another late game collapse on Tuesday to the Knicks. The Nets forfeited double digit leads and eventually lost to Portland, Miami, Los Angeles Clippers and Knicks over the last ten days.
The Nets were in the driver's seat against the Knicks but fell apart down the stretch with questionable lineup decisions, shoddy shot selection and just overall poor basketball.
Knicks fans took over Barclays Center in full force and have now won four in a row in the area rivalry. Mikal Bridges, who scored 36, was booed on his home floor for missing a late free throw.
So with a Knicks takeover in Brooklyn, a max exodus of stars over the past few years, a billionaire owner in Joe Tsai, who lost a chunk of his large fortune with Alibaba stock plummeting, is a return to the Garden State possible?
Call me crazy, but it's not as farfetched as it once was. The Nets have now been in Brooklyn for almost 12 years. Two failed superstar eras later that produced just two playoff round wins, zero divisional titles or banners, it's clear success hasn't exactly been aplenty in the borough.
In 35 years in New Jersey, the Nets won six division banners, two Eastern Conference Championships and hosted five games at the Meadowlands.
Yes, the Nets played in a half empty building with a 50/50 split of opposing fans and the home crowd. But with revamped transportation hub in the Meadowlands serving MetLife Stadium, the infrastructure is in place to create a convenient situation for basketball fans looking to attend games in New Jersey.
Things would have to completely spiral out of control on the basketball side and financial hardship would need to be so extreme that it would force Tsai to sell both the team and arena, both of which he owns outright.
The reality is, the Nets have seen some dark times in Brooklyn and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight to the suffering this season.
As the Nets aim to be a big market team and take local and national attention away from the crosstown Knicks, 12 years since their move to Brooklyn, it appears they're further than ever from taking the city by storm.
The Knicks historically have always been the biggest show in town and while the Nets tried to make headway and steal the limelight in recent years, so far they have failed to do so.
Who knows what the future holds for the nomadic Nets, but things will need to brighten up in Brooklyn quickly, otherwise cries for another relocation may get louder by the day.
Fireable offense: Jacque Vaughn, Nets blow another late lead in loss to Knicks
Watching the Brooklyn Nets is like the movie Groundhog Day: different day, same ending.
Replace Billy Murray's funny moments with head scratching Jacque Vaughn coaching decisions and frustration from Nets fans.
The Nets were outscored 32-18 in the fourth quarter against the Knicks at Barclays after blowing an 18-point lead on Sunday against the Clippers and ending that game being outgunned 22-0.
On Tuesday, Mikal Bridges carried the day offensively with 36 points, Cam Johnson added 19 and Nic Claxton had 8 points and 17 rebounds.
Johnson started the first quarter strong, but he missed a potential game tying three inside of ten seconds and faded in the second half.
Spencer Dinwiddie played 19 minutes, dealt out three assists and grabbed zero rebounds and produced no points.
Julis Randle and Jalen Brunson poured in 30 apiece to help New York grind out a victory.
The Nets have now blown double digit fourth quarter leads against the Heat, Blazers, Clippers and Knicks over the last week.
Vaughn's team has gone through offensive dry spell after dry spell and his lineup combinations are not producing desirable results.
The type of loss the Nets suffered on Tuesday night: a nationally televised against a bitter area rival with another late collapse is grounds to make a coaching change.
Nets do unthinkable, blow 18-point lead to Clippers
The Brooklyn Nets were in full control of the Los Angeles Clippers until they weren't.
After building a 18-point lead with seconds left in the third quarter, Brooklyn watched that advantage not not only evaporate, but eventually turned it into an 11-point Los Angeles win.
Mikal Bridges led the way with 26, Cam Thomas had 20, while James Harden paced the Clippers with 24 and 10, while Kawhi Leonard added 21.
Ty Lue coached circles around Jacque Vaughn, who allowed the Clippers to stage a 22-0 run to end the game.
It's inexplicable some of the lineup changes that Vaughn made as well as his lack of commanding the huddle and coordinating a semblance of an organized offense.
The Nets have now squandered three winnable games over the last week-plus by losing to Portland, Miami and now the Los Angeles Clippers with a Thunder win preceding that stretch and Laker win on Friday night.
Had the Nets made a few lineup adjustments and different play calls, but they may be riding a six game win streak instead of 4-14 record over the last 18 games.
Aside from Ben Simmons, Brooklyn is relatively healthy and injuries are no longer an excuse but poor coaching decisions are preventing an underdog Nets squad from staying out of the loss column and in the playoff race.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
