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Showing posts with label NBA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBA. Show all posts

Nets suffer another crushing last second loss to Minnesota

 


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. 

 

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. 


The Nets have a great coach on staff, but it's not Jacque Vaughn




Jacque Vaughn may have signed a multi-year extension less than a year ago on February 21, 2023, but early returns for his tenure as head coach have been less than promising. 

Yes, Vaughn was head man when the Nets won 12 straight games last season , including an 18 -2 stretch with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving leading the way. However, everything went south from that point on with Vaughn. 

The Nets stumbled into the sixth seed in the conference in the aftermath of the Irving and Durant trades.  Brooklyn was swept with relative ease by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs.  

Vaughn also took over as the interim Nets head coach back in 2020, during the NBA bubble season with the team being swept out of the first round by the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors. 

Vaughn has an 0-8 playoff record and has been reluctant to play young budding star Cam Thomas, whose offensive prowess is unmatched, but his defense needs some improvement. 

Even veteran point guard Spencer Dinwiddie has spent critical moments on the bench and looks visibly discontent with his role on the team. 

The Brooklyn Nets started the season as one of the surprise stories in the NBA at 13-10, but have gone 3-14 since that point. 

The assistant coach that the team has seemed to respond to and has a great understanding of opponents is none other than Kevin Ollie. Ollie won the 2014 NCAA National Championship with his alma mater, UConn.

Ollie was investigated by the NCAA for compliance issues and ultimately was relieved of his duties as head coach. 

A long-time NBA veteran, Ollie joined Vaughn's staff this season. With the Nets experiencing a talent deficit and coaching deficit, a change might be needed in a leadership position and Ollie can more than fill those shoes. 

Nets are officially in tailspin mode after last second loss to Blazers

 


If the regular season ended today, the Brooklyn Nets would not only be out of the playoffs, but out of the play-in game all together. 

That's how far this team has fallen after a promising 13-10 start to the season, rife with surprise performances and team-centric basketball. Since that point, Brooklyn is 3-14 with bad loss after bad loss piling up, none worse than Wednesday night's near buzzer beater by Anfernee Simons in Portland. Jeremi Grant led the way for the Trailblazers with 30, while Mikal Bridges was the lone Net to top the 20-point plateau with 21. 

The Nets led 83-74 entering the fourth quarter before the Blazers went on a late-game run to take the lead. Cam Johnson tied the game inside of five seconds remaining, but Simons floater over Nic Claxton with just .02 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner. 

Brooklyn has now last back-to-back games it should have won due to offensive and defensive breakdowns in clutch moments. 

Jacque Vaughn relegating Cam Thomas to the bench over the last ten games has produced a 1-9 record over that span. Spencer Dinwiddie bounced back with 19 points and seven assists in Portland following a tough outing against Miami on Monday. 

Even Dinwiddie, a veteran leader for the squad, has looked disinterested at times, sitting on the bench during clutch times, possibly contemplating his future with the squad. 

 The Nets are now sinking down the NBA standings and without a first round pick to call their own (Cleveland owns it) they don't benefit by selling off assets and becoming a lottery team. 

General manager Sean Marks will now be tasked with picking up the pieces and trying to salvage what has become a lost season for Brooklyn. There are some big superstar names rumored to be available at the deadline, but the Nets front office will need to evaluate age, contract status and fit on the club in order to turn around what has been a disastrous last 3-weeks in Nets World. 

Nets suffer ugly loss on foreign soil to Cavs in Paris


 

Donovan Mitchell stole the show in the NBA's Paris Game 2024 with 45 points, 12 rebounds and six assists as the Cavaliers cruised to a 111-102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. 

Once again, the Nets were lackluster offensively with careless turnovers, poor shot selection and lack of ball movement among their many problems. 

Mikal Bridges tallied 26 points, Cam Thomas 26 and Lonnie Walker IV 20. The Nets surrendered 43 free throw attempts to Cleveland and provided little resistance on the defensive side of the ball. 

Former Nets Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen tallied 21 and 12 points, respectively. The Nets had a fun trip overseas in an international showcase via social media, but chock up another one in the loss column. 

With Paris Fashion Week around the corner, no player was happier to up his Instagram game than Simmons. 

Simmons told reporters this week that he was 'close' to returning but when pressed on when he replied simply with: 'no timetable.' 

Simmons' agent, Bernard Lee, detailed his client's ongoing progress and recovery from this back ailment and while offering a reason for optimism,  fans are skeptical of the Nets' point guard's prospect of returning healthy. 

Paris will host the 2024 Summer Olympics and while Simmons plans to play with Team Australia, Nets fans are hoping that's not the next time you'll see him fully healthy on the basketball court. 

As for the Nets, the head scratching rotations from Jacque Vaughn continued as he waited until the team was buried by 20-plus points early to insert Thomas and Walker IV into the lineup. 

The Nets are in a world of trouble with a tough schedule ahead ready to bury the already 16-22 struggling club. 

It's clear that the Nets should look to sell off any win-now assets unless Sean Marks can pull a rabbit out of a hat and acquire a game-changing talent like Dejounte Murray to give Brooklyn a much needed shot in the arm. 

The Nets travel to Miami on January 15 to play the Heat. 

Nets loss to lowly Blazers signals selling season is upon us



 The Brooklyn Nets lost yet another game to an NBA bottom feeder in the Portland Trailblazers on Friday night. 

Mikal Bridges came up clutch with a game tying basket with just seconds remaining in the fourth quarter but Malcolm Brogdon drained a pair of threes that put Portland ahead for good in overtime. 

Bridges went for 42-points but the Nets could not best a young Blazers squad led by Afernee Simons who dropped 38. 

Cam Thomas played only 18 minutes and was not relied upon down the stretch as Jacque Vaughn went with a defensive-oriented lineup by becoming Thomas and Spencer Dinwiddie. 

The Nets now sit at a measly record of 16-21 and are sinking in a crowded Eastern Conference.

With a murderous schedule ahead, it begs the question, will the Nets be sellers ahead of the deadline?

It's pretty clear with how things have transpired over the last month in Brooklyn that the Nets and Sean Marks will be in selling mode. 

Look for pieces like Royce, O'Neale, Dinwiddie, Dorian Finnie-Smith and possibly Nic Claxton to be on the move. 

The Nets will be in Paris on an international stage to match up with the Cleveland Cavaliers starting on Thursday. 

The Nets face a daunting schedule over the next 17 games before the All-Star break and it might be time to start floating out rotation players to be on the move in order for Marks to recoup some draft picks for the future. 




Nets snap five-game losing streak with shocking win over Thunder



 The Brooklyn Nets led by as many as 32 points on Friday night at Barclays Center against Oklahoma City before surviving with a 9-point victory. 

The Nets losing streak ended at five games as Nic Claxton and Spencer Dinwiddie added 23 apiece. Cam Thomas chipped in 19 and Mikal Bridges 17. 

Brooklyn got off to a strong start in the first half but stumbled to the finish line in the second half.

Sloppy execution down the stretch saw Brooklyn's lead shrink to only six points, but It held on for a 124- 115 win.

The Nets are ecstatic to be back in the win column and head coach Jacque Vaughn can loosen his collar a bit. 

Brooklyn welcomes in the Portland Trailblazers to Barclays Center on Sunday looking for its second consecutive victory. 


NBA cracks down on Nets for resting healthy players against Bucks

 


The NBA handed down a $100K fine to the Brooklyn Nets for resting four rotational players in a narrow loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on December 29.

Brooklyn rested Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Nic Claxton, while Mikal Bridges played just 12 minutes to extend his consecutive games streak. 

The NBA has a load management problem and made the Nets an example by levying the fine against Brooklyn. A second offense would result in a $250K fine and each additional offense will produce an additional $1M fine on top of it. 

A league investigation revealed there were no injuries that precluded the players from participating.

While Bridges' absence could be excused, the notion of resting multiple healthy players goes against everything the new CBA intends to avoid. 

The real losers in this equation are the hard working fans who paid money to see their favorite players. 

Hopefully, the Nets and the other 29 teams are all on notice that these type of deceitful tactics to rest healthy players won't be tolerated. 


Nets in danger of falling out of playoff race after fifth straight loss

 


The Brooklyn Nets are falling fast. Jacque Vaughn is pushing all the wrong buttons as leading scorers Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges are both mired in shooting slumps.

Brooklyn's 3-point shooting has gone down the tubes and its perimeter defense is nowhere to be found.

The answers may not be on this roster although the absence of Lonnie Walker IV and Ben Simmons has not helped the team's cause.

To make matters worse, the team the Nets lost to 112-101 on Wednesday night, the Houston Rockets, will hold the Nets lottery pick if Brooklyn continues on this downward spiral.

Sean Marks is at a franchise crossroads. Does he make a fifth coaching change of his tenure that started in 2016?

Does he build around Bridges and Thomas or decide to blow up the current core and build from the ground up?

All the answers will come into view later this month as the trade deadline draws near.

For the time being, the Nets are playing an unwatchable brand of basketball over the past two weeks and if things don't change in a hurry, there could be massive changes coming to Brooklyn. 

Nets lose by season-high 37 to Pelicans

 


There's no sleep in Brooklyn for Jacque Vaughn as his seat is getting hotter with each passing day and as the losses pile up.

The Nets are now 3-10 over their last 13 games and another heartless effort on Tuesday created more turmoil in Nets World.

Brooklyn had an off shooting night at 25.6 percent from 3-point range and 35.7 percent from the field.

Cam Thomas was scoreless twenty minutes, which is astonishing for such a good bucket getter. Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges, and Day'Ron Sharpe were the only players in double figures. 

The Nets play Houston on Wednesday night and look to right a sinking ship. 

Nets reach new low point after loss to lowly Wizards



 Jacque Vaughn made some tweaks to the Nets starting lineup on Friday night by sending Cam Thomas to the bench and Dorian Finney-Smith to the first five.

That move backfired as Brooklyn lost 110-104 to Washington (6-25). 

It's been a tumultuous week for Brooklyn as it rested its starters on Wednesday against Milwaukee only to lose to one of the NBA's worst teams in the Washington Wizards on Friday night. 

It's almost as though the basketball gods were looking down on the Nets in contempt for resting young and healthy players. 

Mikal Bridges was not exactly pleased with the decision by the coaching staff in front office to rest him as it only allowed him to play the first 12 minutes of Wednesday night's contest. 


Now, Cam Thomas has been relegated to the bench, which could continue to create a divide between him, Vaughn and the organization.

The Nets are not exactly sitting pretty in the East and they are falling fast. 

With a trip to the Midwest including stops in: Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and Houston. The road from here won't get any easier.

Vaughn may want to consider reshuffling his starting lineup once again, as sending Thomas to the bench didn't exactly have the positive impact the coach intended. 


Nets should be ashamed for punting on Milwaukee game



 Load management is alive and well in the NBA. On Wednesday night, the Nets sat the majority of their starters, while Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges played just 12 minutes.

The Nets were in a dogfight with Milwaukee in the second half, but the organization called off the dogs before the game by sitting its best players.

This is an alarming trend in the NBA that was supposed to be curbed by stricter enforcement by the league and the addition of the In-Season Tournament.

The Nets, who will be fighting for a play-in position or possibly the sixth seed, can ill afford to just give away regular season games.

As for the fans that spent their hard earned money during the holidays to see their favorite Nets players take the court, it's a bad look public relations-wise.

The Nets organization has a lot of questions to answer to the fans and media.

If the league is serious about limiting load management, a fine could be incoming for Brooklyn. 

Nets snap losing streak by keeping Pistons historic skid intact




 The Brooklyn Nets breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday night at Barclays Center as they outlasted a reeling Detroit Pistons squad 126-115.

The Nets had lost five straight heading in to last night's contest while Detroit had lost 25 straight and was looking to avoid tying the longest losing streak in one season in NBA history.

Brooklyn dealt Detroit its 26 straight defeat, tying the 2010-11 Cavaliers and 2013-14 76ers.

Mikal Bridges led the Nets with 29 and Cam Thomas added 20.  Jaden Ivey paced the Pistons with 23 and Cade Cunningham had 22.

The Nets and Pistons tangle again on Tuesday in the second half of a back to back. Another loss would set the record for Detroit and the Nets are hoping they can keep their winning streak and in turn the Pistons losing streak alive. 

Knicks down Nets as Bridges has historically woeful shooting night



The normally friendly confines of Barclays Center was a house of horrors for Mikal Bridges, who shot 4 of 21 from the field, including 1 of 8 from 3pt range in a 19 point drubbing at the hands of the Knicks on Wednesday night.

Brooklyn shot just 36.6 percent as a team with Cam Thomas and Cam Johnson leading the way with 20 each.

The Knicks led by as many as 25 as the club from MSG saw Julius Randle tally 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Donte DiVincenzo 23 while Josh Hart had 10 points and 13 rebounds. 

Jalen Brunson was a terrific tablesetter with 16 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds as the defensively challenged Nets couldn't overcome a poor shooting night.

Despite the Nets having won 8 of the last 10 matchups with the Knicks and Wednesday marking New York's first win at Barclays Center in four years, it does appear that the pendulum is swinging away from Brooklyn in the Intercity rivalry. 

Durant's boneheaded foul seals Nets win in Suns Big 3 debut

 




The Brooklyn Nets got the revenge that many fans are hoping for on Wednesday night against Kevin Durant and his new team the Phoenix Suns. 

Much Durant's ime in Brooklyn, Phoenix has been unable to stay healthy with Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal  finally all seeing the court together. 

Spencer Dinwiddie was clutched down the stretch as he scored eight fourth quarter points and Cam. Thomas connected on two free throws to seal a 4-point win at Footprint Center. 

Thomas led the way for Brooklyn with 24, while Mikal Bridges chipped in 21 and Dinwiddie 16.

Booker dropped in 34 points and Durant 27, but Durant committed a bone-headed foul on Cam Johnson with just 3 seconds remaining on the shot clock where a stop would have given the Suns the ball down only two points with less than 10 seconds remaining.

Durant was adamant about asking out of Brooklyn at last year's trade deadline and with the Nets on the rise he can't ask his way back in now. 


Kevin Durant faces Nets for first time since demanding trade



 Kevin Durant had a chance to go down as a Nets legend and rewrite the history books by bringing the franchise its first NBA title.

Instead, Durant's tenure with the club became just another disappointing chapter in the history of the Nets.

Had Durant shown more leadership when the locker room was falling apart, had his shoe been one size smaller or had he stuck it out when things were getting tough, the outcome may have been different.

Now, the Nets are retooling in short order and building a roster ripe with you talent and led by emerging stars in Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges.

Both sides are better off for the divorce. Durant is in Phoenix competing for a title he most likely won't win. He's had his own problems getting his new big three of Devin Booker and Bradley Beal healthy. They'll make their debut as a complete trio on Wednesday against Brooklyn.

As Nets fans officially move on from the Durant era, a win against the friend turned nemesis would go a long way for a group that had to endure so much dysfunction with Durant and Kyrie Irving at the center of it.

Nets electric scorer mired in shooting slump since return from injury

 


Cam Thomas is a walking bucket. So when the Nets second year guard is struggling finding his stroke, it begs the question: what's wrong?

In his four games since returning from an ankle sprain, Thomas has shot 7 of 23 for 20 points, 3 of 10 for 7 points, 7 of 19 for 17 points and 7 of 20 for 19 points.

That's a combined 24 of 72 from the field and 15.8 points per game. The struggle is real for Thomas. 

It's likely a simple case of catching his rhythm, but certainly something to keep an eye on as the Nets travel to the Valley of the Sun on Wednesday night to take on Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns. 

Former Net escapes scary injury with minimal damage

Mention Kyrie Irving and foot injury to a Brooklyn Nets fan and they will immediately hang their head in frustration. 

Of course, their thoughts will immediately go to the Game 4 in the second round of the 2021 NBA playoffs  injury when Giannis Antetokuonmpo slide under Irving on a layup attempt and caused the then-Nets point guard to severely turn his ankle. 

Irving was lost for the remainder of the playoffs and Brooklyn lost a devastating Game 7 with Kevin Durant's toe touching the line on a potential game winning three.

Flash forward 2 and 1/2 years and Irving is on Dallas after demanding a trade from the Nets. 

Now with his new club, Irving suffered what looked like it could be a horrific foot injury on Friday night against the Portland Trailblazers.

Luckily, Dallas' point guard avoided a worst case scenario. 



Nets shockingly lead all NBA teams in this statistical category

 


When you think of the Brooklyn Nets, you probably think of a gritty team full of selfless players who are overachieving through 20 games this year. 

Led by Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas, the Nets have a fun, up-tempo style of play that makes heads turn and lights up the scoreboard. An overlooked factor for this Nets squad is the fact that it astonishingly leads the entire league in rebounds per game at 48. Just last season, the Nets ranked second-last at 40.5 per contest.




It's a remarkable turnaround to go from virtually the worst rebounding team in the league to the best, but that's exactly what the Nets have done. 

Led by big men Day'Ron Sharpe, Nic Claxton and veterans Dennis Smith Jr., Spencer Dinwiddie and Cam Johnson, Brooklyn is attacking the boards with ferocity. 

Much of it has to do with an organizational philosophical change from a 1 through 5 switching defensive scheme last year, to a drop defense with hints of matchup zone sprinkled in. 

The personnel has changed over drastically as well with divas Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving playing elsewhere, and the 2023-24 version has adopted a hard hat mentality to gang rebound and do the dirty work. 

Brooklyn is one-game out of the No. 5 seed, held by the Knicks, as they're crowded among other Eastern Conference squads looking to reach the top six. 

As long as the Nets are able to shake the early injury bug that has plague virtually every player on the roster outside of Nic Claxton, there's no reason to believe the Nets rebounding prowess will change for the worse anytime soon. 

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