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No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Nets bank on home court to carry them to Game 7 win

It's all in the line on Thursday night with the Brooklyn Nets needing a win in the friendly confines of Barclays Center to advance to the conference final round. The undermanned, banged up, and at times disjointed Nets wouldn't even be in this position if not for the otherworldly play of Kevin Durant and the gutsy nature of James Harden to push through his injury.
The Nets were 28-8 in the regular season in Brooklyn and 6-0 during this playoff run, illustrating the positive impact the crowd has made on the team's play. Despite winning Game 5 in Brooklyn, the Nets fell in an early hole and have been prone to slow starts throughout the series. Brooklyn will need to get the home crowd involved early and often if it hopes to survive against the Bucks and face the winner of the Sixers, Atlanta series.

Kyrie Irving to miss Game 7, not ruled out if Nets advance

Kyrie Irving will not play
in Game 7 against the Bucks according to, head coach Steve Nash confirmed on Friday. The Nets weren't planning to have their point guard back in the lineup, but the coach didn't rule out that he could be back in his team survives a do or die Game 7. Irving was undercut by Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second quarter of Game 2 after fully turning his ankle following a layup attempt. The injury caused Irving immense pain and he was helped to his feet by the training staff before limping to the locker room on his own power. That day, Irving left the arena in a walking boot and with crutches. Clearly, Irving's injury is significant, but at least the nets have added motivation to win Game 7 with the prospect of their point guard possibly returning at some point during the postseason.

With Nets season on the line, Joe Harris overdue for breakout game

Joe Harris hasn't reached double digits in scoring since Game 2 of the Nets-Bucks series. Brooklyn's deadeye shooter has gone ice cold from the perimeter and is dire need of a vintage performance if he hopes to keep his team alive.
The Nets need to shift away from isolation ball and scheme their way to score over the century mark, but Steve Nash is reluctant to put the ball in anyone's hands but James Harden or Kevin Durant. One of Brooklyn's Glue Guys, Harris has been victimized on the defensive side of the ball with Khris Middleton going on a scoring barrage. Brooklyn has its work cut out for it in Game 7, but if Harris can play close to the caliber he did in Games 1 and 2 and not how he's played the last four games, some of the pressure will be off Harden and Durant to carry the scoring load.

Nets never thought offense would be their problem, but it is

Five times during the NBA's shortened 72 game season, the Brooklyn Nets failed to score 100 points. So far though six games in the series with the Bucks, Brooklyn was held under 100 points three times, losing all three times that happened. The Nets are down Kyrie Irving and with James Harden at half speed, but the offense has become too Kevin Durant reliant without much of the supporting cast contributing at the level they did during the regular season. Brooklyn earned home court in this serie for a reason and Game 7 at Barclays will be nothing short of a phenomenal atmosphere.
The Nets' bench has struggled on the road, but in the friendly confines of their home arena, expect the role players to play a much bigger role. In a win or go home scenario, Steve Nash and company want to put the ball in their best players' hands, but the offense has been isolation heavy without the dribble handoff, pick and roll and cutting action that allowed the team to flourish even without their Big three for major chunks of the season. The Nets need a complete team effort to rid of Milwaukee once and for all and advance to their first Eastern Conference finals since 2003.

Nets win Game 6 if these three things happen

The Nets path to victory on Thursday night won't be an easy one, but here are three things they must do in order to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. 1. Start Fast! In Games 3 and 5 the Nets were buried by Milwaukee early only to stage two historic comebacks with only Game 5's outcome going in favor of Brooklyn. The Nets are down Kyrie Irving, James Harden is hobbled, and Kevin Durant is coming off arguably the best playoff performance of his career playing all 48 minutes on Tuesday night. Brooklyn can ill-afford to climb in an early hole and expect an undermanned squat to make yet a third double digit second half come back in this series.
2. Force Giannis to score from the perimeter. Giannis Antetokounmpo is having historically bad playoff performance from the free-throw line, so Brooklyn cannot allow any uncontested layups and if the Greek Freak has a free path to the basket they need to send him to the charity stripe. Blake Griffin will likely draw the assignment to try to hold down the Bsuck star, but expect them that's to use as many fouls as possible and force Antetokounmpo to make shots from the perimeter and from the place he's the least comfortable the free throw line. 3. Limit careless turnovers. If the Nets are going to be forced to play a Game 7, Milwaukee has to beat them and Brooklyn can't beat itself. Understandably, Harden was rusty and made a few mistakes passing the ball in Game 5, but Steve Nash's crew has to pay extra close attention to making smart decisions with the basketball because turnovers lead to run outs on the Milwaukee side, which will send the crowd into a frenzy.

Joe Harris' shooting funk is killing Brooklyn

Joe Harris is the type of player every team wants in its locker room. A selfless player, model citizen, and great teammate, but even one of the Nets most popular players and lethal outside shooters has some down periods. Unfortunately, that time is now when he's needed the most. Can Joe-E-Buckets reclaim his outside shooting touch?
The time is now for the NBA's most a accurate 3-point sharpshooter to provide Kevin Durant and a hobbled James Harden with some much needed scoring punch. In Game 5, Jeff Green poured in 27 to complinent Durant's epic 49 point outing and on Thursday night, Harris has to be that xfactor to push Brooklyn over the top in Game 6.

Nets Big 1.5 of Durant, Harden have enough to close out fragile Bucks in 6

Kevin Durant put on an all world performance in Game 5 against Milwaukee, but Steve Nash and company can't exactly bank on that type of legendary performance again from the team's only healthy star.
James Harden was not himse lf in Game 5, but his presence on the court in the form of vocal leadership and making the right pass despite a woeful shooting night.
The Bucks on the otherhand let a golden opportunity slip through their grasp as Brooklyn rose from the dead and snatched the series lead with a monumental comeback at Barclays. Yes, the Bucks will have the home crowd behind them, but Milwaukee hasn't always played the smartest basketball and could start to feel the pressure of another playoff elimination for a championship hopeful squad. Expect the Nets to help Durant score by committee as the Mike Budenholzer will send two and three defenders at Brooklyn's primary score to take the ball out of his hands and force somebody else to beat them. If are able to start fast, take the home crowd out of it early, and play smart basketball, they are very well primed to knock Milwaukee out once and for all.

Decoy Harden plays unheralded role in Nets Game 5 win

This much is clear, James Harden was not close to fully healthy when he took the court for Game 5 on Tuesday night, but his presence alone made all the difference.
Harden's 1-for-10, five point, eight assist, six rebound performance was easily the worst shooting night of his playoff career, but the Nets jack of all trades made plays for others in critical spots. Brooklyn's big three down to 1.5 was just enough to rally past the Bucks in the second half with Durant putting on a 49-point outburst for the ages to bring his team back from a 17-point hole. Harden's sheer will and determination saw him upgraded from out to doubtful to questionable to actually playing within a matter of hours. The Nets needed the hobbled star to take the court in the worst way without a true point guard running the show the offense looked left for dead. Now attention turns to Game 6 on Thursday as a hobbled Harden logged 46 minutes and Durant all 48, and they'll need to empty the tank once again if they hope to send the Bucks home for good.

Kevin Durant's 49-point performance easily best in Nets' playoff history

Add to the legend that is Kevin Durant as the Nets star notched a mega triple-double with 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, while Jeff Green dropped 27 points in the 114-108 Game 5 win.
James Harden was clearly not fully healthy as his balky hamstring limited him to just five points, but he gutted out 46 minutes on just one leg. Even as just a decoy, Harden kept Milwaukee on its heels, while Durant's brilliant touch from the outside torched the Bucks in the second half. Brooklyn erased a 17-point second half deficit to wrestle control of the series away from Milwaukee with Game 6 set for Thursday night The Nets task isn't done yet, but Durant's performance coupled will go down in franchise history as one of the best all-time.

Defining moment for Nets in Game 5 in Brooklyn

James Harden has been upgraded to questionable for Game 5 against the Bucks. The Nets playmaker will test his injured hamstring with the Nets season potentially on the line. Kevin Durant can't do it alone as Brooklyn's supporting cast will need to come alive in front of the home crowd and help in the absence of Kyrie Irving and a less than 100 percent James Harden. A loss in Game 5 would put the Nets on the brink without Irving being available for the remainder of the series. Steve Nash's inexperience as head coach has reared its ugly head as the team still hasn't found an answer for Milwaukee's physical play on the perimeter. If the Nets hope to regain the series advantage, they'll need a total team effort with Blake Griffin, Bruce Brown, Landry Shamet and Joe Harris pulling their weight in the friendly confines of Barclays Center.
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