Two straight wins. Never mind the competition, just appreciate the W’s. Tonight the Brooklyn Nets go for three straight against the Chicago Bulls in Brooklyn following a 2-2 road trip that produced wins vs. the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards following losses to the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks.
The last time the Brooklyn Nets won three in a row was back in December when they did it twice in a 7-2 run that left them at 13-10 and feeling pretty, pretty good. Remember those heady days? Maybe not. That was a long time ago.
The Bulls broke a three game losing streak Wednesday night vs. the Indiana Pacers and with the Atlanta Hawks on a hot streak, they are only a game out of the 10th and last spot in the NBA’s play-in tournament, four games out of the eight position.
Where to follow the game
YES Network on TV. WFAN on radio. Tip after 7:30 p.m. ET. YES has a new deal with FUBU which will cover both the Yankees and Nets, but while the agreement was in place for the Yankees home opener, no word in the press release when Nets games will be carried on the streaming service.
Injuries
Cam Johnson, Keita Bates-Diop, Dennis Smith Jr., Ben Simmons and Dariq Whitehead are all out. Noah Clowney (back contusion) and Dennis Smith Jr. (right hip synovitis) are probable. Two-ways Keon Johnson and Jacob Gilyard remain with the big club.
Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball are out for the season, as is Patrick Williams. Julian Phillips (ankle) is out indefinitely. Ayo Dosunmu (non-COVID illness) and Alex Caruso (ankle) are probable.
The game
The Nets won game one and game two vs. the Bulls this season, giving the Brooklyns a rare chance at a season sweep tonight.
A lot of teams have lost a lot of players to injuries this season, but the Bulls have lost three starters in Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine and Patrick Sullivan, all done for the season. To make matters worse, there’s still uncertainty about whether Ball will be ready for next season although there is optimism that his knee will be healed enough at some point in 2024-25 to get him minutes.
Meanwhile, Zach LaVine’s (foot) situation seems almost as dire. He went down 25 games into the season. Moreover, there appears to be no love lost between team and player and despite trying hard to move him, the Bulls were unable to get anyone interested in the $178 million and four years left on his deal. And it’s difficult to see how that will change.
So the Bulls have been riding their two ironmen, DeMar DeRozan and Coby White, Nos. 1 and 4 in minutes this season, in hopes of salvaging the season with a playoff run. Chicago is a middling NBA squad without those three, ranking No. 19 in offensive efficiency. It’s the same with shooting percentage overall; No. 19, and 3-point shooting and defensive efficiency too, 19th, 19th, 19th, all around. On the boards, they’re 18th. Like we said middling and much like the Nets.
They did have some positives in their win Wednesday over the Pacers. It was the first time all season Indiana was held under 100 points, the Bulls limiting them to 99 in the blowout win. As Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune wrote post-game:
The Bulls ended a three-game losing streak, correcting a weeklong pattern of defensive slippage and offensive stagnancy.
And the Bulls captured a series of accomplishments that often have escaped them this season: maintaining a double-digit lead from the first half, winning the offensive boards (13-12) and limiting an opponent to fewer than 100 points.
For the Nets, it’s time to play the kids, particularly the bigger ones. Day’Ron Sharpe (22) and Noah Clowney (19) as well as Trendon Watford (23) have all looked good and even 24-year-old veteran Nic Claxton put on a show to seal the win over the Wizards. Cam Thomas of course (22) looks more and more like the complete player his fans and the Nets believed he could be. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say Thomas will be the main attraction the last two weeks of the season. In March — nine games — Thomas is averaging 26.3 points a game on 48/35/89 shooting splits while adding 4.8 boards and 4.1 assists.
Back in August, Thomas told Zach Schumaker of The SchuZ Show that he could average 25 points a game “no doubt, easy” if given free rein in the NBA. A lot of fans laughed, but since the All-Star Break (and change in head coaches,) he’s walking the walk, averaging 24.0.
Player to Watch
DeMar DeRozan is a revelation. He turns 35 in the summer and yet continues to not just put up solid numbers — 23.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists — but he is leading the league in minutes, a comfortable 83 ahead of Mikal Bridges who’s led the league the last three seasons. (Coby White of the Bulls is currently fourth.)
In the month of March, he’s upped his game, averaging 25.0 with three games of 30 or more including a 46-point outburst in an overtime win over the Pacers in mid month. He came within two rebounds of a triple double a few days earlier vs. the Clippers.
DeRozan doesn’t get a lot of attention. His steadiness seems to be taken for granted, but come July, the 6’6” wing be an unrestricted free agent. It will be interesting to see if a contender would want to take a flier on him. Teams could do worse.
From the Vault
A bit of personal privilege on this one. I was lucky enough to sit courtside for Game 3 of the New Jersey Nets – Chicago Bulls first round match-up back in April of 1998 and got to see MJ close-up. It wasn’t just the virtuoso performance, starting with 38 points, it was watching him trash talk non-stop whenever he was on the court, no matter who he was guarding. He seemed particularly amped when faced off against Jayson Williams who only the older Nets fans will remember turned down a chance to join the Bulls. There was no smiling, no joking, just a deadly serious Jordan.
Copyright © 2024
Leave a Reply