With Monday's win over the Boston Celtics, the Brooklyn Nets' record of 14-5 dating back to Dec. 7 includes wins over three of the top five teams in the Eastern Conference standings. With Wednesday night's game in Houston, they'll face the Western Conference's No. 4 team and the league's top scorer, James Harden.
It's the middle of a challenging weeklong stretch for Brooklyn, facing Toronto, Boston, Houston and Orlando, with three of those games on the road.
The Magic are part of a group of six teams separated by four games in the standings that seems lined up for now to battle for the final three Eastern Conference playoff spots. The Nets (22-23) are one of them, holding the seventh spot and two games up on ninth-place Orlando (19-24). The Nets and Magic will play three times in a two-week span beginning Friday.
"We're obviously in a position we've never been in," said Nets coach Kenny Atkinson. "I think as we get deeper in the season, if we continue to make strides, then these games are going to take more and more significance. But I think right now what you're talking about is we're playing games that mean something. That's exciting for our crowd, but it's also exciting for our development and our confidence. These guys think they can do something special. So far, we're making strides."
The Nets flipped extremes in going from an eight-game losing streak to a seven-game winning streak in December. But maybe the most telling thing is the 7-4 record since the Dec. 21 loss to Indiana ended the winning streak. They didn't regress or backslide. It wasn't a fluke. They've been solid and steady ever since, playing like a team that's in the mix to stay. And the overall play of the last six weeks might be changing perceptions of the Nets after three seasons with fewer than 30 wins.
"I think it's no longer that we're a team that just plays hard," said Jarrett Allen. "We're a team that plays hard and have the chance of winning and beating a better team. A couple of years ago we lacked their style, but now they have to scout us and be ready for us coming in."
OVERCOMING INJURIES
"Hopeful" is not one of the NBA's official injury status categories, but that's how Kenny Atkinson described Rondae Hollis-Jefferson's status for Wednesday's game against the Houston Rockets before Monday's game against the Boston Celtics.
At that point, Hollis-Jefferson had already been declared out against the Celtics, his seventh straight game sidelined with an adductor strain over a two-week span. The Nets were also missing Shabazz Napier due to hamstring tightness, and while Hollis-Jefferson is probable against the Rockets, Napier is questionable.
The Nets were already without Caris LeVert and Allen Crabbe, who have been sidelined for lengthy periods, and Jared Dudley suffered a recent hamstring strain. All three are out against Houston.
Despite that, the Nets won for the 14th time in 19 games dating back to Dec. 7 with their 109-102 victory against the Celtics. They've managed to not just survive, but adapt and thrive with key players sidelined.
"I think that's the thing that pleases me the most, is how we've, if you'd have told me we'd be in this position without those guys, I would say no way," said Atkinson after the Nets improved to 22-23 and remained in playoff position in the standings. "And that's no discredit to anybody. I do think we're deeper. But missing, you can argue, three starters, missing those guys and we're still, even a win like tonight, it makes it kind of more special that we're doing it with some really key, key players out and starters. It makes it extra special."
JAMES HARDEN
We'll get to the Rockets, but James Harden is getting his own little section here, applicable for a player who is on a run that hasn't been seen in the NBA for over 50 years. Harden's 57-point game against Memphis on Monday was his 17th straight game with at least 30 points, last accomplished by Wilt Chamberlain during the 1963-64 season.
The string began with 50 points against the Lakers on Dec. 13, one of 10 40-point games in the run. Harden is averaging 41.3 points, 9.2 assists and 7.5 rebounds, shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range since then. Overall, Harden is the league leader with 34.8 points per game and is fourth with 8.6 assists per game.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS
James Harden is picking up the load for an increasingly shorthanded Houston squad. Chris Paul has been out since just before Christmas with a hamstring strain. Now Clint Capela is out, likely through the All-Star break, with ligament damage to his thumb. A third starter, Eric Gordon, is listed as day-to-day and has been out since New Year's Eve. The Rockets are 14-4 since Dec. 11, a string that did begin before injuries began to mount. That stretch has elevated Houston to fourth place in the Western Conference with a 25-18 record after a shaky start. Capela, Gordon and Paul are Houston's next three top scorers after Harden. Next up after that is December pick-up Austin Rivers, who's started the last eight games and averaged 13.3 points in 11 games for the Rockets, shooting 39.7 percent from 3-point range. The Rockets lead the NBA with 43.3 3-point attempts per game and shoot 35.2 percent. Houston is No. 3 in the league in offensive rating (113.5) but 26th in defensive rating (111.4).