The Brooklyn Nets close the regular season Wednesday night against the Miami Heat in a game that improbably, when you look at where the standings stood a week ago, will have no impact on whether either team makes the playoffs.
The Nets clinched their spot on Sunday in Indiana, while the Heat were eliminated on Tuesday night.
"Our approach is still the same," said Nets guard Joe Harris after Tuesday's practice session. "We talked about it this morning at practice, Kenny addressed the team and said we still have one game left and we’re going to approach it the same way we approached Indiana before and everybody else before. We’re preparing to win regardless of whatever the situation or other circumstances that are going on with other teams.”
There is still a question of seeding. A win would clinch the sixth seed for the Nets, and a first-round meeting with third-place Philadelphia rather than second-place Toronto. Brooklyn split its four games with the Sixers and lost three of four to the Raptors.
Harris is listed as questionable for Wednesday night's game due to right foot soreness, while DeMarre Carroll is out with a right wrist sprain. Allen Crabbe remains out after undergoing right knee arthroscopy last week.
"We owe it to our fans, we owe it to our team to go into that first game (of the playoffs) in the best conditions possible, whatever that means, whether that's keeping our rhythm and playing guys a lot of minutes, whether it's reducing them a little, I'm not sure what that looks like exactly right now," said Nets coach Kenny Atkinson. "But I know the thought process of our staff and our players is, how can we enter Game 1 in the best conditions possible."
A 3-POINT SWEEP?
Joe Harris enters the final day of the regular season with a significant lead in the race for the league's 3-point shooting crown. He's at 47.4 percent, while Toronto's Danny Green is second at 45.5 percent.
No Net has ever finished first in the NBA in 3-point shooting. Drazen Petrovic was second in 1991-92 and third in 1992-93 when he set the franchise record of 44.9 percent.
“I haven’t thought about that a whole lot," said Harris, who also won the 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend. "Obviously my role in the NBA is as a shooter, so that’s sort of like the equivalent I guess of a batting champion or something like that, so I definitely take a lot of pride in it and it would mean a lot to me.” FAREWELL DWYANE WADE
With the Heat's elimination from playoff contention, Wednesday will be Dwyane Wade's final NBA game. The Miami guard is retiring after 16 seasons, eight All-NBA selections and three NBA championships.
"One of my favorite players of all time to watch," said Kenny Atkinson. "Changed the game as a two-guard. I think of his defense and his shot-blocking. All-time leading shot-blocker for a guard, which is amazing. That's what I remember when we played him when I was with the Knicks, just how impactful he could be defensively, and obviously great offensive player too, and still playing at a high level. I think it's great that he's going out the way that he's going out, competing at a super-high level, playing at a super-high level. I'm a fan."
ABOUT THE HEAT
The Heat (39-42) lost four straight before rebounding with Tuesday night's win in Philadelphia, but were eliminated from playoff contention anyway with Detroit's win over Memphis.