On the night the Brooklyn Nets clinched their berth for the 2021 NBA Playoffs, why not roll out another new starting lineup — a franchise-record extending 33rd of the season — while rolling through the fourth quarter with the ball in the hands of a point guard who played his first NBA game of the season last Friday.
That point guard, Mike James, became the 27th player to play for the Nets this season — another franchise record — when he signed a 10-day contract and took the court last Friday.
“We haven’t had a lot of time (together). We have a player that’s been with us a week that’s playing for us down the stretch,” said Nets head coach Steve Nash. “So that’s just the type of season it’s been. Tonight was a night where I think the connectivity showed in that Toronto really put us under duress. They played so hard and they fly around and make it difficult for you, and when things aren’t going your way, you can start to splinter, and our guys stuck with it, faced some adversity throughout the game, didn’t play their best basketball in stretches, but never wavered. They stuck together and had the resolve to come back, and I think that’s a product of the connectivity, so while we don’t have the utmost connectivity because we haven’t had a lot of time together, we have the connectivity in spirit, and that’s been helping us a great deal.”
With that 116-103 win on Tuesday night, the Nets improved to 42-20, a .677 winning percentage that is on pace to be the highest in franchise history. They’re in first place in the Eastern Conference going into this final phase of the regular season — 10 games before the playoffs tip off, beginning with Thursday’s game in Indiana against the Pacers. Brooklyn’s 28-8 record dating back to Feb. 10 is the NBA’s best in that span — a 36-game stretch that equals half of this shortened regular season’s 72 game schedule.
They’ve done this with Kevin Durant playing just 26 games so far, missing 26 of 27 at one point. The James Harden acquisition shook up the roster, and after Harden’s brilliance drove the Nets for two months, they lost him due to a hamstring strain just before Durant returned. Blake Griffin came on board at the All-Star break. LaMarcus Aldridge signed a few weeks later, then retired after just five games with the Nets due to an irregular heartbeat.
“When you get lineup changes and guys in and out with injuries you have to be able to dig down deep and work together and problem solve and I think that’s what we’ve been doing the whole season,” said Durant.
Through it all, roles have emerged and grown for players who would have been further down in the rotation had the roster remained static and all remained healthy. Players like Durant and Griffin spent time with the team’s stay ready group as they ramped back up to return to play. The Nets have plugged and played and succeeded.
Is it possible, at this point in the season, that they’re now thriving partly because of all the shuffling and the way they grew threw it, and not despite it?
“It definitely helps,” said Durant. “Adds to it. I think everything you do throughout the season adds to the group and that cohesion and that’s one of those things when you’ve got different guys in different situations they’re not used to, they speak up. Coach is there to help and you’ve got veteran players there to talk to ‘em. It just makes a team much tighter and more connected. That’s only good going forward for us especially headed into the playoffs. I’m looking forward to these next couple weeks. Can’t wait to get James back and have our full team and we’ll see what happens.”
SECOND UNIT VS. RAPTORS
The Nets went with just an eight-man rotation against Toronto on Tuesday, and all three players that came off the bench — Blake Griffin, Tyler Johnson, and Mike James — scored in double figures. James and Griffin combined to score 14 of Brooklyn’s first 22 points in the fourth quarter, turning a three-point deficit into a seven-point lead while they were at it.
The trio gave Brooklyn 38 bench points while combining to shoot 12-for-22.
“They were great. Tyler, Mike James was great,” said Steve Nash. “Played with a little more pace and made it more difficult for them defensively. They do such a good job scrambling and making it hard for you. The more static you are, I think that really fuels their defense, so we were able to spread them out, make plays, made some shots, made them guard in space and we were scrappy defensively. Really proud of that second unit for sure.”
STATUS REPORT
The Nets have listed Kyrie Irving as out against Indiana due to right groin soreness. Alize Johnson has been upgraded to available after being out for three games due to health and safety protocols while Nic Claxton remains out for Thursday’s game against Indiana. Bruce Brown will be out again due to right knee soreness.
Steve Nash said before Tuesday’s game that Harden had traveled with the team for its two-game trip to Tampa and Indiana to continue his rehab on a hamstring strain. Brown had played in 54 straight games before missing Tuesday’s game against the Raptors and did not make the trip.
“We expect him back on Friday,” said Nash. “You know he — I think Bruce — the word he gave me was that it wasn't limiting him so much, but I think when you have that much fluid in it, it's beneficial to take it out and when you take it out, you do need a few days. So, he's positive, optimistic as we are that he'll be back Friday.”
ABOUT THE PACERS
The Pacers are 29-32 and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. Indiana is second in the NBA in fast break points (16.4), third in points in the paint (53.4), eighth in assists (26.7), fourth in steals (8.5) and first in blocks (6.4), with Myles Turner leading the league with 3.4 blocks per game. But despite starting both the 6-11 Turner and 6-11 Domantas Sabonis, Indiana is 27th in rebounds per game (42.4) and 29th in rebounding percentage (47.4). The Pacers allow the most offensive rebounds in the league (11.2) and the most second chance points (15.2). Indiana also allows the second-fewest 3-point attempts per game (31.3). Former Net Caris LeVert is averaging 18.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.6 steals over his first 25 games with the Pacers. Malcolm Brogdon leads Indiana with 21.5 points per game and averages 5.9 assists and 5.3 rebounds. Sabonis averages 19.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 6.0 assists.