The Brooklyn Nets kept themselves steady this past week, going two-for-two with Kyrie Irving continuing to carry the offensive load. The week has not been kind to Brooklyn, who were infected with more injury bugs now that Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren being out due to injury, but are expected to return soon.
The Nets are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference standings (31-20) and are 15-8 during home games and 16-12 during away games. Kevin Durant is expected to be evaluated next week so his status is unknown for the time being. However, the Nets would like to hope that Durant will return before the All-Star break.
On Jan. 26, the Nets faced the Detroit Pistons, who were fresh off a four-game losing streak. The Pistons played well throughout the first half, but looked unstoppable in the third quarter, shooting 65% from the field and allowing 43 points for the Pistons. The Pistons came out ready to play, but the Nets could not match their energy. Simmons was then taken out after 20 minutes of playing time, while Warren would also exit the game due to knee issues he suffered during the fourth quarter.
Saddiq Bey lit up the floor in the third quarter and helped the Pistons garner an 11-point lead heading into the fourth while scoring 15 points and shooting 6-7 from the field. Irving did his best to carry the Nets to a win in the fourth quarter with 14 points, but the effort was in vain as the Brooklyn fell 130-122.
Brooklyn's starting point guard ended the game with 40 points, shooting 50% from the field, while Nicolas Claxton had 27 points, shooting 11-13 from the field, to go along with 13 rebounds. Edmond Sumner had a significant game off the bench with 24 points on 7-10 shooting, hitting both of his three-point attempts.
The Nets broke their two-game losing streak with a win over their arch-rivals, the New York Knicks. Irving had a remarkable game, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter alone to give the Nets the win in the Battle of the Boroughs. The Nets' squad was able to get their footing right and paced themselves well against the Knicks. Guys like Yuta Watanabe, Patrick Mills and Claxton shot well and were able to keep a fairly large lead throughout the game. Jalen Brunson helped the Knicks towards a small run in the third quarter which cut down their lead to seven points heading into the fourth quarter.
The Knicks sparked some life in the fourth quarter and put themselves within five points, but they could not put a stop to Irving as he and Seth Curry hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put themselves up by 14. The Knicks did their best to cut down the lead, as they were able to make their shots and get some stops, trailing by just three points after a tip-in shot by Quentin Grimes. However, the Nets answered with another 3-pointer by Curry and a pair of 3-pointers by Irving to give them a comfortable lead to win the game 122-115.
The Nets gained their second straight win when they hosted the Los Angeles Lakers on January 30. Neither LeBron James nor Anthony Davis started for L.A., as James was dealing with a sore left foot and Davis had a planned rest day so he would not have to play both nights of a back-to-back. The Nets took some of the offensive load off for Irving as the backup guards were able to dominate that night. Both Mills and Cam Thomas were able to shoot above 50% from the 3-point line. However, despite not having their two best players on the court, the Lakers went on a double-digit run in the second half to go up by two points.
The Lakers were able to build on this run and go up by seven points. The Nets returned fire with an offensive run of their own and regained their lead, and used that momentum to help keep their lead against the Lakers in the fourth quarter. They went on to win 121-114.
Team basketball.
66 points off the bench last night ‼️ pic.twitter.com/CEzDna1cYC
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 31, 2023
Irving had 26 points that night, and did not have to carry the offense because of Brooklyn's backup guards. Mills and Thomas both scored 21 points each, with both players each putting up four 3-pointers as well to help carry the offense for the Nets. For the Lakers, the newly acquired Rui Hachimura had 16 points, while Troy Brown Jr. had 11 points and 17 rebounds. Thomas Bryant had 18 points, while Russell Westbrook led the offense off the bench with 17 points but the lack of Davis and James on the court were needed to defeat the Nets.
The Nets had no answers to the Boston Celtics as the Celtics had fully dominated the Nets in the first quarter, scoring 46 points. They made eight 3-pointers in the first quarter and did not let their foot off the gas pedal. They continued to play well and did not let up against the Nets in a dominant 139-96 win. The Celtics have currently won all three of their meetings against the Nets, showing that the Nets need to get themselves back together in order to stand a chance against the Celtics and other teams in the playoffs.
Jaylen Brown had 26 points and made seven 3-pointers. Meanwhile, teammate and All-Star starter Jayson Tatum also sank seven 3-pointers as well and ended up with 31 points for the Celtics. Irving struggled against the Celtics, scoring 20 points, while Joe Harris had 12 points.
The Nets seem to be playing decently without Durant or Simmons, but they clearly need all their players fully healthy to stand a chance of making a deep playoff run. They seem to have great bench players in guys like Mills and Thomas that can carry the offense when they need to, but having bench players carry the offense clearly would not do well in the playoffs.
Seeing how the Nets play with their squad fully healthy will be a better test to see how they will fare in the playoffs, rather than seeing how they play now. The Nets are fine for now but do need Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons in order to be playing playoff ready.
