The Brooklyn Nets ended a season-high six-game losing streak on Monday with a 96-88 road victory over Toronto Raptors, but any chance of postseason action, barring a major miracle, seemed to have ended with that losing streak.
Before last night’s (Wednesday) game against the Wizards in Washington, the Nets were 27-45, five and a half games behind the Atlanta Hawks, who were 32-39 before facing the Portland Trailblazers last night. Brooklyn has nine regular season games remaining, and in the highly unlikely event that the team were to win all of them, Atlanta would merely need to finish 5-5 in their last 10 to secure the 10th and final NBA Play-In Tournament berth.
Guard Cam Thomas, the Nets’ leading scorer, did not play on Monday because of lower back tightness he experienced warming up. Starting forward Cam Johnson also missed Monday’s game with a left big toe sprain. Additionally, backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr was absent from Monday’s game with a right hip synovitis. All three played in Saturday’s loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden and their status for the Nets’ game last night at AmNews press time was uncertain.
The injuries provided reserve forward Trendon Watford the opportunity to receive increased minutes and score a season-high 19 points while grabbing seven rebounds in the win over the Raptors. After the victory, Brooklyn’s interim head coach Kevin Ollie called his team’s defense phenomenal and applauded the effort of players normally out of the rotation.
“That’s what it’s all about as a team,” Ollie said. “I’m so passionate when I talk to these guys sometimes because I know what they have inside and I know what we have in that locker room and I just want [those] masterpieces to come out all the time.”
Ollie also discussed the preparation of Watford and rookie forward Jalen Wilson, who scored 12 points in his second career start.
“That goes back to the work [and] shootarounds,” he said. “Just putting the time in the gyms with their individual coaches just to be ready. And that’s what the league is about. You never know when you’re going to get your opportunity. You never know when the opportunity is going to knock and you got to always be ready and stay ready.
“And I think,” added Ollie, they did a great job with that. It just shows their want or their will and staying in the game. And I told [Watford] a lot of times I hear him on the bench even when he is not playing, I hear him and that’s always a great thing for a coach. I hear [Wilson]. I hear those guys. They’re involved even when they’re not involved in the rotation, they’re still involved. And that’s what being a pro is about.”
The team is 6-12 under Ollie’s tenure since former head coach Jacque Vaughn was fired at the All-Star break last month. The change hasn’t improved the Nets in the standings.
They return to Barclays Center on Friday to host the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. The Nets then play a home-and-home series against the Indiana Pacers on the road on Monday and return to Barclays Center next Wednesday.
