The Nets dropped a 76 piece in the first half against the Thunder. The starting lineup was Killian Hayes, Cam Johnson, Keon Johnson, Day’Ron Sharpe, and Ziaire Williams. Jordi Fernandez is coaching his ass off. Nets players take pride in being the underdog. And none care about a tank.
Law of average came into play and Brooklyn lost, but even with the loss, they remain close enough to fight for a play-in spot with 24 games left. Tonight, it’s a team in a similar scenario — a team that was bottoming out most of the season until catching fire over the past month.
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NETS VS. BLAZERS
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Opponent: Portland Trail Blazers (26-33)
Tune In: YES Network; WFAN Radio
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GAME PREVIEW | NET INCOME
Injury Report: Cam Thomas, the Nets leading scorer (24.7 points) will be available after sitting for two months with a hamstring strain. And in another piece of good news, Dariq Whitehead’s diagnosis after a bad fall in a Long Island Nets game is only right knee soreness not as feared something worse. And Nic Claxton’s one-day suspension is over.
Still, the Nets remain a bit undermanned with Noah Clowney and D’Angelo Russell (both ankle sprains,) DeAnthony Melton (torn ACL) and the aforementioned Whitehead out with injuries. Two of the Nets three two-ways, Tosan Evbuoumwan and Kendall Brown, remain in Long Island.
For the Blazers, Robert Williams (knee) is out while Deni Avdija (quad) and Jerami Grant (knee) are questionable.
The Game: When last the two teams met, back on January 15, the Nets broke a five game losing streak in dramatic fashion, doing a number on the Blazers, 132-114. But the Blazers had a big saving grace. Scoot Henderson, the No. 3 pick back in 2023, finally had the game Blazer fans — and front office — were hoping for, scoring 39 points on 13-of-18 shooting, including 8-of-10 from deep. Breakout doesn’t begin to tell story. Relief does. Since then Portland has played well, going 13-7 with wins over Bucks, Suns (twice) and Timberwolves. They’ve won their last three on their East Coast road trip and are four and a half out of the final play-in spot with 24 to play. Difficult but doable. Henderson hasn’t matched his performance vs. the Nets but is shooting better than 40% from deep. Progress.
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