Bruh. The Nets had a chance to push themselves closer to the playoffs on Monday night against the Bulls, but instead, they were smoked by 27 points. It was the second night of a back-to-back and the day before, they lost by 23 to the Bucks. The Bulls clinched homecourt advantage in the first round (but not the three seed it must be noted) and helped the Celtics clinch the seventh seed. Brooklyn isn't dead yet, and we'll get into the details of that in a moment.
Coming in to the Barclays Center to close out the season will be the Orlando Magic. They're looking to hurry up and get the offseason started. They lost to Miami last time out and were apart of the lowest scoring quarter in league history against the Knicks on Saturday night.
Where to follow the game
It's baseball season (Go Mets) so YES Network and WFAN 101.9 FM will be occupied by the Yankees. WCBS 880 AM has you covered on the radio and head here to find which channel is broadcasting on TV. Tip is after 8.
Injuries
Alan Anderson has missed the last five games with an ankle injury and is questionable.
Evan Fournier is questionable as well for Orlando.
The game
Here's a look at what this season was like for these clubs:
2014-2015 Season |
Brooklyn | Orlando |
Record |
37-44 | 25-56 |
Pace |
94.98 | 95.91 |
Offensive Efficiency |
101.8 | 99.6 |
Defensive Efficiency |
105.1 | 105.2 |
Turnover Rate |
14.4 | 15.5 |
Assist Rate |
16.4 | 16.3 |
Offensive Rebounding Rate |
23.9 | 23.1 |
Rebounding Rate |
48.9 | 49 |
Free Throw Rate |
26.7 | 23.1 |
Effective Field Goal Percentage |
49 | 49.3 |
Opponent's Effective Field Goal Percentage |
50.6 | 51.3 |
The Nets won the first game in November and the second in January.
Nothing like a chaotic final day to keep things interesting. Here are some games to watch:
- Pacers at Grizzlies
- Spurs at Pelicans
- Thunder at Timberwolves
- Utah at Houston
- And for draft lottery purposes, Pistons at Knicks
Heading back East, it's real simple for Brooklyn. Win and hope the Grizzlies beat the Pacers. Last night, the Pacers beat the Washington Wizards in double overtime and claimed eighth place in the East. Their win also eliminated the Miami Heat from playoff contention.
Even with the poor record, there is some hope going forward for Orlando. Their record is better than last season's and as Slam Magazine's Leo Sepkowitz wrote in the summer:
There are about a million routes the Magic can take going forward, and they all look pretty sweet. Orlando has elite prospects, massive cap space, attractive trade chips, absurd verticals and a smart front office that has preached patience and is beginning to see it pay off.
There's a lot to like with the Magic. The backcourt duo of Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo are both young and still developing. Payton in particular is shooting a bit better from the field and has averaged eight assists a game in the second half. He still needs to become a better jump shooter and improve from the line, but he's only 21 and doesn't have the pressure of winning right now to worry about. As for Oladipo, he missed the first nine games of the season as he recovered from a late preseason injury, but he's appeared in every game since with the exception of a late January contest against Dallas. Oladipo has gotten to the rim more often this season while cutting down on the turnovers. With a little more development and some timely moves from the front office, Orlando should take another step forward next year.
When you're fighting to save your season, you can't have limits on your players. One run while a key contributor is off the court will KO your season and have you wondering why you didn't make that substitution earlier. With that in mind, Thaddeus Young, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez need to be on the court for at least 38 minutes tonight. Those are the team's four best players and they are the ones that have to get the Nets the win. Johnson and Williams in particular will have more eyes on them than usual after Paul Pierce criticized them by name in an interview with ESPN's Jackie Macmullin. A poor showing by them will only add to the criticism they get from the fanbase as well as basketball watchers across the globe.
Lionel Hollins mentioned after the 27 point beatdown to the Bulls that "the stats say it all." He is correct, and if I can add to that, the stats say that the pairing of Jarrett Jack and Williams hasn't worked at all. That pair has played 650 minutes together this year and Brooklyn is 10.3 points per 100 possessions worse off. That would be one of the worst in the league, but they haven't played enough minutes to reach that honor. Luckily (depending on your perspective), the Jack/Mason Plumlee (-9.4 points per 100 possessions, ninth in the league), Jack/Johnson (-9.3 points per 100 possessions, tenth in the league) and Jack/Lopez (-8.9 points per 100 possessions, twelfth in the league) are there to represent Brooklyn. Long story short, Jarrett Jack should not see much time on the court tonight.
Player to watch: Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic is one of the reasons why the Magic won the infamous Dwight Howard trade of 2013. He has averaged 19 points and ten rebounds on 52 percent shooting from the field in 34 minutes a night. Vucevic is great on the inside and can step out to the high post and make jumpers from there. He and the Magic's big free acquisition Channing Frye didn't really work out (-10.6 points per 100 possessions, fourth worst in the league), so the new coach might do well to avoid having them on the court together next season.
The last two games have overshadowed what has been a fantastic month and a half for Brook Lopez. He's only scored 25 points in the last two games as the Bucks and Bulls have made his shots on the inside difficult. The job still remains the same for the Nets: Get Lopez the ball as much as humanly possible. He's their best player and the more shots he gets, the better.
From the Vault
Shaquille O'Neal was inducted into the Magic Hall of Fame recently and mentioned that he has some regrets about leaving Orlando. Head back to the fall of 1993 and watch his first game with Penny Hardaway as they took on the Miami Heat.
More reading: Orlando Pinstriped Post and Indy Cornrows
- Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
- Orlando Magic Game Notes - Orlando Magic
- Magic-Nets Preview - Taylor Bechtold - STATS LLC
- Nets Are Facing Criticism as Their Playoff Hopes Fade - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
- Playoff berth a two-step process for Brooklyn Nets - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- NBA: Washington Wizards' Paul Pierce speaks the truth - Jackie MacMullen - ESPN
- Paul Pierce says time with Brooklyn Nets was 'horrible,' Deron Williams doesn't want to be MVP - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Hollinger's 2014-15 NBA Playoff Odds - ESPN
- Even if Nets sneak into playoffs, the season has been a failure - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Paul Pierce rips Nets, says pressure got to Deron Williams - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Paul Pierce criticizes Deron Williams, Nets - Rod Boone - Newsday
- Paul Pierce rips Nets, singles out Deron Williams - Mitch Abramson - New York Daily News
- Paul Pierce takes shots at Deron Williams, Nets - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Bulls Offer Nets a Lesson in Team-Building - Harvey Araton - New York Times
- Pierce unloads on Nets, Williams, Johnson - Brian Erni - SNY Nets
- Nets’ situation not as bleak as it looks - Brian Erni - SNY Nets
- Desperate Nets in danger of missing playoffs - John Torenli - Brooklyn Eagle
- Pacers Beat Wizards, Maintain Playoff Control Over Nets - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- Paul Pierce rips Nets: situation in Brooklyn was "horrible," calls team "vets who didn't want to play and didn't want to practice" - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- Orlando Magic players will remember their 2014-15 season as a lost opportunity - Josh Robbins - Orlando Sentinel
- Orlando Magic likely will focus their head-coaching search on a handful of candidates - Josh Robbins - Orlando Sentinel
- Paul Pierce: Nets’ veterans had poor attitudes, Deron Williams couldn’t handle that stage - Kurt Helin - NBC Sports