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The regular season ends on Sunday, and the Brooklyn Nets are sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference as they ready for the playoffs. But - BUT - there’s still a job to be done; the Nets need to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in order to lock in the second seed in the East.
That, or, they need the Milwaukee Bucks to lose to the Bulls. The thing is, though, the Bucks and Bulls tip two hours after the start of Nets-Cavs. Which means they don’t have the benefit of “waiting and seeing.”
As Steve Nash put it, “We just have one game to win and we control our own destiny.”
That’s a much better position to be in, to be honest, as opposed to hoping someone else will lose.
Win and you’re locked in (at no. 2). Simple as that.
We’ll be on Clubhouse after the game to talk regular season; also, keep an eye out for our Clubhouse Brooklyn Nets playoff preview this week. Should be a blast!
I'm discussing “Nets host Jarrett Allen and Cavs - 2nd Seed?” with @Furnace17, @matt_fein, @portstnique, Maliika Walker, @MattBrooksNBA, @TomLorenzo, @CMilholenSB, @Kabanja, Brian Fleurantin, NetsDaily. Today, May 16 at 9:45 PM EDT on @clubhouse. Join us! https://t.co/6Xn4AhOmqD
— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) May 16, 2021
WHO: Brooklyn Nets (47-24) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (22-49)
WHEN: 7:00 PM EST
WHERE: YES (tv), WFAN (radio)
Yes, the Cavaliers have won both previous contests vs. the Nets, but now, it’s about the seeding. As we’ve noted, the Nets strategy is getting the second seed should be “just win.” They win tonight and it won’t matter what Milwaukee does in their game against the lowly Bulls, which starts an hour later. The Bucks took care of business last night, easily dispatching the Jimmy Butler-less Heat, 122-108, in Milwaukee.
So expect the “Big Three” to play bigger minutes in a back-to-back. The season-ending back-to-back is no doubt the easiest of the season. It’s at home, requiring no travel, and the start times of the two games are separated by 31 hours, not the usual 24. Moreover, the Nets will have the next six days off as they and everyone else await the result of the play-in tournament for teams that end the regular season seeded Nos. 7 through 10.
If they finish second, the play-in tournament of course will attract a lot more attention at the HSS Training Center. Their opponent will come out of the foursome of Boston, Charlotte, Washington and Indiana. And as of now —and this is unlikely to change — if the Nets finish third, they’ll face defending Eastern Conference champ Heat starting May 22. Chances of a Nets-Knicks first round are close to, but not quite, dead.
For more on the Cavs, check out Fear the Sword.