Brooklyn Nets: With time running out, the team needs to get healthy quickly
With the regular season winding down, the Brooklyn Nets need to get healthy quickly.
The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Miami Heat Sunday afternoon in a game that went all the way down to the buzzer. A flurry of 3’s were fired early, as both teams almost looked allergic to taking a 2-point field goal. Kevin Durant started off hot but an early injury forced him to miss the rest of the game.
KD’s departure did highlight the main problem for the Brooklyn Nets, but their bench could be their downfall. This was a winnable game without Kevin Durant and James Harden as it took a buzzer-beater to determine the outcome.
Anytime the Nets looked to get ahead it seemed their defensive woes were even more prevalent. Jeff Green couldn’t stop anyone from getting by him and he somehow shot worse than he defended, going 3-10 from the field.
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Bruce Brown also struggled on the defensive end. Landry Shamet was the only bench player who stepped up today, pouring in 30 points on an amazing 10-15 shooting performance.
It just seemed all of the ideas or players the Nets say will help them in the playoffs were non-factors when the game mattered most. The Nets’ small-ball approach by playing either Jeff Green or Blake Griffin at the 5 was a problem in a bad way. Bam Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon feasted inside throughout the night.
The duo finished with a combined 31 points and 25 rebounds. In comparison, the trio of Green, Griffin, and Nicolas Claxton finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
The Nets’ offense looked stagnant and complacent, which eventually led to them failing to score a point for the last 3:20 of the game. Kyrie Irving struggled in clutch moments and was clamped by Miami’s defensive trio of Trevor Ariza, Andre Iguodala, and Bam Adebayo.
When games matter most, that’s where the Brooklyn Nets miss their injured stars
It was evident that Kyrie desperately missed Harden and Durant most late in the game, when the game slowed down and when every possession and shot because crucial.
The Nets bench is a fun story when things are awesome and Brown is grabbing rebounds and Claxton is getting easy dunks. When push comes to shove and the game is on the line, they didn’t rise to the occasion against the Heat.
It’s easy and fair to say that the Nets were down its two best players and they should and will look better when they’re back to full health – hopefully, that comes during the playoffs, or at some point over the last couple of weeks in the regular season.
But, there’s no guarantee of that. Brooklyn’s big three has only played in seven games together this season. Maybe that’s on purpose and due to load management, but it’s still not ideal for a contender heading into the playoffs. Especially one that is playing its first full season together.
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There are 15 games left in the regular season, and between injuries and load management, the Nets will be lucky to have all their components of the team back for eight of those games. Keep in mind, it took LeBron James’ Heat team a full year to actually begin to hit their stride as a contender. The Brooklyn Nets are one of the most extremely talented teams in NBA history, but you have to wonder whether they’ll have enough time to click as a cohesive unit.