One day closer to go. The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, and the Raps beat them by 30 points. One step closer to the lottery, and one potential step closer to capturing the Flagg who in case you missed it was wowing NBA scouts and alike only 11 miles away in Newark last night.
The opponent tonight is looking to make one more push up the Western Conference standings. The Los Angeles Clippers are currently sixth in the West, but are within striking distance of the crosstown Lakers at the four seed. The Clips helped their cause by beating the New York Knicks at MSG on Wednesday night.
Where to follow the game
YES Network on TV. Gotham Sports on the App. WFAN on radio. Tip after 7:30 p.m. ET.
Injuries
No Cam Thomas, De’Anthony Melton, or Day’ron Sharpe. Noah Clowney is probable with right wrist soreness. Ziaire Williams or Trendon Watford are both questionable with an illness. We’re also awaiting official word on the signing of Drew Timme, the 6’10” 24-year-old big who had been dominating the G League. Might we also see the Nets three two-ways? The Long Island Nets were mathematically eliminated from the G League playoff race last night. Will that free up Tosan Evbuomwan, Reece Beekman and Tyson Etienne for NBA duties?
No Jordan Miller. Everybody else is good.
The game
The Clippers won the first meeting in January.
Hey James Harden is here. The bitterness from his Nets exit is gone and now that he’s set in Los Angeles, everyone has moved on. Harden has done a ton of heavy lifting for the Clips and was named an All Star for the first time in a few years. Against a player like Harden, it’s best to ignore the shooting percentages because he’s always a risk to have a big game whenever he’s on the court.
For Keon Johnson and the Nets backcourt, they’ll have to make sure they don’t get into foul trouble against Harden and make shots difficult for him. Per Basketball Reference, Harden is shooting 64.6% on shots inside of three feet, which is down from last season but still above his career averages. Don’t see surprised if James makes some news when talking to the media about the good old days (?) of the Big Three.
Without Sharpe, the Nets are down a big against one of the league’s best rebounders. Ivica Zubac is fourth in the NBA in rebounding at 12.5 a night. He’s also someone you have to pay attention to on offense as the big guy is averaging a career high 16.4 points a night. Zu has a soft touch at the rim and is a good pick and roll partner for Clips guards. Nic Claxton will need to have a big game on both sides of the ball if he wants to keep Zubac from dominating the interior.
In Long Island, it’s the Girls Night Out game as the LI Nets will be honoring the New York Liberty. The big club did that on Wednesday night, and it was well received by the fans at the ‘clays. The WNBA champs made some moves of their own, which we covered here.
Oh, almost forgot. Ben Simmons is back in Brooklyn. Similar to Harden, his run here did not go the way he, the organization, or the fans wanted and he left everyone feeling unsatisfied. By all accounts, he seems to be adjusting well to his new role with the Clips. We’ll see how the Barclays faithful responds when he checks in for the first time.
Player to watch: Kawhi Leonard
It’s real simple: When he plays, he’s outstanding. In 29 games, he’s been averaging around 20 points and six rebounds on .487/.390/.784 splits. The goal of course is to make sure he’s healthy for the playoffs so he can go all out. Brooklyn is seeing Leonard at an especially tough time (for them) as he’s shot at least 50% from the field in seven straight games. He does everything at a high level, and when it’s time to get a bucket, give him the ball and get out the way
That’s the good stuff.
Cam Johnson figures to get the assignment against the Board Man. He’s been off since Monday as the Nets have begun working more diligently on preparing for next season and beyond. With this being the front half of a back-to-back, we’ll see how long CJ is out there for. LA only allows teams to shoot 35.2% from 3-point range, third lowest mark in the league. Johnson has been adept at getting his own shot this season, and it will be fun to see him apply his improvements against a potential championship contender.
From the Vault
It’s my favorite weekend of the college basketball season, the Elite Eight! With that in mind, let’s take it back to two of my all time favorites
More reading: Clipperholics and SB Nation NBA