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[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves preview: Thursday night hoops

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

The Brooklyn Nets are a few games away from the off-season while the Minnesota Timberwolves hope to improve their playoff odds.

A few more shifts to go. The Brooklyn Nets were in Texas to face the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night and came away with a four point win. The team has been off since then so everyone got a chance to get some much needed rest and relaxation.

The opponent tonight is coming off of the wildest regular season games in recent memory. It took two overtimes and a dash of luck, but the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to survive a Nikola Jokic 61/10/10 game to hold on and beat the rival Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night in an instant classic. The Wolves come into this game tied with the LA Clippers for sixth place in the Western Conference standings, but they have the tiebreaker.

Where to follow the game​

WLNY (Channel 55) on TV. Gotham Sports on the app. WFAN on the radio. Tip after 7:30 p.m. ET.

Injuries​

It was announced on Wednesday that Noah Clowney will miss the remainder of this season due to an ankle sprain. Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson, Day’Ron Sharpe, DeAnthony Melton, and Ziaire Williams are out. D’Angelo Russell is probable with right ankle soreness. Jalen Wilson is questionable with right ankle soreness.

Terrence Shannon Jr is out with a right groin strain.

The game​

Amazingly, this is the first meeting between these two teams this season. They play again a week from tomorrow in Minny.

For the past few years, there’s been an ugly between in Wolves ownership. Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez (yeah, that Alex Rodriguez) purchased the team from Glen Taylor, but Taylor decided not to honor it and everything got incredibly messy. It got incredibly personal and it looked as if the sale was going to fall apart, but on Wednesday, Taylor reportedly gave in and will sell his entire stake in the Wolves and Minnesota Lynx to Lore and Rodriguez. Minnesota basketball is in a great space right now, and it’s up to Lore and Rodriguez to keep the good times going.

The center matchup should be interesting. The Nets know what they have in Nic Claxton, so this month will be focused on figuring out what they have in Drew Timme. He’s continued to stack good days together and as Brooklyn figures out what their Draft position will be, they’ll have to decide what path they want to go down. In the meantime, Timme and Claxton will be matched up with Rudy Gobert. For a player who’s probably heading to the Hall of Fame, he doesn’t get any of the respect that usually comes with that.

The Nets might be focused on their Draft position, but this is a game the Wolves have to have. Derek Hanson of Canis Hoopus explains:

So here’s the reality: Minnesota cannot let up now. There are six games left. They have two against Brooklyn, matchups with tanking Philly and Utah, a huge one in Memphis, a sneaky-tricky matchup against Milwaukee. They win five or six? They’re in the six-seed. Maybe even the four. They drop a game like this? They’re back in play-in purgatory, where one bad shooting night could end your season.

Yup. They’ll be helped by the returns of Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid, who were both suspended for one game after a round of shenanigans with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. Depth matters a lot, especially when you’ve got four more games to go on this road trip.

Last time a Minnesota basketball team was in Barclays Center, this happened:

Good times!

Player to watch: Anthony Edwards​

There’s been so much discussion as to who should be the “face” of the NBA once the big Three of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant step away from the game. It was gonna be Zion Williamson, but injuries and the failures of the New Orleans Pelicans got in the way of that. It was gonna be Ja Morant, but... yeah. Anthony Edwards doesn’t want it, but brother let me tell you, when you’re a franchise player that everyone loves to watch and you have shoes that everyone wants to wear, you kinda are. That’s part of the job.

Speaking of the job, Edwards has got it under control for the most part. Since the All Star break, Edwards is averaging around 27 points, six rebounds, and five assists a night on 45/38/82 shooting splits. What’s most encouraging is he’s averaged 7.5 free throws attempted per game during that stretch, which is the best mark of his young career. Edwards is almost impossible to stop once he gets inside the restricted area, so your best hope as a defense is to keep him on the perimeter as long as possible. He sometimes has tunnel vision when he’s got the ball, but when you can kick it like this

lol Anthony Edwards

— Steve Jones Jr (@stevejones20.bsky.social) 2025-04-02T04:31:37.646Z

You’ll live with it.

Having D’Angelo Russell back is extra helpful with Cam Johnson being out. It always helps to have shot creation and Russell is coming off a game in which he handed out 11 assists. As Brooklyn starts to wind things down, having a vet like Russell who can provide a helping hand and take on scoring duties will help keep the offense afloat against one of the league’s best teams. It’s also a revenge game as Russell played in the Twin Cities for two and a half seasons. That’s always fun.

From the Vault​

It’s time for the FINAL FOUR!

And we are about two weeks away from WRESTLEMANIA!

More reading: Canis Hoopus and SB Nation NBA

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• Minnesota Timberwolves Game Notes - Minnesota Timberwolves
• Wolves aim to bolster playoff positioning against Nets - NBA
• Brooklyn plays Minnesota on home skid - AP
• Nets players insist winning is still goal, not tanking with season nearing end - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Nets’ Noah Clowney to miss remainder of season - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
• Nets’ Cam Johnson, Ziaire Williams ruled out for Timberwolves matchup - Erik Slater - Clutch Points

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/4/3/...sota-timberwolves-nba-preview-anthony-edwards

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

3 Takeaways after MinnesotaTimberwolves chow down on Brooklyn Nets

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Another one bites the dust. Not an opponent, but a day closer to the lotto and draft.

The Brooklyn Nets waited longer to play the Minnesota Timberwolves than any other team this year. Tanking, or should I say “pick value optimization” implications aside, the hold out wasn’t worth it.

Tonight’s opponent, connected to the Nets only through Kevin Garnett, D’Angelo Russell, and Anthony Edwards in our dreams, slugged Brooklyn by a 105-90 score. With no lead changes beyond the opening minutes of the second quarter, the game had little to offer from an entertainment standpoint.

It was a long time coming (yes, even if only six days) for the Nets to take one on the chin like this being surprise winners of two in a row. Still, it wasn’t easy to take. Here’s what we learned.

If Not Mad, Max is Fearless​

Maxwell Lewis’ season has had enough ups and downs that tagging it with the “rollercoaster” cliche would be a disservice to it. The 22-year-old came to Brooklyn midseason at the bottom of the shipment package carrying D’Angelo Russell. Then, on the first day of the calendar year, he had his first bucket, minute, and injury as a Net happen all at once.

oh my god, Maxwell Lewis checks into the game, hits a three, and then suffers a potentially serious knee injury after Jakob Poeltl steps on his foot... pic.twitter.com/Gp2YoTLEhJ

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) January 2, 2025​

Scary as it was to see him hitting a shot one second and then down on the floor a cut later, Lewis recovered from what was a fractured left tibia and returned to action on February 12th. Fernández played him sparingly up until mid-March. But since then, he’s logged double digit minutes in nine of his last 10 games.

That all led up to tonight, where Lewis got his first career NBA start. He wasted no time taking advantage, hoisting a team-high four shots in the first quarter even with nine other Nets seeing the floor in the period.

first career start
first bucket of the game @maxwelll2002 | #NetsWorld pic.twitter.com/crJ2GxMKkP

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 3, 2025​

As seen above and on a corner triple attempt not too long after, Lewis flashed his quick trigger during his early burn, certainly to his coach’s liking. Fernández has been anything but mum while encouraging his guys to unload the clips on their long range shooting weaponry, misses and makes alike.

“The only thing I can say is, I don’t care about missed shots,” he said in late February. “Some shots are gonna go in. Some shots are not gonna go in...I don’t want them to shoot like they have to make a shot. Just let it fly.”

Lewis sure did, attacking mismatches and continuing to show no hesitation on catch-and-shoot opportunities until the final buzzer.

While he didn’t always get the desired result, finishing with a lukewarm 10 points while shooting 4-of-12 from the field and 2-of-8 from deep, he never looked timid. He even did the dirty work once at the defensive end to set up Claxton with a scoop and score...

Lot of length out there between Max and Clax. pic.twitter.com/93QY0CrxY7

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) April 4, 2025​

“Yeah, I think their intentions were very good,” Fernández said postgame of Lewis and Dariq Whitehead. “They tried to do the right things, and they did it really hard, and that’s why we kept competing.”

Not only is confidence a key for young players in general, but it’s also one that unlocks doors leading to Fernández’s rotation, at least from an offensive standpoint. It currently averages the eighth most three-point attempts per 48 minutes this year despite ranking bottom five in percentage. So make or miss, Lewis has a shot to last here.

Tosan is Still Versatile as Ever​

Tosan Evbuomwan showed up one day in the bleak midwinter, flashed about as wide of a skillset as anyone has on the Nets this year, and then vanished just as suddenly as he had arrived. Nearing his limit of active games by a two-way this season, he got dragged back to Long Island just as we were starting to get to know him.

While Evbuomwan returned for one late February and one late March game, tonight he was back back, playing 20+ minutes for the first time since February 10th. For anyone worried, he hasn’t changed a bit.

The do-it-all Princeton product finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, and three assists tonight while shooting 6-of-11 from the field. Those same crafty post moves, court vision, and ability to guard multiple positions were on full display. At one point, he pumped a shot before dumping it off in the post to Drew Timme, who even looked faked out by the move himself.

Whether or not a solid performance improves a player’s likelihood of being brought back next year is a hard question to escape when it comes younger guys on smaller contracts at this point in the season, but frankly, it’s still one for another day. This evening, however, he was as flexible and functional as ever. Kudos.

Ziaire Williams was Missed...But Not for the Reason You Think​

When the topic of Ziaire Williams comes up, his lateral quickness around the perimeter, paired with his ability to hit a spoonful of threes each night, is where the conversation usually starts. Nonetheless, there’s more to it when it comes to this latest lottery pick turned glue guy’s game.

Whether coming in from the corner Derrick White style or just boxing out and utilizing his impressive vertical, Williams has quietly become one of Brooklyn’s best secondary rebounders this year. Outside of big men Day’Ron Sharpe, Nic Claxton, and the exiled Ben Simmons, he ranks first on the team in rebounding percentage this season. He’s also averaging a career-high in boards per 36 minutes...

You simply did not see plays like this from the Nets last year pic.twitter.com/kHaXFuWMFr

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) November 9, 2024​

Tonight, that was severely missed. The Nets didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, posting 43/31 splits en route to the loss, but Minnesota was no batch of deadeyes either, putting up 50/31 figures. While the field goal percentage is above average, it wasn’t always that way, with Wolves shooting a weak 41.9% at the half, but stayed a dozen.

The difference then? Appetite for glass. Brooklyn lost in the rebounding department by a 45-34 margin, giving up 16 second chance points in the process.

Being the best pound-for-pound rebounder on the team, Sharpe’s absence undoubtedly contributed here too, but you already knew that. Williams, however, could have been the next man up. Instead, he sat tonight due to “rest,” and the Nets lost.

Maybe the front office knows what it’s doing after all (joking, joking).

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/4/3/...nesotatimberwolves-chow-down-on-brooklyn-nets

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets lose plodding game to Minnesota Timberwolves, 105-90

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

The clock is ticking, the offseason is almost here. Another loss adorns the Brooklyn Nets record, ending a two-game win streak, though the scoreboard doesn’t reveal much.

Jordi Fernández, in his rookie year as an NBA head coach, has been the MVP of the Brooklyn Nets. Truly quantifying the value of coaching being near impossible, you can argue that Cam Johnson is another strong candidate for MVP. That said, Fernández’s strong debut goes beyond X’s and O’s, game management.

In year 0 of a rebuild, a bad team that hasn’t yet had the opportunity to acquire exciting young talent will plays extraordinarily hard. They will play together, will be resilient, and are far more fun to watch than a 25-51 record would suggest. And they speak glowingly of their head coach.

There is much valid criticism to make over that 25-51 record, which, with some tweaking in their final six games — starting with Thursday’s home clash against the Minnesota Timberwolves — will be sixth-worst in the NBA. Certainly, you know the deal by now.

But the very first step of this rebuild, hiring Fernández, looks like a smash hit.

On Thursday, Fernández left a bigger imprint on the game than he had all season. In the second quarter, he inadvertently injured Minnesota’s leader Anthony Edwards...

Just brutal for Anthony Edwards.

Hits a three, backpedals onto Jordi Fernández's foot, twists his ankle. Fernández and D'Lo saw it right away: pic.twitter.com/Ni19UDk2M8

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) April 4, 2025​

Thankfully, Edwards would return in the second half, and the drama of a coach injuring an opposing star player quickly subsided. Well, “injured” sounds harsh, given the obvious accidental nature of the incident, but all’s well that ends well.

Said Fernández: “I was out of bounds, trying to move out of the way. Definitely got to be faster than that, because, you know, this place, health is the most important thing in the game. So next time I just got to move faster.”

Of greater concern, both with Edwards on and off the court, Brooklyn kept the scoreboard close enough to avoid embarrassment. Bogged down by injuries, Fernández played yet another unique starting lineup, featuring both Maxwell Lewis and Trendon Watford, who both reached double-digit points.

Brooklyn’s best player, though, was Nic Claxton, who took his matchup with Rudy Gobert personally. He put up 18/6/5, self-creating a great many of his buckets from the middle of the floor; it was the vision — one that hasn’t often come to fruition — many had for Claxton at the beginning of a year in which opportunity was guaranteed...

Nic Claxton has 16 on 8-8 shooting right now. Has enjoyed attacking Rudy from the middle of the floor: pic.twitter.com/yPpwsdipIE

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) April 4, 2025​

Behind Claxton, the Nets shot over 50% from two, even outscoring the Wolves in the paint.

But the Wolves were much more forceful inside. Rudy Gobert put up a monster 21-and-18 double-double, pushing Claxton around and feasting on some otherwise porous backline D from Brooklyn’s wings and guards. Anthony Edwards, unbothered by the ankle twist, led the Wolves with 28, and as any strong playoff team does, they got well-rounded contributions.

They also suffocated Brooklyn athletically, getting to the line 21 times to Brooklyn’s staggeringly low count of four. Just four free-throws. Fernández brought that up, unprompted, in his postgame interview.

“You see the free throw disparity, 21 to four. We took 30 rim-attempts and 49 paint shots. So if you do your math, that doesn’t seem right. So, those are things we cannot control.”

Thanks to such few breaks, and pretty uninteresting play on the whole, it flew by. D’Angelo Russell nearly escaped mention in this article, as I nearly forgot his 13 invisible, scoreless minutes. No, really, scoreless.

When asked about the rationale for his low-minute count, Fernández had this to say: “Number one is to be get a look at these younger guys during an important part of the game, where you can see how they handle it. But yeah, he’s been dealing with the ankle and just trying to be smart with that too.”

Those younger guys acquitted themselves well, between a couple Drew Timme floaters over Rudy Gobert and 13 points from Tosan Evbuomwan. Dariq Whitehead, though, joined Keon Johnson as the only guy that could make a jumper, scoring 17 points off the bench on 5-of-9 from deep...

4th triple of the night for @dariq_whitehead pic.twitter.com/xvoeKsjWWa

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 4, 2025​

The 20-year-old is now shooting better than 40% from deep in his 14 NBA games.

Postgame, Whitehead said his focus is “just doing the right things. I’m sure me as well as the coaches have know by now how, you know, talented I am offensively. I’m gonna make shots. For me, it’s just doing the right thing and earning coach’s trust, being in the right spots on defense, doing the right things.”

Though Whitehead shot 0-of-4 from two, flashing some of the concerns for his prospects...

Dariq still aborting his drives way too early. Doesn't have the juice to pick it up at the FT line: pic.twitter.com/Wt8ywKVfh9

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) April 4, 2025​

...it was a fun night for the 20-year-old who’s been through so much injury strife in his young basketball career.

Following the loss to Minnesota, there are five games left in Brooklyn’s season. They are all but locked into the sixth-best lottery odds. Barring true catastrophe or miracle, the outcome of their season has been decided. May this final stretch bring more fleeting moments, and a blessed offseason. Amen.

Final Score: Minnesota Timberwolves 102, Brooklyn Nets 87

Nets host Jason Collins for Pride Night​

Once again, Brooklyn invited ex-Net Jason Collins back to the building for Pride Night...

@jasoncollins98 pic.twitter.com/02oiAdPEoP

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 4, 2025​

“It means a lot,” he said on the YES Network broadcast. “The Nets organization is first-class all the way. It’s incredible to see the support and to be invited back every year.”

Collins began his career with the New Jersey Nets, playing parts of seven seasons for the franchise including the two Finals runs. However, his most famous stint with the team comprised just 22 games in 2013-14, with the team in Brooklyn.

After coming out as gay the previous year, he signed with the Nets in February 2014, becoming the first active, gay player in the Big Four American sports.

“What I remember about that the most was just the support,” said Collins. “The support not only from ownership, from general manager, but obviously, from J-Kidd being the head coach, to my teammates. Everybody had my back, everybody was fully on board with me being back in the NBA, going out there to help make plays to help our team win ballgames. And that’s what it’s all about. We work so hard as professional athletes, and this is our craft.”

Next Up​

Photo by Vaughn Ridley/NBAE via Getty Images

Brooklyn can’t technically clinch (at least) the sixth-best lotto odds with a loss to the Toronto Raptors in their next game, but they can essentially wrap it up. Toronto will visit Barclays Center on Sunday afternoon, with tip-off scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: Minnesota Timberwolves 105, Brooklyn Nets 90 - NBA
• Game Highlights: Minnesota Timberwolves 105, Brooklyn Nets 90 (Video) - NBA
• Jordi Fernández and Dariq Whitehead Postgame Press Conferences vs MIN (Video) - Brooklyn Nets
• Edwards shakes off injury scare and scores 28 points to lead Timberwolves past Nets 105-90 - AP
• Anthony Edwards shakes off injury, pulls Wolves past Nets - Reuters
• Nets give youngsters a bigger shot in loss to Timberwolves - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Ziaire Williams’ one big improvement could have free agency ramifications - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Jordi Fernandez faces backlash after Anthony Edwards injury scare in Nets loss to Timberwolves - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
• Nets Notebook: How Ziaire Williams improved his market value - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/4/3/...wolves-105-90-anthony-edwards-jordi-fernandez