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[Brooklyn Nets]

Long Island Nets Fall to Texas Legends, 122-118, despite Drew Timme career-high 31

Photo by Tim Heitman/NBAE via Getty Images

Long Island’s post-season hopes are hurting, but Drew Timme is thriving

The Long Island Nets returned to the court on Sunday afternoon for their second game in two days against the Texas Legends, the Mavericks’ affiliate. Long Island hoped to pick up another win for their playoff push and finally make it back to .500, but lightning wouldn’t strike twice for the Nets as they fell to Texas, 122-118.

Tyson Etienne and Drew Timme continued to be the two big stars for Long Island in the absence of Dariq Whitehead, Kendall Brown and now Killian Hayes. Also picking up three rebounds, two assists, and a steal,

Etienne led the team in scoring with 32 points. He did all of this as he continued his audition. With rumors running rampant recently about Etienne switching agents and getting close to an NBA contract, he continues playing for just that: an NBA team to take notice. He connected on 12 of his 22 shots, hitting four out of his 10 from beyond the arc.

As for Timme, he’s continuing to make a case for why he could very well be one of the best big men in all of the NBA G-League. Timme picked up a new career-high in points today, finishing the game with 31. He connected on nine of his 18 shots, including hitting two of his five shots from deep.

Timme, who is usually a double-double machine, also finished the game with eight rebounds and six assists. He came very close to a triple-double, a feat he has hit two other times this season with Long Island, so far.

Oshae Brissett played his best game as a Net so far, finishing the game with 18 points. Tosan Evbuomwan, in Long Island to preserve his two-way dates, picked up 17 points along with six rebounds and three steals.

Despite very good play as of late, Terry Roberts had a game he would like to forget as soon as possible. Not only did he pick up just four points on eight attempts, he also turned the ball over five times, including two very costly turnovers late in the game, which solidified the Texas win.

The first quarter was very hot-and-cold for Long Island. Despite shooting the ball pretty well, they turned the ball over six times, leading to a lot of unanswered points for Texas. Texas took a five-point lead to the second. In the second, Long Island outscored Texas, 35-24, leading to Long Island taking a six-point lead into the half.

Both teams played well in the third quarter, however, Texas played slightly better, outscoring Long Island by just one point, 27-26. The fourth quarter is where it all fell apart for Long Island. They were outscored by Texas, 36-27, and picked up a lot of careless turnovers, which led to Texas putting the dagger in this one, winning the game by four.

Long Island (11-13) is 10th in the East. They’ll have to pass four teams in 13 games to get to the sixth spot.

Next Up​

With not much time left in the regular season, the Long Island Nets look to get back in the win column and make their post-season push when they travel to Indiana to face off with the Indiana Mad Ants. The game tips off at 12:30 p.m. ET and can be viewed on ESPN+.

• Boxscore: Texas Legends 122, Long Island Nets 118 - G League

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/2/...nds-122-118-despite-drew-timme-career-high-31

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

BSE Global sees ‘Les Nets’ experiment as a success ... and there may be more

Photo by Jordan Jones/NBAE via Getty Images

The Long Island Nets will be back in Montreal next week for the final two games of their home-away-from-home experiment. How’d it go? So far, so good, says Morgan Taylor, who runs the G League team.

The Long Island Nets will play their final two games in Montreal next week, the end of their “Les Nets” experiment that has already seen the team play four “home” games at Place Bell in suburban Laval.

But will the experiment, deemed a huge success by Long Island and BSE Global officials, be the end of the team’s relationship with French-speaking Canada and Groupe CH, the parent of the Montreal Canadiens? Maybe not, suggests Morgan Taylor, who runs the G League affiliate for BSE Global.

“Our on-court play has been exciting. Our four games we had in Montreal were all close, and it’s been fun. How do we follow it up? We’re still evaluating our partnership and seeing what it looks like year-over-year and what it looks like next year,” said Taylor, the Vice President of Basketball Operations of the New York Liberty and Long Island Nets.

“Hopefully, I have some more updates for you over the next couple of months, but it’s taking away some of the marketing and fanfare that we saw in Montreal and bringing that to Long Island.”

Long Island scheduled six home games at the Place Bell in unique arrangement for a G League team: Two games in January, two in February, and two in March, all of them home games on the Long Island schedule. The Nets’ and the Canadiens’ parent organizations set out to do this for a couple of simple reasons: for BSE Global and both the Long Island and Brooklyn Nets, it was about growing their fanbase in French-speaking Canada, part of their international ambitions. For Groupe CH and the Canadiens, it’s about testing the waters for an expansion NBA team in Montreal.

In speaking exclusively with NetsDaily last week, Taylor spoke about the success of the Canada trip, working with Groupe CH, and what could be next for the Long Island Nets organization, whether in Canada or elsewhere.

As a trip, so far it’s been “wildly successful,” Taylor told ND. “We anticipated having a sellout for our purposes, a sellout for all six games, and we already had it for four games. We set our attendance record with the first game against the Raptors 905, with 7,700 people in attendance in Laval, QC. It’s been successful for us. We sold specialized merchandise up there as well, and we sold out in our first two games. We’re looking forward to our final two in Montreal in a couple of weeks. It’s been great.”

In fact, during the first Montreal game, Long Island broke their home attendance record with 7,700 fans filling Place Bell. Since then, they’ve managed to stay around that mark for their next three games in Canada, averaging a bit over 6,600 with two to go. “It was wonderful to see how a new country embraced us from Long Island,” Taylor told ND.

BSE Global’s international marketing operation is unrelenting whether in China, France ... or Canada. It’s indeed one of the organization’s strengths. According to NBA data and private analysis, the Brooklyn Nets are the third most popular NBA team in both France and China. Last year, the NBA estimated that the Nets had 53.6 million fans worldwide. That’s a positive for, among other things, recruiting top-notch free agents who want the international limelight not just for endorsement deals, but increasingly for investment opportunities.

Moreover, as one Nets official told us last year, “There may be an opportunity as you’re building a fan base to monetize those fans and in ways that don’t exist today,”

It’s not much of a stretch to think that French-speaking Canada could be an attractive region to mine for the Nets. Montreal, after all, is almost equidistant from New York and Toronto whose culture is more English-speaking. Joe Tsai, it also should be noted, is a Canadian citizen having spent part of his childhood in Vancouver and until recently, Jordi Fernandez was head coach of Team Canada. And this isn’t the Brooklyn Nets first foray into Quebec. They played on Groupe CH’s bigger stage in Montreal, the Bell Centre, in a preseason game back in 2018.

To make things more interesting, Long Island scheduled Toronto’s Raptors 905 as their first opponent in Canada. Despite Canadian loyalty, the fan breakdown was about 50-50, according to those who were at the game. “Les Nets,” after all, were the home team.

“There was a little bit of confusion from fans on who to cheer for, but it was evident that they knew we were playing as their home team,” Taylor told ND. “It was great to see. We sold out of our merchandise, and we sold jerseys for the first time as well in franchise history, so our players were excited to see the fans in our ‘Les Nets’ jerseys.”

Unlike Brooklyn’s trip to Paris a little more than a year ago, the Long Island trip to Montreal wasn’t an extravaganza. When Brooklyn’s Nets were in Paris, they made it a point to bring some of Brooklyn over to France. This included some authentic Brooklyn pizza, which was served at a Brooklyn Pizzeria outside of the stadium where the Nets and Cavs played. There was also an orchestral performance of Biggie’s music at a sold-out Paris venue.

Taylor told ND that the focus in Montreal was making city the “Nets home” when they were there. “I think the biggest thing was looking at changing our name,” says Taylor. “The G-League has unique opportunities for teams to kind of take on a new identity. So we took on Montreal and the culture and turned our name into ‘Les Nets,’ for the stint of our six games.”

The Long Island Nets also hosted basketball clinics with their full team in attendance to help make themselves known that they were Montreal’s home team and they used their Canadiens connection.

“There were also a lot of synergies with the Canadiens,” Taylor added. “We know how popular hockey is in Canada. So, we had a few of our players go to the Canadiens game. We wanted to make sure we were enriched in the culture there.”

For the Canadiens and their owners, the Molson family, an NBA expansion team would be a natural. As the league mulls possible new cities, the most-talked about possibilities are Seattle and Las Vegas, but there’s also been some buzz about Montreal and Mexico City.

“They are a temple in the sports industry, and it’s been great,” said Taylor of Groupe CH and the Canadiens. “The partnership and synergies between BSEG Global and Groupe CH, you can tell they’re a lot from a business standpoint. We both own multiple venues and multiple teams. So, they were excited about bringing basketball to Montreal, and it’s great that we were able to help support them with that.”

Ultimately, there will be a couple of aspects of the trip that will determine which way things will go, Taylor said.

“Just comparing expenses and revenues from a day-to-day, game-to-game, basis from what we generate on Long Island. Also, wanting to make sure that Groupe CH was able to test the operations of putting on a game,” said Taylor. “From a non-metrics standpoint, looking at what the player experience was, making sure that it was still seamless, from that perspective. Also, making sure that we were culturally able to put ourselves in that position where Montreal felt like this was a home game for them, and I think we completed that.”

As of right now, Taylor tells ND that they’re keeping Montreal and Long Island separate, but there will be an opportunity to purchase some “Les Nets” merchandise on Fan Appreciation Night March 29th at Nassau Coliseum.

Too often, NBA teams have had limited horizons for their G League affiliates. They’ve been about development on the basketball side and to experiment with rules like the Elam Ending, etc.. But Brooklyn has taken it further, using their G League team in an attempt to open up international horizons for the big club.

“The G-League is at the forefront for being the testing ground of the NBA,” Taylor told ND. “And for the sports industry as a whole. So, to play a part in that has been tremendous.

“The goal of the project was to take on Montreal and make it feel like we were Montreal’s home team for the six games. They embraced us well, and it’s been fun.”

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/3/...experiment-as-a-success-and-there-may-be-more

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets vs. San Antonio Spurs preview: D’Angelo Russell returns

Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images

Not So Fun Fact: Cam Thomas and D’Angelo Russell have played one game together, back on January 2, D’Lo’s first game back and CamT’s last one before he was laid low.

The best part of a new week is that you get to start over. In that past week, there might have been a chance you might have made mistakes that you wish to regret, or even feel some emotions that in retrospect you thought were silly. Tonight, this will be the start of Brooklyn’s new week. We will try to forget about the four straight losses they accumulated and instead look forward to the future…. And imagine that it will be very much different!

In this matchup, the Brooklyn Nets will be taking on the San Antonio Spurs, whose season has been hit hard, taken a toll at the worst possible time. Longtime NBA legend and coach Gregg Popovich had to take a leave of absence after suffering a stroke. To make matters worse, Victor Wembanyama is out for the season, which is a big reason why the Spurs are sitting at the 13th spot in the West with a 25-34 record. With these types of losses, the Spurs are forced to look to the offseason to get some more answers, but first, they will have to play games like this.

Where to Watch​

Catch the game at 8:30 p.m. ET on the YES Network.

Injury Report​

No De’Anthony Melton (torn ACL) or Noah Clowney (ankle.) Tovan Evbuomwan and Kendall Brown will report to Long Island. That means D’Angelo Russell and Dariq Whitehead will be returning from ankle and knee woes. Will D’Lo be on a minutes restrictions?

For San Antonio, Wemby of course is out. Charles Bassey (knee) and Riley Minix (left shoulder) will be out. Stephon Castle (thumb) is listed as questionable.

The Game​

Compared to the Spurs, the Nets have the luxury of having their star back in Cam Thomas. I took a look at Twitter comments and came across a lot of negative outlooks on Thomas’ performance against the Blazers. Guys… it’s been months since the man played high quality basketball…. Let him live.

Playing alongside him for the first time since January 2 will be D’Angelo Russell. Russell’s playmaking and pace could match up well with Thomas’ style of play, as both guards can quicken up the pace and finish off a play if they have to. Not only is this the first time since early January that the two have played together. That January 2 game vs. the Bucks was the only time the two have been available to Jordi Fernandez.

Another development to watch is Day’Ron Sharpe. After having a super game vs. OKC with Nic Claxton suspended, Sharpe reverted to Clark Kent against Detroit. Once again it was foul trouble that plagued the 23-year-old. If Sharpe can find a way to provide the same production with Claxton, the Nets’ frontcourt can find great moments.

For the Spurs, everything falls to their backcourt as their frontcourt has been devastated. With the big acquisition of De’Aaron Fox, the Spurs should have had everything they needed to complement Wemby. They already had a brilliant veteran in Chris Paul who can show everyone how to be a professional, a young star who can take over at any minute in Fox, and an explosive rookie in Stephon Castle whose playmaking can help everyone get better. The Nets will need to find a way to slow down this backcourt in order to win the game.

Player to Watch​

Stephen Castle is questionable so it’s a risk to designate him the guy to watch, but he’s become increasingly important to the Spurs. On Monday night, he dropped 32 points on the Thunder in a losing effort but as Pounding the Rock, our sister site noted, there is a trend line here.

Stephon Castle led the squad with 32 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Even though he’s still coming off the bench, Steph played 32 minutes like a star in the making. Now that the Spurs are back home, it will be interesting to see if he gets inserted back in the starting lineup with Chris Paul’s minutes decreasing.

You can see why...

OH MY, STEPH pic.twitter.com/UXrlPhCl6m

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 3, 2025​

The 6’6” UConn product could be in the conversation not just for Rookie of the Year, but Sixth Man too. He’s averaging 13.2 points and 3.5 assists in 25 minutes a game. And he’s done it while starting only half the Spurs games, 29 out of 58. His 3-point shooting is still a work in progress — he’s hit on 28.4% of his attempts, but he’s only 20 years old. He and Wemby should have a long career together.

From the Vault

The high water mark for the Nets franchise in the NBA wasn’t Kevin Durant’s foot on the line in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference semi-finals. Nope. It was Game 5 of the 2003 NBA Finals when with the series tied 2-2, the Spurs nudged the Nets, 93-83. The Spurs finished the job the next game, winning the series 4-2 with Tim Duncan winning the MVP and Stephen Jackson who the Nets had declined to re-sign, hitting a barrage of threes.

Years later, when the two were teammates, Duncan asked Richard Jefferson if he thought the Nets had a shot. RJ, who had 19 points in Game 5, has recounted that conversation on several occasions.

“Years later when I played with Tim Duncan, Tim asked me, ‘What did you think of your chances of beating us in the Finals?’ I was like, ‘I thought our chances were really, really good.’ I asked him, ‘What’d you think your chances were?’ He said, ‘I thought it was about 50-50 going into that series.’ Tim knew that they had to play really, really well to beat us,”

ICYMI, or weren’t born yet, here’s how it went down.

More reading: Pounding the Rock and SBNation NBA.

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• San Antonio Spurs Game Notes - San Antonio Spurs
• Nets drag 4-game losing streak into clash with stumbling Spurs - NBA
• Brooklyn takes on San Antonio, looks to break 4-game skid - AP
• How Nets G-Leaguer Terry Roberts escaped death and embraced a basketball rebirth - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Nets’ D’Angelo Russell returning from extended absence for Spurs matchup - Erik Slater - Clutch Points

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/4/...antonio-spurs-preview-dangelo-russell-returns

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

3 Takeaways after Brooklyn Nets run out of ammo vs San Antonio Spurs

Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images

Another loss, another game without many if any redeeming values as the tank speeds up.

The Brooklyn Nets were caught hanging upside down by the San Antonio Spurs this evening.

Flipped over by a season-high scoring night from Devin Vassell, the Nets dropped their fifth game in a row and the sixth of their first seven out of the All-Star break. Intended or not, it’s a stretch that’s reintroduced us to the “T” word, perhaps now for good.

While I don’t want to speak too soon for this team that’s proven itself unpredictable at every turn this year, it’s likely only going to get tougher for fans encouraging the team to push on for a Play-In spot. Of their next four opponents, two are top two teams in each conference. Their next also includes a guy who just lit up our neighbors across the river.

Still, the Nets have 31 games to go this year, and with that, plenty of time for the pendulum to swing back the other way. But tonight, it veered heavily in the direction most people expected it to coming into the season. Here’s what we learned.

New Backcourt is Making Progress

We went back to the future in the Lone Star State tonight with D’Angelo Russell and Cam Thomas making their first start together as Nets. As much of a spectacle as it was to see them standing beside each other, when the two players from two distinct Brooklyn eras united on the floor to begin things, it wasn’t half as productive as it was captivating.

For the third straight game, Brooklyn dug themselves in a hole to open up the contest. Thomas and Russell were caught red-handed with shovels, as Brooklyn started -7 with them on the floor before going +1 after both came off.

Luckily for Brooklyn’s new backcourt, shovels can also be used to dig your way back to the surface. Thomas and Russell accomplished that in the second, as the pair propelled Brooklyn on a 10-0 run after checking back, putting their team in front for the first time all night.

D'Angelo Russell back to kickstarting Brooklyn fast breaks.

Thomas cans it here. Him and Dlo looking better together here in Q2. pic.twitter.com/1VpqkpiR90

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 5, 2025​

Russell and Thomas on the floor together were +14 to begin that frame, changing the course of the contest largely through the fast break. Brooklyn’s shooters also starting the second 5-5 from deep after going 2-14 in the first certainly played a factor too.

Now, Devin Vassell going nuclear in the third regardless of who was out there essentially put the game to bed after that. Thomas and Russell combining for 16 points and five dimes in the second half was made a sideshow to Vassell’s 37-point symphony.

Devin Vassell is torching the Nets right now but nice play from Thomas and Watford here.

CT gets Castle to bite on the fake. Dumps it to Watford who uses the space to penetrate and find an open Jalen Wilson. pic.twitter.com/ObtYNCX8Gr

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 5, 2025​

Regardless, that first half still gave us some visible progress from Thomas and Russell, or in this case, our Marty McFly and Doc Brown.

The pair won’t have long to develop chemistry — and there’s no telling whether doing so will even be worth it in the long run with Russell set to enter free agency this summer. But for the fans wondering how this unlikely pairing of Brooklyn folk heroes will mesh purely for curiosity’s sake, tonight gave us something to build on.

Paint Defense is a Killer​

Bismack Biyombo is seven years older than Nic Claxton and nine older than Day’Ron Sharpe. They, nor Father Time brought it tonight though, as Biyombo outscored them both by a 13-8 margin. The Spurs collectively beat the Nets down low by a 62-40 mark as well.

But although tonight was indeed a step back after two or three leaps forward from the Sharpe x Claxton tandem, they’re not totally liable for tonight’s atrocities down low. While paint play is a faction of the game often seen as synonymous with big men, there’s a lot more to it than that.

With almost every high San Antonio screen, Brooklyn blitzed either with Claxton or Johnson. It’s a strategy that often works, as the Nets are usually on time recovering to shade shooters or collapse inside. It’s exactly how they nearly topped Oklahoma City a week ago.

But tonight, they were a step behind. Claxton and Sharpe failed to get back into the paint to bottle things up one too many times. The guards, although likely due to the size rather than effort, struggled to supply enough pressure as a unit to bother San Antonio inside as well.

Yeah Tyrese Martin can't be the guy left in the paint if the Nets are going to blitz with Nic Claxton.

CP3 beating the trap with Bismack Biyombo in 2025 is also crazy btw. pic.twitter.com/jmOEY1ZU93

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 5, 2025​

Frankly, the Spurs also just had an absurdly quick and accurate trigger tonight, able to stretch out the defense and certain to render almost any game plan ineffective. San Antonio finished with 37 assists, clocking in as their third most in a game this season, on 52 made field goals.

When you pit that against a bottom five league offense, that’ll just about do it.

Dariq Whitehead is A-OK​

Even for the Nets, it was rather out of the ordinary for the team to provide little-to-no updates on former first round pick Dariq Whitehead last week after the Duke product went down with a lower leg injury on Long Island. It was a bummer too, as Whitehead was fresh off a dandy that even included a game-winner.

30 PTS 8 3PM 11/17 FG

Dariq Whitehead scored a CAREER-HIGH and hit the game-winning three-pointer to give the @longislandnets a thrilling 122-119 victory over the Magic! pic.twitter.com/wjO23iSaxh

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) February 23, 2025​

But as the days passed following the injury, any fear that he might’ve suffered a major injury slowly but surely dissipated. Jordi Fernández referring it it as “minor” one day and the Nets tagging him with just “soreness” on the injury report the next each played a large part in that.

Tonight though, everyone got to full exhale. Whitehead was not only made active ahead of the contest but fielded a few garbage time minutes. He even buried a catch-and-shoot triple.

Dariq Whitehead three point shooting has looked great lately #NetsWorld pic.twitter.com/8A6FJk3XzD

— Jeri Tsai (@JeriTsaiNets) March 5, 2025​

What exactly Whitehead develops into for Brooklyn remains to be seen, even with what’s technically been his second year on the team now reaching its tail end. But whether you view him as a long term building block or just a guy trying to get healthy, seeing him out there tonight was a positive.

Yes, I’m only talking about two minutes of play here, but after your third-straight double-digit waxing, there are only so many “glass half full” things to pick out.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/5/...lyn-nets-run-out-of-ammo-vs-san-antonio-spurs

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

ROSTER MATH: Will Brooklyn Nets add a final player? How does Cam Johnson effect thinking?

Photo by Christian Bonin/NBAE via Getty Images

Tyson Etienne is the latest Brooklyn Net, but the team still has an opening. Will the fill it and how does Cam Johnson’s incentive package effect their thinking, their flexibility?

When the Brooklyn Nets waived an injured two-way Kendall Brown and signed Long Island teammate Tyson Etienne in his place, the 6’2” 25-year-old Etienne became the 23rd player under contract with Brooklyn this season. That’s four short of the franchise record of 27 set in 2020-21, the height of COVID. Remember Alize Johnson? Andre Roberson? Norvelle Pelle? Didn’t think so.

Is Etienne the last Net signing of the season? Maybe not. The team still has a roster opening following the decision not to renew Killian Hayes for a second 10-day. Hayes had momentarily filled the void created by the Ben Simmons buyout. Moreover, DeAnthony Melton’s name still fills a spot on the roster if not a seat on the bench. He’s out for the season and not with the team after tearing his ACL when with the Warriors and being traded to Brooklyn in the Dennis Schroder deal.

So could the team have two openings, you might thinK. Indeed, a developmental team should give fallen angels a look-see, even with only 21 games left. And signing a player to a standard deal would give the team his Bird Rights for next season if indeed he shows progress. It appears to be risk-free, but is it?

Here’s the rub: the dreaded luxury tax threshold. Being saddled with the repeater tax during a rebuild would be disastrous for a team like the Nets and they have said both publicly and privately they’re not going there.

At the moment, according to capologist Yossi Gozlan of CapSheets.com, the Nets have a cushion of $1.08 million before they’d face the tax threshold. That should be enough for two minimum signings because minimum salaries are pro-rated this time of year. Again, at the moment, a minimum is just under $500,000 pro-rated and drops a little less than $12,000 a day.

However, as Gozlan also notes, it’s not that simple. Call it the Cam Johnson factor. He is about to reach a milestone that will add a $563,000 bonus to his salary ... and subtract the same amount from from the team’s cap space. Johnson gets the bonus, deemed unlikely for contract purposes, if he averages 15.0 points or better with a true shooting percentage of 60.0%. He’s likely to get there, Gozlan notes, and even if he just misses, Sean Marks & co. can’t take that risk.

“They are technically $1.08M below the tax. But they’re effectively working with half that assuming Cams incentive hits,” Gozlan told NetsDaily two days ago. “Today the minimum is just over $500k, so they could sign one player to a rest of season deal while staying below the tax.”

Gozlan suggests there’s a couple of way the Nets could get value out of that half million: sign Tosan Evbuomwan to a standard deal seems like an easy decision. He’s currently on a two-way but playing for Long Island as the team tries to preserve active NBA days for him. Brooklyn signed Evbuomwan to a two-year, two-way so they have some options.

“For what its worth Tosan is on a two year two way deal, so Nets could just keep him on it. No real rush to convert him since they’re missing the playoffs,” said Gozlan.

He even raised the possibility of bringing back Hayes.

“I could see the Nets bringing back Killian on another 10 day and then sign him to a standard deal later. I could see them dragging things out to keep as much tax flexibility as possible,” he added.

A second 10-day would cost the Nets a little less than $120,000, well within their means related to the tax threshold.

Of course, Brooklyn isn’t limited to signing Long Island Nets players. They are plenty of young, once highly thought of players with their mobile phones set to ringer so they don’t miss the call.

The Nets have some time. They can sign a player through the end of the season. Stay tuned.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/5/...l-player-how-does-cam-johnson-effect-thinking

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Lewis: Terry Roberts’ journey back on track after a near-tragedy in Philadelphia

Photo by Cooper Neill/NBAE via Getty Images

Last week, Terry Roberts put up a triple-double, a rarity in the G League. Even more rarely, he did the on the first anniversary of a shooting that almost cost him his life.

Terry Roberts, the Long Island Nets point guard, had a good game Tuesday night in the affiliate’s win over the Indiana Mad Ants. He scored 13 points, dished out nine assists, grabbed eight rebounds, shot 3-of-4 from deep and added two steals and a block.

Indeed since taking over from Killian Hayes, the 6’3” 24-year-old has averaged 11.6 points, 8.8 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 3.4. In one of those five games, he had triple double and in another, he was short only two rebounds and an assist.

Not bad for a local tryout, especially considering his breakout coincides with the first anniversary of his very serious brush with death in Philadelphia following a shooting inside a local bar. Indeed, as he told Brian Lewis, it was nothing short of a miracle that he’s gone from that moment to this.

“Yeah, for sure,” Roberts told The Post. “I mean, it’s definitely still crazy to me, just to know a year ago where I was, just to see how [far I’ve come], where I’m at now is crazy to me.

“But [it’s] just a testament just to how much work I put in these last few months just to get back to being me. So, I’m just grateful for that. You know, I’m grateful to still be here.”

A year ago February 26, an evening out turned into a near tragedy for the North Amityville, Long Island native.

Roberts got hit by a stray bullet outside the 5th Street Lounge in Philadelphia’s Olney neighborhood. Roberts and a teammate had just stopped at the bar. Roberts was walking in when a gunfight broke out on the street and Roberts was struck in the chest. An inch one way or another and his fate would have been quite different.

“We just went down to Philadelphia just to hang out,” Roberts told The Post. “Just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, you know? But like I said, just grateful to be here, I’m grateful to God, and just to be able to be here and to be back where I’m at now, just, I’m just so grateful.”

He was rushed to the Jefferson-Einstein Hospital in critical condition. He had to be put on a ventilator. It was touch-and-go. Would he play again took second place in his and his family’s thinking. First was whether he would live.

View this post on Instagram​

A post shared by 40 (@iamterrryy)​

That was the bottom. The rest was a long climb back.

After a few days, the ventilator was removed but the Georgia product also suffered a spinal fracture meaning his recovery and rehab would be even longer, but Roberts love of the game carried him through it. The prescription was hard work.

As Lewis noted,

The rehabilitation was grueling, from waking up at 4:30 a.m. — starting his morning with prayer — to sometimes working out as often as three times in a day, often with personal trainer/fitness trainer Richie Gonzalez and basketball trainer Elisha Boone.

By December. has back in Long Island, the final step.

The work ethic inspired his teammates including one who has had his share of bad luck but understood Roberts’ journey was indeed something else..

“It’s great to see him. It’s amazing to see him back,” Nets guard Dariq Whitehead told The Post.

“I mean, he got shot, and now you’re back playing in the G? Triple doubles a year later, which is crazy. I thought it was bad. I thought he wasn’t going to be able to play anymore; he was on a ventilator. … And now he’s back playing a year later. It’s crazy.

“That’s just amazing,” Whitehead added. “Obviously you’ve got to thank God, when an unfortunate situation happened like that, the only thing you can think about was the situation shouldn’t be there. But for T-Rob, it was more so he worked his ass off to get back. He did countless nights, countless hours, and how fast he got back. It was really fast. And we were all surprised and he came back and was really great.”

Indeed, his triple double came on the actual anniversary of the shooting. Now, the next chapter has begun for the player they call “the comeback kid” around Nassau Coliseum ... and rightfully so.

“I would say (the key is) confidence, just playing the game. I feel like that’s really what it boils down to,” Roberts told Lewis, summing things up. “Playing good, just going out there and being you — because we’re all here for a reason, because we wouldn’t be here if we weren’t capable. So, just going out there, being confident and just playing the way I play, it’s definitely helping me for sure.

“I would say I play hard, team-oriented player, like to share the ball. Just giving it my all every time I get out there, offensively and defensively. So, I just go hard every time I get out there, every chance I get on the court.”

• How Nets G-Leaguer Terry Roberts escaped death and embraced a basketball rebirth ($) - Brian Lewis - New York Post

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/5/...on-track-after-a-near-tragedy-in-philadelphia

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets vs. Golden State Warriors: The stars land in Brooklyn

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Welcome to the San Francisco Show. Steph, Draymond and Jimmy are on a roll. The Nets are now.

This is always a tough time for rebuilding teams: the final 20 games of the season can be an ugly mess. Post-season is near impossible and attention turns from the players to what techies might call “vaporware,” aka draft picks. To make matters worse this time around, there’s a group of fans actively rooting for their Brooklyn Nets to lose every game. That way the team’s chances at Cooper Flagg et all will skyrocket from the 9.5% currently all the way up to 14.5%!

The Nets won’t get to 14.5%. Indeed it’s unlikely they’ll get better odds than 10%, the odds for the team with the fifth worst record. After a five-game losing streak, each loss worse than the one before by some different metric, the Brooklyn Nets are careening towards the end of the tank ... and the Draft Lottery on May 12.

On the other side of the court tonight will be the Golden State Warriors who are the second hottest team in the NBA, going 9-1 since Jimmy Butler joined them at the deadline. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers who’ve won 12 straight for the third time this season are doing better. Expect a big crowd at Barclays Center. No team other than (possibly) the Lakers have the star power that Golden State possesses with Steph Curry, Draymond Green and now Butler.

Where to Watch​

Catch the game at 7:30 p.m. ET on the YES Network.

Injuries​

As close to a clean slate as we’ve seen all season. Only Noah Clowney (ankle) and DeAnthony Melton (torn ACL and not with the team) are out. We may also see Dariq Whitehead, Tosan Evbuomwan and new two-way Tyson Etienne on the bench tonight. Long Island is off till next Tuesday when they go back to Montreal.

Jonathan Kuminga (ankle) remains out although he’s expected back when the Warriors return to San Francisco after their East Coast road trip ends tonight. Gary Payton II (nose) is probable.

The Game​

The big positive for Brooklyn, other than that (nearly) clean injury report, is that Cam Thomas and D’Angelo Russell will be back as the starting backcourt for the second straight game.

They had a bit of a slow start vs. the San Antonio Spurs. In the first quarter, Brooklyn was -7 with them on the floor before going +1 after both came off. Then in the second, with them on the floor, they propelled Brooklyn on a 10-0 run. Both played a little more than 25 minutes but had tough shooting nights, combining for 12-of-30 overall, 6-of-21 from deep. . Expect a little more than that tonight. Progress.

Meanwhile, the Warriors don’t have to worry about draft position or backcourt rust. They are looking like contenders after they traded for an unhappy Butler. ICYMI, Golden State sent Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a protected first-round pick to Miami. Not quite Luka to the Lakers but Golden State has a better record. As our sister site, Golden State of Mind, wrote of tonight’s game:

For Golden State, this matchup presents an opportunity to complete a spectacular 4-1 road trip and cement their transformation from play-in participants to playoff locks. The Warriors are now 9-1 with Butler in the lineup, and the Curry-Butler pairing has evolved from theoretical “what if” to devastating reality.

(Daniel Hardee of Golden State of Mind also refers to Thomas and Russell as the Nets “version of a Splash Brothers tribute band.” Not bad.)

As far as match-ups, expect to see Butler and Green taking turns on said tribute band.

Player to Watch​

It’s not news to note that Butler would have had interest in the Nets in free agency if he hadn’t been traded and signed to a two-year, $121 million deal with Golden State. It’s also not news that the Nets said thanks but no thanks. Butler turns 36 before next season. Definitely not on their timeline. Of there was the money, too ... although Butler had said before he signed with Golden State that money wasn’t necessarily an issue. (Spoiler alert: it always is.)

Should anyone be surprised by the Jimmy Butler Effect? Nope. It’s what Jimmy Buckets does for a living: win basketball games by giving his all. His numbers haven’t changed that much since his unhappy time in Miami, but put the five-time all-NBA player next like-minded stars like Curry and Green, and teams in the doldrums suddenly become contenders.

This Warriors video posted yesterday gives you a sense of how, numbers aside, he affects a game.

Should we expect to hear from Butler on how he viewed the Nets? Hope so.

From the Vault​

One of the highlights of the All-Star Game just played in the City by the Bay was the NBA’s decision to adopt Tony Bennett’s anthem to San Francisco, which never gets old. So for all the displaced fans of that fair and too often slandered city who’ll be at Barclays Center tonight ... and for anyone who appreciates great interpretation of a song, here’s Anthony Dominick Benedetto, singer, painter, war hero, pacifist and civil rights activist.

More reading: Golden State of Mind, SBNation NBA.

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• Golden State Warriors Game Notes - Golden State Warriors
• Jimmy Butler, Warriors take on slumping Nets - NBA
• Brooklyn plays Golden State on 3-game home skid - AP

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/6/...den-state-warriors-the-stars-land-in-brooklyn

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

3 Takeaways from Brooklyn Nets chippy loss to Golden State Warriors

Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images

Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas both expanded on their games tonight. Steph Curry did the same things he’s been doing for years — and it worked.

The Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors probably didn’t recognize each other while squaring up for the tip tonight. Their last meeting came in late Autumn, 101 days ago to be exact, and as the seasons have changed since then, so has look of each team — one for the better from a competitive basketball lens ... and one for the worse.

With the Nets missing veterans from days of yore while the Warriors stepped on the court with Jimmy Buckets, it shouldn’t have been hard to figure out who was who: our boys riding a five-game losing streak into this evening’s entertainment while Golden State had won nine of their last 10 since the deadline delivered them Jimmy Butler.

However, with the Nets doing that whole “fight” thing again, some detective work was required.

Brooklyn jetted out to a 22-5 lead to begin tonight’s game. Although it took Steph Curry and company almost the entire game to make up that ground, they eventually did, subjecting the Nets to a sixth straight loss — but also a better chance at more favorable lottery odds. Good news, bad news. It’s interchangeable at this point. Here’s what we learned.

Pressure Never Gets Old​

With the game’s most active player both on and off-ball visiting a team that’s made high pressure its most defining trait all year, this evening’s contest represented a clash of the titans with regard to play style and game-planning technique. Steph Curry’s perpetual motion was challenged by Brooklyn’s suffocating defense, and early on, the Baby Faced Assassin struggled to breathe.

Keon Johnson's fullcourt pressure has Steph Curry visibly frustrated. Steve Kerr picks up a technical.

Nets lead the Warriors 25-5... pic.twitter.com/j5lWrfSL2k

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) March 7, 2025​

Curry eventually got his, as he almost always does, going for a casual 40 points while shooting 12-of-20 from the field and 7-of-13 from deep. But much of those hits came on his own account rather than within the flow of the offense. That’s why after one, Curry still had a team-high seven points on 3-of-5 shooting — but the Nets sat in front by 20 points after holding Golden State to .318/.143 splits and forcing them into five turnovers.

With Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler being a serviceable table setters in the post and with the Nets getting burned by Bismack Biyombo there two nights ago after bringing the same high blitzes, doing so was a gamble for Brooklyn, but it paid off early nonetheless...

Jordi Fernández really doubling down on the high blitzes tonight... pic.twitter.com/0K5eTpjYL0

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 7, 2025​

Curry didn’t check in during the second period until only about five minutes remained. There, Golden State was able to get their guy going with a series of transition opportunities spurred by Brooklyn’s cooling offense...

Yeah not too much you can do about this pic.twitter.com/sonbNwor0S

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 7, 2025​

If you thought that was a “what more can I do” kind of shot, well, hold No. 30’s beer...

Steph Curry makes 3-point field goal here. pic.twitter.com/2WOK9dAlLh

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 7, 2025​

Trying to stop Steph Curry is a fool’s errand and one no coach or group of defenders has been able to accomplish for over a decade. Given that, it’d be a bit much to ask Jordi Fernández and his lottery-bound batch of ballhawks to do so for a full 48 tonight.

But they did do it partially for a part of the game — and that’s still more of an accomplishment than it sounds like when you remind yourself who Steph Curry is.

Nic Claxton Gets it Done in Multiple Ways​

It’s been a good past couple of weeks for Brooklyn centers interested in deepening their bags. Last week it was Day’Ron Sharpe, not the rebounder or passer we met, but the thief in the night. The four-year big came up with a career-high four steals vs the Pistons.

Tonight, we were introduced to Nic Claxton, not the shot-blocker or DHO master of misdirection, but the crafty facilitator. Scratch that, the record-setting crafty facilitator. Nic finished not only with a career-high 10 assists vs the Warriors tonight, but the most by a starting center for a game in Nets history, New Jersey or Brooklyn.

While some were simple dump-offs to willing shooters, others involved vision and spacing worthy of applause.

Clax dishin' the rock with assists in 1Q. pic.twitter.com/rXEhstwdCT

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 7, 2025​

Claxton flirted with a triple-double in the least exciting way possible, dropping eight points and pulling down nine boards to go with his 10 dimes, but flirted with one all the same. He also tacked on two rejections and two steals for good merit. Tasked with battling the ever-frustrating Draymond Green tonight, and with a suspension for picking up one too many flagrant fouls this year still visible in his rear-view mirror and on his permanent record, the odds were stacked against Clax but he turned in a complete game nonetheless.

“Today, he was that guy finding his teammates,” Fernández said. “Really proud of him. Like you said, close to a triple-double, we’ll see it at some point for sure.”

He’s probably more of a power forward than a center at this point, but if this trend continues, expect to see Noah Clowney handling the rock and creating his own shot when he returns. Consider me excited.

Tyrese is Turning it Up​

With a high percentage of his field goal attempts this year being triples, Tyrese Martin got the greenest of green lights when last week Jordi Fernández told everyone that they’d essentially need to “shoot or be benched.”

Although Martin usually comes off the bench anyway, that seemed to motivate him all the same. After doing so only once in his past seven games, Martin has gotten up five or more threes now in four straight contests...

Nets Two-Way wing Tyrese Martin has looked more and more like a piece they should prioritize maintaining, he posted a career high 10 rebounds and 4 assists along with 4 3PM against the pistons yesterday.

Averaging 14.7/6.7/2.3 on 40% 3P as a starter pic.twitter.com/amtHJixSjy

— Nets Film Room (@NetsFilm) January 9, 2025​

After pouring in 23 points going 7-of-11 from the field and 2-of-5 from deep vs Detroit and 17 tonight while shooting 7-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from deep, he’s now had two of his highest scoring games of the year in the last three...

Tyrese Martin from way downtown pic.twitter.com/P0u9PuoVxZ

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 7, 2025​

As a floor spacer before anything else, it’s also no wonder that this spike in productivity from Martin has coincided with both D’Angelo Russell and Cam Thomas’ return to the rotation. While those two certainly take some looks away from the sharpshooter, their ability to penetrate and attract attention queues him up for jumpers as well.

“He’s a true pro,” Fernández said of Martin. I play him off the ball, he plays well. I play him at point guard, he does his best and he’s getting better, like today. He shows up and works every day with a good attitude and he’s a great teammate. That’s what we want from everybody but it’s not that easy to do it. He’s doing it consistently and that’s why he deserves all these good things that are coming to him.”

With the 2024-25 season now more than 75% complete after tonight’s contest, the question asking which of the Martin, Keon Johnson, Jalen Wilson, and Ziaire Williams crew will be on the team next year after the Nets assumedly draft four first round rookies is creeping into everyone’s mind.

While that’s still a decision for another day, Martin strongly endorsed his second year team option as something worthy of a pick up. Shooting never goes out of style — just ask the guy who torched us tonight.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/7/...lyn-nets-chippy-loss-to-golden-state-warriors

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets put to sleep by Steph Curry and Golden State Warriors, lose 121-119

The Brooklyn Nets played a fantastic, hard-nosed game against an elite opponent. But when Steph Curry plays like Steph Curry, you need to be perfect.

Barclays Center was tingling long before 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night.

Steph Curry — and by extension, the Golden State Warriors — were in town. In 2025, we are not just sure that he is one of the greatest basketball players ever, but that there will never be another. Sooner or later, there will be a player whose “greatness” rivals or even surpasses that of Steph; that is the one inevitability of sport. But there will never be a player, a phenomenon, like him.

A week shy Steph’s his 37th birthday, this knowledge is heavy. As we prepare for the end of his career, we are preparing for a death of sorts. Or at least a terrible breakup.

So Barclays was packed, and it was packed early. With Nets fans, with media members just finding out D’Angelo Russell is back on Brooklyn’s roster, with casual fans crossing an item off their basketball bucket-list, and of course, with Steph Curry Loyalists.

Naturally, the Brooklyn Nets showed up, as they do under Jordi Fernández; they come out with hyper-detailed game-plans against the game’s greats, and Thursday night was no different.

Within the first two minutes of the game, Nic Claxton had successfully denied Draymond Green the ball in the post, preventing Golden State from running their patented off-ball actions. Brooklyn’s guards were trapping in the backcourt, and Keon Johnson wrestled with Steph Curry all over the court.

And the Nets punked their rockstar opponents, who could not keep their composure in a 35-15 first quarter for the home team...

Steph commits an offensive foul 90 feet out, Steve Kerr gets a tech, the Warriors are down 25-5 early.

"He's f***ing grabbing him first!" pic.twitter.com/T8GJvvvJLU

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 7, 2025​

Golden State wasn’t unjustified in their reaction. The referees did not call a single foul on Brooklyn in an impossibly physical first quarter, which set the tone for a night of whistles without rhyme or reason. As Ziaire Williams and Gary Payton II got tangled up for double techs at the end of the period, Steve Kerr told the crew “this is what happens.”

No matter; the basketball was fantastic. Brooklyn deserved the 20-point lead they built thanks to their communication and hustle, in addition to their brute force. Ever the antagonists, they woke a sleepy Golden State team up.

Steph went nuts upon checking back in in the second quarter, and gave us one more all-time highlight in a career full of them, cutting the margin to five at halftime...

Steph is an alien. pic.twitter.com/gUbUq3MjSX

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) March 7, 2025​

Pregame, Jordi Fernández said: “You can never relax, especially when you play against the best shooter in the world, in the history of the NBA, and his ability to just shoot every possible way. Off the dribble, moving, catch-and-shoot, like, any way possible. I think that one of the keys against this team is: Don’t get discouraged, because you know he’s going to make some crazy shots, and you cannot shrug your shoulders ... When they score, just take it out and go the other way. That’s the best thing you can do.”

While Steph continued upping his ante in the second half, the Nets continued to heed Fernández’s words. They’d turn it over just 12 times on the night, shooting 51/46/89. Nic Claxton initiated much offense from the high-post, and nearly triple-doubled with 8/9/10/2/2, a career-high in assists, many of them leading to layups.

Though neither ever caught a heater, Cam Johnson and Cam Thomas had near identical stat-lines that evident of solid decision-making throughout: 26/5/4 on 9-of-16 for Johnson, 23/3/7 on 8-of-17 for Thomas...

The Singularity. pic.twitter.com/ghHKbvUKgt

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 7, 2025​

Thomas, for his part, had a characteristically odd quote when asked if his 13 assists over the past two games reflect a change in approach: “Nah, I’ve been doing that. They’re just making it. That’s how assists are. I pass it and my teammates gotta make it, and they’re making it, so it goes on the stat sheet as an assist.”

The Cams were mainly supported by Tyrese Martin off the bench who scored 17 points from both the perimeter and the paint.

Fernández was full of praise for Martin postgame: “He shows up and works every day with a good attitude, and he’s a great teammate. So, that’s what we want from everybody, but it’s not that easy to do it. He’s doing it consistently, and that’s why he deserves all those good things that he’s doing, that are coming his way.”

Despite all the offensive contributors, the Nets could not separate in the second half, with their defense starting to crack. Over the first 24 minutes, Golden State had an offensive rating of just 80.0 in the half-court, and their transition attack completely saved them.

But after the break, Golden State’s perpetual motion in the half-court caused breakdowns, leading to slips to the rim for twos. Steph would end up with 40 points on 12-of-the-20-most-difficult-shots-you’ve-ever-seen, but his teammates did not have to work so hard. Typical Steph.

The Warriors also excelled when he headed to the bench. Their star ended up with a plus/minus of -16, as Jimmy Butler (25 points) led bench units that dominated the beginning of the third and fourth quarters. Golden State clawed in front by eight in the final frame, and every point felt like a bullet to the chest knowing Steph was ready and waiting.

Fittingly, he delivered the death blow on his lone clean look of the night...

NIGHT NIGHT IN BROOKLYN

@NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/DRD1nZHXAJ

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 7, 2025​

Doubling Draymond Green to leave Steph open in the corner is not the fate the Nets deserved after 47 minutes of all-out effort, but it’s the one they got.

Said Fernández. “We were right there the whole game. And again, playing a team like this face-to face the whole time, I’m proud of the guys. Obviously, I want to be better defensively in that second half or second quarter through fourth but, you know, we got better.”

Cam Thomas hit a 3-pointer form the logo to cut it to two in the game’s dying seconds, as Brooklyn neared a repeat of their miraculous victory over the Houston Rockets in February, but they’d have no such luck on Thursday. Steph was fouled, made a couple freebies in a total mismatch for Mr. Whammy, and Cam Johnson made a put-back, window-dressing layup.

The Brooklyn Nets played a whale of a game, hard-fought and well-executed against an opponent that is 10-1 since trading for Jimmy Butler, led by an inimitable talent. In the end, they were little more than a foil. Worse things to be, I guess.

Final Score: Golden State Warriors 121, Brooklyn Nets 119

Milestone Watch​

• As previously mentioned, Nic Claxton set a career-high with ten assists, barely missing out on a triple-double. But his ten dimes also mark the most assists recorded in a game by a starting center in franchise history. (Mike Gminski handed out nine in a game.)
• Cam Thomas’ seven assists tied his season high, and he turned it over just once.

Record Attendance​

Steph Curry didn’t just give the Barclays Center crowd what they came for. He gave a record-setting Barclays Center crowd what they came for.

Midway through the third quarter, Brooklyn announced Thursday night’s game set a record with 18,413 attendees, the most for any Nets game in Brooklyn. The previous record was 18,241 vs. the Grizzlies in 2022-23. In a season where Brooklyn ranks 25th in the league in attendance, that is more than 1,000 tickets sold or distributed than their season average, 17,337.

And it's not hard to figure out why...

Barclays Center crowd gives Steph Curry MVP chants after he beat their Nets pic.twitter.com/mUggTXYipF

— Danny Emerman (@DannyEmerman) March 7, 2025​

Nets introduce Tyson Etienne​

Prior to Thursday’s action, New York native and New Jersey adolescent Tyson Etienne spoke to reporters for the first time since signing a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets. He was all smiles, and touched on what signing his first two-way contract means to him, particularly with a team so close to home.

“Man, a lot of gratitude. Like, this journey that I’ve been on has come with a lot of ups and downs. I’ve been putting a lot of work in for a long time. So just to get that call, and for it to be in Brooklyn where I’m from, New York, just really grateful and excited to be a part of the family,” said the 25-year-old.

He also theorized as to why the Long Island Nets have produced so many players that have gone on to sign NBA contracts in recent years: “They care. You know, they care about your development, athletic performance, skill-based, thinking the game, like, they genuinely care about your development and they want to see you win, they want to see you succeed in multiple forms. So I think, just, a lot of people buy into the culture that we’ve built down there and continue to build; me and my teammates continue to work every day in Long Island, and we just continue to get better.”

Etienne did not get into the game on Thursday, so he will have 11 more chances to make his NBA debut before he reaches the active games limit as part of his two-way deal.

More praise for Jordi​

Add Steve Kerr to the list of NBA head coaches who have had praise for Jordi Fernandez. Kerr noted that Brooklyn surprised his Warriors earlier in the season.

“They beat us in San Francisco a couple of months ago with a great comeback,” Kerr said pre-game. “I’m so impressed with Jordi. I think he’s crushing the job with a difficult hand to play.

“Jordi has had to face a lot this year, moves that they’ve made, trying to play a lot of young guys and all that. And he’s got them playing hard. They’re doing a lot of creative stuff. I think Jordi is doing a great job.”

Next Up​

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

A quick stop in Charlotte before returning to play another marquee franchise for the Brooklyn Nets. Tip-off against the Hornets is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET. on Saturday evening.

• Boxscore: Golden State Warriors 121, Brooklyn Nets 119 - NBA
• Game Highlights: Golden State Warriors 121, Brooklyn Nets 119 (Video) - NBA
• Stephen Curry Drops 40 Points vs Nets! (Video) - NBA
• Jimmy Butler III’s 25 Points ties season high with Warriors! (Video) - NBA
• Jordi Fernández talks coming up short vs. Warriors (Video) - YES Network
• Cam Thomas on close loss to Warriors (Video) - YES Network
• Ask the Announcers: What do you call a ball on the base of the rim? (Video) - Sarah Kustok & Ian Eagle - YES Network
• Curry scores 40 points and the Warriors finish a 4-1 trip with a 121-119 victory over the Nets - Brian Mahoney - AP
• Stephen Curry leads Warriors to 22-point comeback win over Nets - Reuters
• Nets can’t keep up with Steph Curry’s 40 points after blowing massive lead in loss to Warriors - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Nets’ Cam Thomas needs to ‘finish strong’ for many reasons - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Stephen Curry, Warriors rally from 22-point deficit to hand Nets sixth straight loss - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
• Nets Notebook: Steve Kerr praises Jordi Fernandez for coaching job in Year 1 - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
• What Happened To The Nets’ Defense? - Steve Lichtenstein - Steve’s Newsletter

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/6/...rs-121-119-steph-curry-cam-thomas-nic-claxton

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

ANALYSIS: Brooklyn Nets attendance still solid despite fears about rebuild

Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images

One of the biggest differences between the Nets rebuild nearly a decade ago and this one is that the fans continue to attend games.

Steph Curry dropped by Brooklyn last night and drew 18,413 basketball fans to Barclays Center, the biggest announced crowd ever for a Nets game in the borough. It’s the highlight of a season that despite a lot of losing, injuries and roster changes has not been a calamity at least for attendance at Barclays Center.

Privately, in hushed tones, the people who run the Brooklyn Nets admit that they’re quite surprised that fans are continuing to support the team they way they have despite the rebuild, reboot, er tank.

Maybe you can rebuild in New York after all.

So far this season, the Nets have averaged 17,372 customers over 30 home games. That puts them 25th in the NBA, but here’s a couple of notes: 1) that number represents 98.0% of capacity at Barclays Center and 2) it isn’t that different from last year when the Nets were hoping to contend. The Nets averaged 17,584 for the season in 2023-24. That represented 99.1% of capacity. In fact, Brooklyn placed 21st last season.

It is even a bit more (by 18 fans) than the average attendance in 2021-22, the height of the Big Three era,

Yes, there are all the caveats: ticket promotions and markdowns and yes, fans from other cities and another borough often make a lot of noise in Barclays (not wanting to be gouged at MSG) and yes, there’s tourists but the bottom line is that the BSE Global bottom line hasn’t suffered much attendance loss. What they have now is a mix of fans, as Shara Taylor reported after the Knicks game:

Why should that matter to fans? Here’s one reason: If ownership and management feared a calamitous financial result from a rebuild and it didn’t happen, would that factor into whether they’d be patient enough to try their luck again next year, extending the rebuild? Patience has worked so far.

There was plenty of doubt last season about attendance prospects. As fans pushed for a rebuild, the response from on high was that rebuilding is something that pro teams in New York simply don’t do. The widely held belief was that with so much competition for the city’s sports and entertainment dollar, a losing team will be shunted aside.

indeed, there was a historical precedent to rely on: the Nets first rebuild under Sean Marks which culminated in the 2018-19 season. Brooklyn finished with 42 wins and the sixth seed in the East that season. Despite that and the soon-to-be-fulfilled promise of bigger things that summer, the Nets drew only 15,556 fans a night, filling only 84.3% of Barclays Center. They finished 30th and dead last in the NBA in a number of attendance categories. That year, in fact, the Nets in fact drew an average of 17,687 fans to road games!

So how did the Nets retain a fan base at least for the first year of a rebuild? Anecdotally, many fans have accepted, even embraced, the idea of out-with-old, in-with-the-new. After the Big Quit ended the Big Three dream and Mikal Bridges didn’t feel comfortable with role of franchise player. So why not? The coach is very good. They had a lot of picks and cap space. I can live with it.

Beyond that, though, there are other reasons for the success, starting with a very aggressive marketing campaign at BSE Global, one with some interesting subtexts.

Andrew Karson, Executive Vice President of Marketing at BSE Global, told ND in a statement that the Nets have prioritized certain elements, starting with what BSE calls “cultivating generational fandom,” that is directing a lot of marketing at young fans — the 8-to-12 year-olds, hoping that they will grow into adult fans. Mikal Prokhorov may have claimed the Nets would “turn Knicks fans into Nets fans” but that never worked. So this ownership and management is basically starting from scratch, with special programs aimed at New York’s younger set in particular.

The other part of the strategy is community, Karson added. Nets as Brooklyn, not just a basketball team. That has to help when there’s so often heavy turnover in a rebuild.

“We’ve brought the Nets directly into the community in differentiated ways, including activating at parks and streetball tournaments, increasing our number of Brooklyn Basketball youth clinics and events.” said Karson.

Karson pointed to other aspects of the Nets community strategy, like “celebrating the diversity of Brooklyn through the Nets Unite platform” with events like Chinese New Year, PRIDE, Juneteeth and Hoops for Troops, which honors U.S. military members and veterans.

That’s all the target, and the means is story-telling, and that’s meant a dramatic jump in their internally produced videos. The players they profile may not be stars, and a number won’t even be around next season, but Karson thinks the team can focus on their personalities in everyman features.

“We have prioritized storytelling around our players and showcasing their unique personalities and journeys to our fans,” said Karson, who came to BSE Global from Madison Square Garden four years ago. “This includes an emphasis on short-form content on TikTok and longer form franchises like From ___ to Brooklyn, Year Two and The Bridge on YouTube. We’ve invested in family and community-centric programming, like enhancing our Kids Games at Barclays Center.”

Beyond online content that might appeal to younger fans — and get their parents to make a financial commitment, the Nets parent company is also going into the community to find fans.

The effort is extensive as this promotion of upcoming camps show. The Nets are also reportedly converting space at the shuttered Modell’s sporting good store across from Barclays into a six-court community basketball center, at least until the property gets bull-dozed for a couple of high-rises.

The Nets and BSE Global have ingratiated themselves into the borough’s youth culture in more subtle ways beyond basketball clinics and ticket giveaways. For instance, The Joe and Clara Wu Tsai Foundation has funded the inclusion of a Jean-Michel Basquiat curriculum in New York’s public schools. Basquiat has been the inspiration for Nets uniform jerseys, among other things.

Just this week, as we reported, the Nets sponsored a free STEM event for New York public and charter school students in grades 3 through 8, highlighted by Cam Johnson’s presence

.

And every single one of the kids in each of these clinics and programs comes away with heavily branded Brooklyn Nets merchandise. Same with community groups who the Nets host at Barclays. Doing well while doing good.

There’s a lot we don’t know about internal data. That’s proprietary, a company secret. How many fans actually attend the games — the closely guarded turnstile data? How many tickets are sold vs. distributed? Are concessions robust? If we knew those numbers, we’d no doubt have a better indication of the team’s financial health. (The owner is fine.) That said, people are continuing to go to games whether from Bensonhurst or Berlin.

There’s one other thing beyond the marketing data or the team’s record. The arena has now been woven into the city and borough as it wasn’t back in 2019 or earlier, says Irina Pavlova, the former president of ONEXIM Sports and Entertainment when the arena was brand-new

“It’s been hugely rewarding to see Barclays Center come into its own. There’s a whole new generation that has grown up with ‘the Clays’ as an integral part of their lives,” said Pavlova. “And, of course, as the home of the WNBA champions, the New York Liberty, it is now firmly woven into the fabric of the city. Hopefully the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy will find its way to Barclays before long as well.”

It’d be easier to market the team then!

.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/7/...dance-still-solid-despite-fears-about-rebuild

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets vs. Charlotte Hornets preview: Tankathon Bowl

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Bottom line (pun intended) the Nets are a half-game out of fifth in lottery odds, the Hornets are a game and a half behind the Wizards for the NBA’s worst record.

Today is Saturday, March 8, and so we are now two days removed from (another) performance of a lifetime authored by Stephen Curry at Barclays. Aside from the ridiculous shots he was hitting, he was doing these amazing things while prompting a comeback against the Nets, who after all had been much as 29-9 in the first quarter. While Brooklyn is having a bad season as we are all aware, it does feel nice to write about games where greatness is on full display.

Tonight, the Brooklyn Nets will be taking on Curry’s hometown team in the Charlotte Hornets. Not a lot of potential for greatness here. The Hornets too saw a big failed comeback against a contender, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Friday night when Miles Bridges scored 46 points but failed to hit a half-court buzzer-beater.

So, the Hornets currently hold a 14-48 record in the Eastern Conference. If trendlines extend out, it could be they, not the lowly Wizards, who wind up with the NBA’s worst record. With the Nets coming into the matchup with six straight losses and the Hornets with nine, this will likely be a battle about who plays harder and who will be coached better. That should be the Nets.

Where to Watch​

It’s an early start. Check out the action at 6:00 p.m. ET on the YES Network. For you out-of-towners, It’s the Gotham Sports App or NBA League Pass.

Injury Report​

No Cam Johnson (left knee soreness) and De’Anthony Melton (out for season and not with the team). The three two-ways — Reece Beekman, Tyson Etienne and Tovan Evbuomwan — plus Dariq Whitehead will all be in Long Island preparing for their third and last trip to Montreal as “Les Nets.”.

Three Hornets remain out for the season: Brandon Miller (wrist), Grant Williams (knee) and Tre Mann (back) while Josh Okogie (hamstring) won’t return till March 21. Mark Williams, he of the failed Lakers trade, remains a game time decision.

The Game​

The last time these two teams met up, Brooklyn was able to take advantage of the lack of presence in the middle, even with Moussa Diabate’s 21 & 10. The combination of Day’Ron Sharpe and Nic Claxton was too much for the Hornets, and it could be once again with Charlotte also on back end of a back-to-back Saturday.

Also, the Nets now have Cam Thomas, which could do damage to Charlotte’s backcourt alongside D’Angelo Russell. Thomas showed flashes of his shooting superpower against the Warriors, hitting tough shots as only Cam Thomas can. Missed that a lot.

It’s hard to imagine this game will be anywhere near as exciting as the game against the Golden State Warriors. It’s one of those games where the Nets just have to play. But hey, one step closer to the Draft Lottery on May 12, “only” nine weeks away!

Player to Watch: Lamelo Ball​

Last time out vs. Brooklyn, Ball’s game was cut short — he played a mere 10 minutes due to injury. That doesn’t take a way how gifted he is as a player. Even with another injury riddled season — he’s missed more games over the last three years than Ben Simmons, Ball is still averaging 25.8 points and seven assists in 40 games. He is still a young player, and should he get healthy and go to a winning team, he can still be an awesome contributor.

The question remains whether he will ever get healthy. Despite the gaudy numbers there are rumblings that the Hornets under former Nets assistant GM Jeff Peterson will go even deeper into their rebuild and put their fate more in the hands of Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges who put up 46 Friday night. Bridges remains a centerpiece of Charlotte’s future along with Ball, but could that change? Could Ball have another address by next season?

From the Vault​

Cam Johnson won’t be playing but he will be back in North Carolina where he not only had a solid career playing for the Tar Heels but finished with a 3.8 GPA in communications at Chapel Hill. He played 73 games for UNC in his final two college seasons and did a lot of what he’s done since in the NBA: take big shots.

CamJ is one of two former Tar Heel products on the Nets, the other Day’Ron Sharpe who played only one season on Tobacco Road.

More reading: At the Hive and SBNation NBA.

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• Charlotte Hornets Game Notes - Charlotte Hornets
• Nets vie for sweep of season series against Hornets - NBA
• Bridges leads Charlotte against Brooklyn after 46-point game - AP
• Nic Claxton’s playmaking proves to be key factor for Nets - Bridget Reilly - New York Post
• Cam Thomas is evolving into the playmaker Nets need: ‘That’s the CT we want to see’ - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
• After Memphis failure, Nets’ Ziaire Williams making the most of his second chance in the NBA - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/8/...s-vs-charlotte-hornets-preview-tankathon-bowl

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets lose lead, seventh game in a row to Charlotte Hornets, 105-102

Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

And this one was bad. Let Jordi Fernández tell it “I also thought everybody just relaxed and thought that this was over.”

The Brooklyn Nets played a special basketball game on Thursday night.

Barclays Center was rocking — albeit for the visiting team led by Steph Curry, but rocking nonetheless. Brooklyn raced out to a 20-point lead against a Warriors team likely hungover from Draymond Green’s birthday party, and kept their composure when Golden State inevitably fought back. The game went down to the final possessions, as Brooklyn proved themselves a worthy foil in an electric environment.

Saturday night was going to be much different. The Charlotte Hornets not only do not have Steph Curry, they would also be without LaMelo Ball, injured once again. Also, they absolutely stink.

After starting the season 6-9, Charlotte steadily lost rotation players to injury, and are since 8-39. Their best player is Miles Bridges, though he is often outplayed by the very active Moussa Diabaté at center. It remains a miracle that rookie Tidjane Salaun was drafted with the sixth overall pick. It hurts to watch Taj Gibson come off the bench for this team.

So, it was unsurprising to see Brooklyn lead 58-43 at halftime. Not when Charlotte shot like this...

please stop making me watch the Charlotte Hornets pic.twitter.com/vJTRyfXZNK

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 9, 2025​

Though Noah Clowney and his healed ankle returned from a 16-game absence on Saturday, the sophomore didn’t contribute to Brooklyn’s offensive output (0-of-5).

Instead, the D’Angelo Russell-Cam Thomas backcourt led the way, combining for 24 points in the first half, culminating with a classic D’Lo moon-ball...

DLO LOGO THREE!!! pic.twitter.com/1wSh3iTJDa

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 9, 2025​

Jordi Fernández was complimentary (in typically cut-and-dry fashion) of his starting point guard postgame: “He’s a really good ball-handler, he can play pick and roll, he can score, shoot the three. So I thought he did a great job.”

The Nets didn’t light Spectrum Center on fire, but a couple of makes and a low turnover count were enough to outdo the hosts. Ziaire Williams scored 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, Trendon Watford put up a dozen, and Jalen Wilson and Tyrese Martin each chipped in seven off the bench.

It was a very typical Nets game, enough to increase the lead to 17 points midway through the third quarter.

Then, the energy shifted. Charlotte went 6-of-8 from deep in the frame, but more importantly, out-hustled their guests. Despite their stretch of defensive excellence, Brooklyn’s quietly been the fourth-worst defensive rebounding team in the league since the calendar flipped to 2025.

Wasn’t so quiet on Saturday evening, with Charlotte scoring 14 second-chance points in the second half, led by Diabaté’s efforts. Miles Bridges as a the featured playmaker was often as ugly as you’d expect, but he did just enough pace-pushing and driving to lead a competent offense in the second half. And that was enough for Brooklyn to fold.

Well, everybody outside of D’Angelo Russell. Russell scored 15 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, heat-checking from three and cashing them...

DLO IS COOKING!!!

HE'S GOT 15 POINTS IN THE 4Q pic.twitter.com/bJkTU3Xqj5

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 9, 2025​

Russell saved the Nets from a slip-up, it seemed, as he checked out of the game midway through the fourth as part of his normal substitution pattern. Brooklyn up nine.

When he checked back in with 2:45 to play, the lead was just one possession. And it only got worse from there, Spectrum Center suddenly lively and seemingly tilted toward Charlotte’s basket.

“I thought that it was a disengagement ... We were lazy. We didn’t touch the paint enough time, our spacing was poor, and you know, we score 44 points in the second half after almost scoring 60 in the first. It’s hard to win in the NBA like this.

Down the stretch, everything went the hosts’ way, including Cam Thomas’ decision-making. Despite his strong first half, Thomas finished shooting 7-of-18 to score 16 points, with the Hornets apparently missing this memo...

Cam Thomas on whether he's changed his approach the last two games to average 6.5 assists:

“Nah, I’ve been doing that. They’re just making it. That’s how assists are. I pass it and my teammates gotta make it, and they’re making it, so it goes on the stat sheet as an assist." pic.twitter.com/tFcLs0Lskx

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) March 7, 2025​

Every time Thomas dribbled in the second half, two or three Hornets swarmed him, and he couldn’t make them pay. Trailing by one with 35 seconds left, Thomas took a side-step 25-footer in transition, a disappointing look but perhaps defensible in the name of going 2-for-1.

Brooklyn got the stop they needed, then on the next play, Thomas was blocked by Bridges....

Miles Bridges blocks Cam Thomas in the game's dying moments, and the Nets lose their seventh straight pic.twitter.com/F3uoOWruwz

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 9, 2025​

A fantastic play by Bridges, and revealing of the shortcomings Thomas still has in his game. When he puts his head down, the ball is going up, no matter what. Whether he didn’t see Bridges’ late rotation off Watford or the chance to lob it to Nic Claxton, or if he just wasn't interested in making the play, the result remains.

After two freebies, Trendon Watford took a 40-footer to push the game to overtime, and his valiant attempt hit back rim. Yikes.

“They wanted it more than us. And when that happens, usually the basketball gods help you. That’s what happened tonight.” — Jordi Fernández

Final Score: Charlotte Hornets 105, Brooklyn Nets 102

Milestone Watch​

• Here’s quite the cherry-picked, but still damning stat, per the New York Post’s Brian Lewis: “Tonight marks the fifth time the Nets have blown a 17-point lead to lose a game. That’s tied for the most in the NBA this season, per Elias.”

Ziaire Williams feature​

Before action on Saturday night, C.J. Holmes of the New York Daily News dropped a long feature on Ziaire Williams, focusing on both his career and personal life up to this point, his first season as a Brooklyn Net.

The story is full of fun anecdotes, where Williams comes across as a beloved family member and teammate, particularly by his former Grizzlies cohorts.

Read the whole thing here.

Next Up​

Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images

The Nets return to Brooklyn for the Luka and LeBron show. Tip-off against the Los Angeles Lakers is scheduled for Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: Charlotte Hornets 105, Brooklyn Nets 102 - NBA
• Game Highlights: Charlotte Hornets 105, Brooklyn Nets 102 (Video) - NBA
• Day’ron Sharpe on playing in his home state (Video) - Meghan Triplett - YES Network
• D’Angelo Russell on the team gaining momentum (Video) - Meghan Triplett - YES Network
• Jordi Fernández after Brooklyn’s loss to Hornets (Video) - YES Network
• Jordi Fernández Postgame Press Conferences vs Charlotte (Video) - YES Network
• Hornets close with a 12-0 run to beat the Nets 105-102 and snap a nine-game losing streak - AP
• Nets blow another lead in loss to Hornets as losing skid hits seven - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Nets blow 17-point lead in Charlotte, losing streak at seven games - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
• After Memphis failure, Nets’ Ziaire Williams making the most of his second chance in the NBA - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
• Jordi Fernandez has heated reaction to Nets’ shocking collapse against Hornets - Erik Slater - Clutch Points

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/8/24381076/nets-vs-hornets-105-102-cam-thomas-miles-bridges

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Deadlines and Commitments: Preparing for the Draft, free agency edition

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

The regular season ends April 13, a month later is the Draft Lottery and a month later, the Draft itself. And on May 17, the Liberty championship banner is raised. Lots going on.

With 19 games left, fans attention is shifting (even more!) to the NBA Draft Lottery, the Draft itself, then the opening of free agency, etc. It’s the Et Cetera we focus on in compiling Deadlines and Commitment our occasional but pretty much monthly calendar for the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty.

So, take it from us. the off-season process includes more than just big events like the Lottery and Draft. There a number of draft combines from Portsmouth to Chicago to Venice where a large contingent of Nets front office types will be present. HSS Training Center will be flooded with draft prospects.

—March 10: LeBron James and Luka Doncic were supposed to make their only appearance at Barclays Center this season but LBJ. Luka was supposed to be here with the Mavericks on March 31, but you know. A chance for D’Angelo Russell (and Maxwell Lewis) to shine and Dorian Finney-Smith to get his tribute video.

—March 13 - 14: Third two-game visit of Long Island’s “Les Nets” to suburban Montreal. So far, so good. The G League Nets drew an average of better than 6,600 fans to the first four games in Quebec.

—March 28: The Los Angeles Clippers come to Brooklyn with James Harden and Ben Simmons. Tribute video for Ben: Lotsa sweaters?

—March 31: The Mavericks will arrive in Brooklyn. Kyrie Irving is out for the season with a torn ACL, part of Dallas’ stunning collapse since the trade of Luka Doncic. Jason Kidd will get his first live look at the Vince Carter jersey hanging next to his in the rafters at Barclays Center.

—April 1: G League Playoffs begin. Not looking good for Long Island.

—April 1: McDonald’s All-American Game at Barclays Center. The Nets have a lot of picks going forward. Good way to get an early look and Ellie the Elephant will team up with Grimace for the game.

—April 5: The 2025 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class is announced during the NCAA Final Four. New Jersey Nets great Buck Williams is among the Finalists.

—April 13: NBA Regular Season ends. All 30 teams to play. Nets close out season vs. Knicks at Barclays Center. With the NBA season and March Madness over, the Nets will starting working out prospects, dozens of them.

—April 14 - WNBA Draft. New York has seventh pick in the first round unless they trade it and it has reportedly been on the block.

—April 15-18: NBA Play-In Tournament. Will the Nets make it? Doubt it.

—April 16-19: Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Portsmouth VA. The first of the post-season draft combines, this one for college seniors. All 30 teams will be there.

—April 19: NBA Playoffs begin.

—April 23: Draft position ties broken by virtual coin toss. With three late first rounders bunched up, it seems possible, even likely, that the Nets will wind up in the mix. Lottery is different.

—April 29: WNBA Training Camp begins. Good time to announce status of New York Liberty training facility. The team currently trains on court just to the right of the main entrance of Barclays Center.

—May 9-11: G League Combine in Chicago. NBA teams as well as G League teams will be on hand.

—May 11-18: NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. More draft workouts, more scouts in Chicago for all the measurements and scrimmages ... and player interviews.

—May 12: NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago. Where will the Nets pick? Stock up on the Zanax ... or the champagne.

—May 17: New York Liberty open defense of their WNBA title. Banner raising at Barclays Center!

—May 31-June 2: Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy. The NBA’s international draft combine.

—June 5: NBA Finals 2025 begin. All games will be televised on ABC.

—June 25-26: NBA Draft. Who will the Nets pick? At the moment, the Nets have four first rounders and a second rounder, most in the league. More than the February trade deadline, the Draft is Sean Marks is more active period, having made a move, some big, some small, within 48 hours of the draft in seven of his nine years as GM.

—June 29: Jalen Wilson, Keon Johnson, Tyrese Martin and Maxwell Lewis have team options for 2025-26, Qualifying Offers must be extended to Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams.

—June 30: NBA teams may begin negotiating with all other upcoming free agents (beginning at 6 p.m. ET). Applies to re-signings as well. Nets will have an estimated $50 million to $70 million in cap space, more than any other team by a long shot.

—July 6: Free agent signings and Draft Day trades become official. Cam Johnson can be extended.

—July 7: Nets $23.3 million trade exception from Mikal Bridges trade expires.

—July 10-20: NBA Summer League in Las Vegas With all those draft picks plus a number of young players from this year’s team, Brooklyn should be one of the most interesting squads.

—July 17–21: WNBA All-Star Break

—July 19: WNBA All-Star Game

—August TBA: NBA schedule for 2025-26 is released.

—September 28: Rough starting date for training camp and Media Day for those teams like the Nets who play overseas in preseason The Nets, of course, are playing in China.

—October 10: First of two NBA China Games vs. Phoenix Suns at the 14,000 capacity Venetian in Macao.

—October 12: Second of two NBA China Games. Same opponent, same venue

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/9/...s-preparing-for-the-draft-free-agency-edition

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

LIVE DISCUSSION: Brooklyn Nets at Charlotte Hornets, 6:00 p.m. ET

Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Tank time? Tank time.

The Brooklyn Nets gave the Warriors a scare, but they came up short in the late stages of the game. It was their sixth straight loss, putting them a half-game back from the fifth-worst-record in the NBA. The Hornets, meanwhile; are a half-game away from having the worst record in the NBA. Don’t call it a tankfest...

NETS VS. HORNETS​

Time: 6:00 p.m. ET

Opponent: Charlotte Hornets (14-48)

Tune In: YES Network; WFAN Radio

***

GAME PREVIEW | JORDAN GREENE​

Injury Report: No Cam Johnson (left knee soreness) and De’Anthony Melton (out for season and not with the team). The three two-ways — Reece Beekman, Tyson Etienne and Tovan Evbuomwan — plus Dariq Whitehead will all be in Long Island preparing for their third and last trip to Montreal as “Les Nets.”.

No real surprise: Ja Morant was declared out in a late scratch. It’s second game of a back to back. In addition, said late scratch also eliminated Mark Williams and Jusif Nurkic. Three Hornets remain out for the season: Brandon Miller (wrist), Grant Williams (knee) and Tre Mann (back) while Josh Okogie (hamstring) won’t return till March 21. So who is playing?

The Game: The Nets have Cam Thomas, which could do damage to Charlotte’s backcourt alongside D’Angelo Russell. Thomas showed flashes of his shooting superpower against the Warriors, hitting tough shots as only Cam Thomas can. Missed that a lot. It’s hard to imagine this game will be anywhere near as exciting as the game against the Golden State Warriors. It’s one of those games where the Nets just have to play. But hey, one step closer to the Draft Lottery on May 12, “only” nine weeks away!

***

Please be respectful with your comments. NetsDaily prides itself on being a safe space for Nets and basketball fans alike to have healthy conversation. Reach out to Anthony Puccio or Net Income with any issues.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/8/...rooklyn-nets-at-charlotte-hornets-6-00-p-m-et

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

LIVE DISCUSSION: Los Angeles Lakers at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m. ET

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Luka’s Lakers visit Brooklyn.

Brooklyn’s tank is in full swing, having lost seen straight games with another tough one tonight. The talk of the night will be Luka Doncic’s first game at Barclays as a Los Angeles Laker. Expect to see a ton of purple and gold jerseys — even with LeBron James out.

NETS VS. LAKERS​

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Opponent: LA Lakers (40-22)

Tune In: YES Network; WFAN radio

***

GAME PREVIEW | JORDAN GREENE​

Injury Report: Cam Thomas, Trendon Watford, De’Anthony Melton are all out for the Brooklyn Nets. Tyson Etienne, Dariq Whitehead, and Tosan Evbuomwan will all be in Long Island. Thomas and Watford are on injury management.

For the Lakers, Lebron James is out with a groin strain. Former Net Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle), Maxi Kleber (right foot), and Rui Hachimura (knee) will also miss action as well. To make matters worse, Luka is questionable with back soreness, as well as Jaxson Hayes due to knee problems.

The Game: If you were looking forward to a high energy game filled with stars and high flying athletes, you sadly came to the wrong place. Starting with the Nets, Cam Thomas will be back on the bench to manage his injury. This is understandable due to Thomas’ recent play, as his shooting numbers haven’t been pleasant despite still being able to find ways to score the basketball.

***

Please be respectful with your comments. NetsDaily prides itself on being a safe space for Nets and basketball fans alike to have healthy conversation. Reach out to Anthony Puccio or Net Income with any issues.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/10...lyn-nets-7-30-p-m-et-luka-doncic-lebron-james

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

3 Takeaways after Brooklyn Nets trade a loss for a win vs Charlotte Hornets and LA Lakers

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The confusion never ends as the Nets lose to a fellow tanking team before beating a supposed contender two days later

After taking a trip out to a Charlotte grocery, the Brooklyn Nets found all the ingredients needed to cook up a win last Saturday night. Once purchasing and bagging, they loaded them all up into their car and drove home. They even hit all green lights on their way too.

Then, after arriving, unloading, and stepping up the back stairs, arms full with a higher field goal percentage, break points advantage and stiff defensive performance in the third, they fumbled everything while extending their key out to unlock and open the door.

Even if their delivery guys occasionally get you the orange juice with pulp instead of the one with some pulp, sometimes it’s worth it to just bite your lip and put in an InstaCart order.

Although Brooklyn’s journey vs Los Angeles tonight had no shortage of twists, turns and even bumps on the road, it ended in a far more pleasing way, at least when you tune out all that draft lotterry talk.

In what was their third biggest comeback of the season, Brooklyn wrestled their seven game losing streak to the ground, beating the Lakers tonight by a 111-108 margin. While it might just look like a simple loss for a win transaction, there’s always more to it than that. Here’s what, exactly.

Noah Clowney is Starting to Get his Legs Under Him ​

With the crazy Nets trade deadline that never was, coupled with returns to the lineup from D’Angelo Russell and Cam Thomas, Noah Clowney’s ankle injury flew somewhat under the radar as the Nets pushed through the bleak midwinter.

The second year man did return over the weekend, but only partially, it would seem. Clowney logged 18 minutes vs the Hornets but never found his way into the scoring column, going 0-of-5 from the field. All his shots came from beyond the arc, though that’s not the first time we’ve seen that from him.

Tonight, he opened the game 0-3, again pulling strictly from three. He didn’t take his first two-point field goal until early in the second quarter. That made five straight quarters of strictly threes.

But it wasn’t just an early inability to find nylon tonight that had Clowney looking out of sync, but the way in which he connected with the iron. Many of the Alabama product’s misses were short — a telltale sign of either fatigue or not having your legs under you yet.

With Clowney being just 20-years old and many of those misses coming early in the game tonight, I was willing to bet it was the latter. His play beyond the first quarter argued that as well.

Clowney broke the seal on the rim a few minutes after his eighth straight miss — but he also experimented with other ways of putting the ball through the hoop. Not only did Clowney pull off the highlight below, he also generated seven looks at the line tonight, tied for his most in a game all season.

Heads up play from Noah Clowney here in the second.

His first eight shots since coming back have all been from three (0-8). He eventually hit a triple a few minutes later, but looking to steal some points other ways now too. pic.twitter.com/WeuDD13ri1

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 11, 2025​

Clowney also went on to bang two more triples, leading him to a respectable 19-point and five-rebound night after starting 4-of-10 from the field and 3-of-8 from deep. He even contributed to Brooklyn’s collective icing of the win with a timely cut after their ATO play fell apart.

https://t.co/uZ7e1nJeyz pic.twitter.com/GBQ2PISmcK

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 11, 2025​

“I think I was playing pretty well before I went down, and then when I went down, obviously my first game back wasn’t super strong, so I wanted to get a win more than anything, and I ended up having a good performance in that process,” Clowney said postgame.

“For him to come back and have an impact like he did today, I mean, it’s tough,” added Cam Johnson. “The kid’s 20 years old, he’s young. It’s difficult to come back from being out for a while and to find your flow, and I think it was a little tough on him maybe the first couple minutes out there, but he kept his head up, and stayed with it and made some big play for us tonight.”

Indeed he did. While it’s unlikely we see Clowney tomorrow considering how the Nets treat back-to-backs, look for him to continue building on it vs the Chicago Bulls later in the week.

Keon Johnson Loves a B-Day Celebration​

Keon Johnson had his fewest points in a game all season when logging more than 12 or more minutes last time out. Against the lowly Charlotte Hornets, it’s fair to assume he had hoped for better. Against one of the game’s hotter teams post-trade deadline (again, for an obvious reason), he got that, and just in time to celebrate his Jordan year in front of the only other guy with a claim to that number.

Contributing with 18 points, three assists, and three rebounds while shooting 6-10 from the field and 3-4 from deep, it was a birthday bounce-back for Johnson tonight. The inside-out attack worked for him as he was able to put pressure on the rim and extend the defense with his shot.

.@iamkeonjohnson gettin' crafty on his b-day pic.twitter.com/D35rfomDr2

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 10, 2025​

KJ’s crisp offensive play translated to the other end as well, as Johnson bothered an all-world guard at the point of attack and beyond for a second time in three games.

Nets doing a solid job on Luka tonight. Mixing in different blitzing strategies here in the third. Doncic has 3 TOVs and is currently 4-15 on FGs.

Keon gets the bday jam at the other end. pic.twitter.com/2MBg7ZfUkl

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 11, 2025​

With the biggest name out there struggling as a result of his two-way prowess, Johnson even led both teams in the scoring department deep into the third period. He brought it on his big day, once more illustrating resiliency amid an up-and-down year.

Winning the Turnover Battle Can Cure Anything​

When you shoot better from the field, three, and from the charity stripe, it’s hard to lose in this game at any level, but the Los Angeles Lakers did so anyway tonight. Perhaps that misfortune is just them holding up their deal with the devil that landed them Luka Doncic.

Still, not a fair transaction in my book.

But the way Brooklyn pulled this rabbit out of their hat was by pulling the ball away from Los Angeles. The Nets snagged 15 turnovers leading to 19 extra points. While the Nets still shot it decently tonight, particularly from deep after 18-45 (41.1%), it was the points off turnovers that pushed them over the goal line, as boards and second chance points were relatively even.

Cam Johnson was tonight’s top thief, grabbing three steals to go with his 18 points. He also finished as a team-high +11 for the night after logging 33 minutes.

But even with him and his teammates establishing a wealth of extra possession, the Nets were anything but loose with them. Only giving up the rock seven times leading to a meager four extra points for the Lakers, Brooklyn dominated the turnover department like a seasoned fence.

“Seven turnovers for four points is elite, and then 15 for 19 for them,” Jordi Fernández recalled. “We had energy, we had pressure, we had to put two on the ball, especially with Luka.”

With the Toronto Raptors also claiming a victory tonight, pro-tank Nets fans shouldn’t take this loss too hard despite Brooklyn having to overcome a statistical hurdle few teams rarely can. But winning games despite poor shooting is as gritty as it gets, and that’s something many of you were asking for this time last year.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/11...-for-a-win-vs-charlotte-hornets-and-la-lakers

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

LIVE DISCUSSION: Brooklyn Nets at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:00 p.m. ET

Second night of a back-to-back!

The tank was halted after a solid victory over Luka Doncic and the Lakers on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they’re up against Cleveland where Kenny Atkinson’s team sits at 54-10, good enough for the first seed in the Eastern Conference. Expect some guys to sit out given that it’s the second night of a back-to-back.

NETS VS. CAVS​

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Opponent: Cleveland Cavaliers (54-10)

Tune In: YES Network; WFAN radio

***

Game Preview | Jordan Greene​

Injury Report: D’Angelo Russell is out. D’Lo had a tough game last night after returning from ankle woes. Other than that it’s DeAnthony Melton (torn ACL and out for the season) and the G Leaguers who played this afternoon in New York. The Nets lead the NBA in games lost to injuries/illness with 318.

All clear for Cleveland.

The Game: The Cavs have not lost a game since February 4 (yes, you heard that right.) Early in the winning streak, the Cavs faced off with the Nets and Cleveland looked like they were toying with them. Donovan Mitchell was trying to dunk on everyone he saw, Darius Garland put on a ball handling clinic, it was just utter chaos. Fast forward to now, the Nets will have to try to prevent that from happening while on a tough back to back. They will also be in Cleveland this time, whoopie.

***

Please be respectful with your comments. NetsDaily prides itself on being a safe space for Nets and basketball fans alike to have healthy conversation. Reach out to Anthony Puccio or Net Income with any issues.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/11...oklyn-nets-at-cleveland-cavaliers-7-00-p-m-et

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

3 Takeaways from Brooklyn Nets near upset of Cleveland Cavaliers

David Richard-Imagn Images

Back-to-back yes. The opponent on a historic winning streak, but Brooklyn kept things real, as they did vs. the Lakers. But this time, the good guys lost.

Reunion games are only fun for so long. In what was the fourth and final meeting between the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight, the hugs and hellos exchanged among ex-teammates and coaches couldn’t have been as tight and vibrant as they had been earlier in the year.

Calling all that a charade implies ingenuity, which isn’t something I’d say was a factor here. When you see their interactions, either in person during pregame warmups or in the montages YES plays while phasing in and out of commercial breaks, you can tell many of these guys are as thick as thieves.

But with just over a month to go until the playoffs, these teams know who they are and that they’re both simply playing a waiting game at this point, even if the prizes are remarkably different. With one focused on the postseason and the other eager to reap their reward for being a bottom-feeder all year, they know this final month of the 2024-25 campaign can only offer them so much.

So tonight’s objective? Just get through it. But in doing so, the Nets nearly went through the Cavaliers. It would’ve been the second time in as many days Brooklyn took down a top team, but likely for the betterment of both parties, it wasn’t. Here’s what went down.

Secondary Defense is Improving​

Brooklyn’s ball pressure has been a double-edged sword this year, and a sharp one at that. On some occasions, their defense looks stronger than a brick wall at the point of attack, yet also as flexible as one made from spandex. Then on others, it’s pulled too much attention away from the post, leaving the paint vulnerable from multiple directions.

Yeah Tyrese Martin can't be the guy left in the paint if the Nets are going to blitz with Nic Claxton.

CP3 beating the trap with Bismack Biyombo in 2025 is also crazy btw. pic.twitter.com/jmOEY1ZU93

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 5, 2025​

We’ve unfortunately seen more of the latter than the former lately with Brooklyn’s defense falling back to Earth after the All-Star break. The Nets have consistently thrown two at the ball even with skilled ancillary facilitators there to operate in the high post, putting them on the burner vs Oklahoma City, Golden State, Portland, and even Los Angeles on a handful of sequences yesterday.

They were there again tonight, doubling Darius Garland early and often, but somehow didn’t get completely singed. The difference, or their fire extinguisher if I’m to keep this metaphor alive, was their secondary line of defense taking a more strategic approach to their backend defense.

Cam Johnson and Ziaire Williams especially did well to force awkward pickups that rendered the size of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley almost useless once receiving the pass out of the trap. On the floor, it was only a matter of one or two feet, but it made a world of difference in terms of shot difficulty.

Brooklyn's doing a great job so far forcing CLE's bigs to pick up and shoot just a foot or two out from that money zone tonight.

CJ doesn't wait for Allen to post him up here. He darts out to force the pick up. Starts moving before the ball even gets there. Great anticipation. pic.twitter.com/gjHIhrTWX7

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 11, 2025​

As a result, Cleveland shot slightly under their season average for field goal percentage in the paint. It likely would have been even lower had the Nets not fallen apart on the defensive glass in the second half, surrendering 12 second chance points, many being easy put-backs to boost the percentage back up.

This time it's Thomas getting up and getting on Allen after the Nets throw two.

You could argue JA should have just taken him here...but that's not what happened. CT at least slowed him down enough for Clax to collapse too. pic.twitter.com/q2Z9BZaGVC

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) March 12, 2025​

This positioning wasn’t some Houdini game plan from Jordi Fernández but it’s a nice adjustment from him and his players after a handful of games where their critically acclaimed pressure looked a bit more like a negative than a positive. It was also the reason Cleveland failed to generate significant inside-out action, leading to a subpar 3-point shooting night. Don’t be surprised to see Boston or New York practice it vs Cleveland come playoff time either.

Cam Thomas is Bouncing Back​

I don’t think the “Cam Thomas is cooked” narrative that recently unfolded on social media was ever that serious. It was one of those things where you’re concerned, but you cover it up by turning the whole thing into a bit by overreacting. Call it a new genre of sarcasm, if you will.

But with that said, the way Thomas closed out the game vs the Hornets was about as rough of an ending as he’s endured all season. CT having to wait three days to redeem himself didn’t make things any better either.

This ball needs to be passed to Trendon. pic.twitter.com/6iFlp9nu81

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) March 9, 2025​

So on Tuesday, Thomas came to Cleveland brush in hand, eager to paint over that stain with a masterpiece. While his 27-point game wasn’t exactly on par with Picasso, we’ll call what he did tonight a Matisse.

In getting to his highest point total in a game since late November, Thomas shot 10-22 from the field and 4-11 from three. The step-back jumper was falling from all spots on the floor and everything else opened up from there.

win the jump ball
hit a fadeaway jumper

Cam Thomas can literally do it all! pic.twitter.com/0flnhT2W4L

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 12, 2025​

Thomas also dished three assists, and while that won’t be enough to please those still throwing shot-chucker allegations his way (fair or not), the offense was humming with him out there nonetheless. The Nets recorded assists on all of their made baskets in the first, where Thomas played all but three minutes and eighteen seconds.

The competition is weak but it was still his best game since returning from his hamstring injury. We can now officially declare him “back.”

This Isn’t a Team You can Rest Against​

If you subscribe to the LeBron James March rejuvenation theory, this was the second straight game where a title-contending squad left some of their biggest weapons on the bench — supposedly due to injuries — but probably to save energy for the rapidly approaching playoffs.

This time of year, teams are understandably more focused on April, May, and June rather than putting out their best unit every night. It’s why the Nets used to let Tyler Johnson, Bruce Brown, and Landry Shamet start the occasional game against some of their less intimidating opponents down the stretch of the 2020-21 season. It’s also why the Utah Jazz are starting guys you’ve never heard of every third night this year, but that’s another story.

Nonetheless, this was also the second straight game where the Brooklyn Nets proved themselves as a team that won’t let you get away with that easily.

Just like they did against LA, the Nets gave their opponent a run with depth tonight as Cleveland came in undermanned. Brooklyn outscored off the bench 36-19, fueled largely by Noah Clowney (12 PTS), Day’Ron Sharpe (8) and Jalen Wilson (9). Against the Lakers, their reserves won by a 48-26 margin.

This is more of a takeaway for other teams like the Celtics, Pacers, and especially the Knicks, who play Brooklyn in their final game of the year, which is one everyone likes to put their best guys on the bench for. It’s not like there hasn’t been evidence of this all year, but with us now at the beginning of the end, talented teams should know they can’t just skip by Brooklyn.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/11...ooklyn-nets-near-upset-of-cleveland-cavaliers

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Jordi Fernández continues to get rave reviews, inside and outside the Nets organization

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Ziaire Williams: “I knew he was different from the first day.”

Head Coach Jordi Fernández has some built-in advantages in his rookie year.

For one, the Brooklyn Nets telegraphed a tank as boldly as they could this past offseason — though the front office has acted more meekly since. Still, Fernández’s performance would not be judged by wins and losses. The Nets have blown six 17-point leads this season, tied for most in the league, and that hasn’t caused any consternation.

Fernández also inherited a talent-deficient roster full of guys clinging to NBA careers. Players with two-way contracts see major minutes, as do players searching for a second NBA contract. Brooklyn’s head coach may prove to be a great motivator, but this team is ripe to give it their all.

And still, Jordi Fernández has undoubtedly shined in year one, despite a 22-43 record that must get worse if the Nets want to maximize their NBA Draft Lottery odds.

Brooklyn has won plenty of games they had no business even being in, thanks to abundant effort, detailed game-plans, or both. Monday night vs. the Los Angeles Lakers was a prime example; the Nets hounded Luka Dončić all night long, pressuring him and Austin Reaves near half court while dominating the glass. A couple games earlier, they frustrated Steph Curry into an early technical foul near the end of a brutally physical first quarter.

Simply put, the Nets are one annoying matchup, regardless of any talent gap.

“We couldn’t even pass to each other,” said Laker Head Coach JJ Redick after the game. “We couldn’t enter our offense, running ball screens literally at half court. Yeah, that’s going to end up in a turnover. I don’t know what we’re doing.”

Redick is the only opposing head coach to note Brooklyn’s disruptiveness. Before a February game at Barclays Center, ex-Nets Head Coach and current Cleveland leader Kenny Atkinson heaped praise on Fernández’s squad:

“With Jordi, I feel like I’m watching a FIBA team, you know? And that’s a real compliment. You know, it’s physicality and extreme physicality, and I think they’re fouling a lot, which is fine. They made a commitment. They have an identity. They’re physical ... So, really a ton of credit to Jordi and the players over in that locker room. Really, really impressive. What, nine out of ten they’ve won? That’s phenomenal. Just just real credit to him.”

Atkinson’s math was slightly off — the Nets had won six of seven at the time — but his point stood: When the Nets win, it’s because they look like a well-coached team.

D’Angelo Russell agrees. In his exclusive interview with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype on Monday, Russell glowed about his current situation. The free-agent-to-be even closed the interview by saying “I’d love to be back.”

Judging by his earlier comments, it’s easy to see why: “I told Jordi today for him to trust me and allow me to be a basketball player and not just a shot maker. If my shots aren’t falling, he still trusts me to be out there to make plays. I respect that more than anything. I’ve been kind of categorized as a guy who only makes shots, but being a basketball player is my strength. For him to trust me so soon since I’ve been here, I’m nothing but appreciative.”

He even compared Fernández to the last truly beloved coach of the Brooklyn Nets, Atkinson: “They’re both workers. I think that’s where their success comes from. I’ve always been a fan of anything that starts from the top and trickles down. It’s easier to send that message. We see him every day coming in here and working. We see countless amount of hours watching film and things like that. I think that’s where it starts.”

With 17 games left, Brooklyn’s main focus is sweating out draft position. Securing the fifth-best odds doesn’t promise Cooper Flagg much more than the seventh-best odds do, but it’s time to swing for them anyway.

Still, the Nets are afforded that worry because their principal concern heading into 2024-2025 appears settled. Jordi Fernández can really coach. It’s not just the aggressive, complex defenses he has thrown at unique superstars like Curry and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, nor glimpses of beautiful organized offense...

and then that play-call sets up this finish, great organized offense so far https://t.co/QwIoQt1RbS pic.twitter.com/WWgjDOdQUT

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 11, 2025​

...but an overall team spirit.

Maybe that spirit will be harder to maintain with a more talented team (Atkinson is batting .500 in that regard), but that’s a worry for tomorrow. In the meantime, it’s tough not to enjoy this Ziaire Williams quote from C.J. Holmes’ NY Daily News feature on the 23-year-old.

“I knew he was different from the first day. He told everyone, ‘I don’t give a f*** who you are, what you do, what you’ve done, we’re clearing this s*** out. We want good players, good role models, good chemistry guys, guys who are going to work hard and pick up full ... It’s great to know you have a real one behind you.”

Now in March, nearly one year after the Fernández hire, it’s clear his mantra is no cliché. The 42-year-old Catalonian has insisted his team and players get “one percent better” each day, and they have. Williams’ fourth season has been his best. Tyrese Martin, playing productive NBA minutes for the first time at age-25, has been converted from a two-way to a standard contract.

In his sophomore season, Noah Clowney’s future looks brighter now that he’s an accurate but extremely willing 3-point shooter. In his second game back after missing 15 straight, he led Brooklyn with 19 points off the bench in their victory over Los Angeles.

Clowney has surged from 4.4 3PA per 100 possessions in his rookie year to a staggering 12.4 this year, all while making 35.5% of them. On Monday night, he was asked about that shift, and you can bet he pointed the finger toward the coach’s box...

Noah Clowney on Jordi Fernández: pic.twitter.com/1Irem7indg

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 11, 2025​

Beyond his x’s and o’s, Fernandez also has gained a reputation as professional when dealing with departures, like that of Dorian Finney-Smith who was on the trade block from Day 1 of the season, ultimately headed to L.A. for D’Lo.

“I knew the situation. I knew there was a chance that I was gonna traded this season,” Finney-Smith told ClutchPoints. “I just appreciate the Nets and the coaching staff and everybody for being professional about it.”

Where the Brooklyn Nets are going, nobody knows. They have plenty of draft assets, cap space, and few long-term contracts.

Wherever it is, though, they have the right man leading the way.

• Coaching Is Nets Anti-Tank Variable - Steve Lichtenstein - Steve’s Newsletter

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/12...ez-brooklyn-netscontinues-to-get-rave-reviews

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets build, squander big lead against Cleveland Cavaliers, lose 109-104

Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

The Brooklyn Nets played real well for three quarters, but that was never going to be enough.

An 82-game NBA schedule provides little opportunity to look ahead.

The Los Angeles Lakers are great, but they could be missing every front-court player, including LeBron James, by the time you get to them. That certainly helped the Brooklyn Nets defeat them on Monday night.

And though the Cleveland Cavaliers are cruising to the East’s #1 seed, riding a 14-game win-streak into Tuesday night’s action, they would be missing Donovan Mitchell, Ty Jerome, and De’Andre Hunter. Just as there are no guaranteed wins in the NBA — a lesson learned by many opponents of the 2024-25 Nets — there are no guaranteed losses either. (No matter how much Brooklyn’s front office might wish there were, now in a dead-heat with the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers for the fifth-best lottery odds.)

The Nets were without D’Angelo Russell on Monday, but adding Cam Thomas and Trendon Watford back into the fold, a predetermined injury management plan for the back-to-back.

Early on, that was a worthy trade-off for the Nets. Cam Thomas caught a heater in the second quarter, swishing his usual array of step-back jumpers and same-foot finishes to score 16 first-half points...

LOVE WATCHING CAM THOMAS HOOP! pic.twitter.com/6av9IDeaYt

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 12, 2025​

Thomas played an excellent all-around first half too, driving with the intent to pass, and he led a charge of ball-movement: All of Brooklyn’s first 16 field-goals were assisted.

They didn’t just out-shoot the Cavs — though they certainly did that — they out-played them.

“I think Cam Thomas was the reason,” said Jordi Fernández postgame. “We played through him. He passed the ball early, and then the ball has energy, so it got back to him. He had 16 points in the first half, then it’s just part of him getting back in playing shape and playing, right now, over 30 minutes, which is good to see.”

Brooklyn built an 18-point lead early in the third quarter, and the ball continued to whip around the floor. Watford led the team with six assists, including consecutive beauties to Day’Ron Sharpe, while Noah Clowney again led the reserves with 12 points off the bench. Though he worryingly tweaked his right ankle...

agh. Noah Clowney has only been back for three games, now a right ankle tweak: pic.twitter.com/ti0423z0MM

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 11, 2025​

...the sophomore did not have to exit the game, just his third back after missing 15 straight with a left ankle injury.

Despite the good vibes (and shooting) from Brooklyn, the big lead never felt sustainable. Not just because the Cavaliers are still great despite the players they were missing, but because they started just 7-of-31 from three. Sure, the Nets played some great defense at times, but the Cavs were really doing it to themselves.

Then Craig Porter Jr. made a 50-footer at the third-quarter buzzer, and it felt like Cleveland’s comeback was inevitable...

EVERYONE KNOWS 8:44PM IS WHEN THE BANK IS OPEN! #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/xcgn7wkrs5

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 12, 2025​

Despite 20-point games from Cleveland’s twin towers in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, their true hero was Darius Garland.

Garland couldn’t hit water from a boat in the first half, but still made every correct read while often zipping around Brooklyn’s traps, killing their aggressive defense. Then, the shot came around in the fourth quarter where he was totally unstoppable. As Cleveland’s sole perimeter creator, he scored 18 of his 30/4/8 in the final frame, leading the Cavs all the way back in front.

On the other end, Brooklyn’s offense flat-lined, with or without Cam Thomas on the court. Tuesday perfectly encapsulated each leading man. Thomas caught a scorching heater in the first half, but ended with 27/1/3 on 10-of-22 shooting, missing this naked read to effectively end Brooklyn’s hopes late...

has to be a pass. just has to be pic.twitter.com/1Uy7PtOsTn

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 12, 2025​

Garland didn’t heat up until night’s end, but thanks to his consistently excellent decision-making, drove Cleveland to solid offense all night long. They would win his minutes by a dozen points, and lose the rest by seven.

Comparing Thomas to one of the NBA’s great dribble/pass/shoot talents is, of course, a bit unfair. But if there was ever a game to clearly illustrate the difference between spark-plug and All-Star creator, this was it.

Not that Thomas was solely responsible for the loss. Brooklyn allowed 11 offensive rebounds in the second half, which Jordi Fernández was eager to point out postgame. Despite Cleveland’s 24% 3-point shooting, they consistently won 4-on-3 situations by attacking the rim, shooting a whopping 61.7% from two. The Nets shot just 5-of-22 from deep in the second half.

There was also the officiating, which did Brooklyn no favors.

When Fernández was asked what led to Cleveland’s comeback, he said, “I think their physicality just went up in the second half. Defensively, we had 21 fouls for their 25 free-throws, and they fouled us 10 times for our 14. So usually it doesn’t work this way where, like, the team that is very physical get [less fouls]. But that’s the disparity that we see right here, and it is what it is. We cannot control those things.”

In many ways, this was the ideal game for Brooklyn. A loss, of course, but a well-fought loss in which young players like Noah Clowney played well (and avoided injury). Just 17 more of these and we’ll be in good shape.

Final Score: Cleveland Cavaliers 109, Brooklyn Nets 104

Milestone Watch​

• The Brooklyn Nets assisted on 31 of their 39 made baskets on Tuesday night. That marks their 10th game with 30+ helpers this season, and all ten Nets that played registered an assist.
• Watford’s six assists tied a career-high.

Standings Watch​

Neither the Raptors nor the Sixers played on Tuesday night. However, the Zion Williamson-led Pelicans continue to soar, creeping up to 18 wins while Brooklyn was playing. Can they catch the Nets? Unlikely, but not impossible.

Next Up​

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

The Nets stay in the Midwest, and a date with the Chicago Bulls waits them on Thursday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: Cleveland Cavaliers 109, Brooklyn Nets 104 - NBA
• Game Highlights: Cleveland Cavaliers 109, Brooklyn Nets 104 (Video) - NBA
• Fernández on losing their lead against Cleveland (Video) - YES Network
• Noah Clowney discusses Jordi Fernández’s impact (Video) - YES Network
• NBA-leading Cavaliers beat Nets 109-104 for their second 15-game win streak of season - Brian Dulik - AP
• Cavaliers overtake Nets for record-tying 15th straight win - Reuters
• Nets cough up chance to stun NBA-best Cavaliers in latest late-game collapse - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Kenny Atkinson has golden chance to do something with Cavs that he never could with Nets ($) - Brian Lewis - New York Post

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/3/11/24383717/nets-vs-cavaliers-109-104-darius-garland-cam-thomas