[ad_1]
The Nets came out of the break the same way they went in: Decimated and defeated.
Opening the proverbial second half of the season Thursday, shorthanded Brooklyn got drilled 129-106 by Boston before a sellout crowd of 17,986 at Barclays Center.
“I told the guys we had two great days of practice, and [Thursday] I don’t think we got better,” coach Steve Nash said. “I don’t care about the result, but we could’ve played better. We could’ve made less mistakes. We could’ve done a few things that would’ve made [this] more productive. That’s all it is.
“We recognize we’re shorthanded. We know we’re sending these guys out there and asking them to do more than they’re accustomed to doing, and that’s tough. … We’ve asked them to keep their spirits high and work and that was clearly on display in practice. [Thursday] we needed a little bit more.”
The loss’ predictability didn’t make it any less damaging. While this is called the second half of the season, the Nets (31-29) really have little more than a quarter of the campaign left, and a whole lot of ground to make up in short order.
Brooklyn is mired in eighth place in the East, with the defeat dropping them 3 ½ games behind Boston for the sixth spot and guaranteed playoff berth. And winners of 10 of their last 11, these Celtics haven’t shown any signs of giving it up. The Nets are going to have to seize it.
But after Thursday’s defeat, they’ve stumbled even deeper into the play-in. Brooklyn — just 4-18 since Kevin Durant got hurt — is 2 ½ games behind seventh-place Toronto, whom they play a home-and-home against Monday and Tuesday of this coming week.
“We understand the situation we’re in,” Nash said. “We know there’s urgency. We know we’re not going to have half a season to figure this thing out.
“We’re up against the clock, and our guys have been great because there’s a lot of pressure and circumstances that make it difficult. They’re dropping in the standings but their spirit has been outstanding. That’s the spirit of taking it day by day, game by game, trying to improve. At the same time, we recognize the situation that we’re in.”
Seth Curry had 22 points and seven boards, both team highs, but James Johnson shot just 2 of 12 and a clearly tired Patty Mills went 0 of 9.
“There was a lot of stuff going on on the floor. They beat us in a lot of different areas, so it’s hard to say what exact mistakes we made,” Curry said. “That’s a good team that we just we didn’t match what they were doing on both ends of the floor from the get-go.”
The Nets — who saw seven Celtics score in double figures, led by Jayson Tatum’s game-high 30 — could get reinforcements next week. And considering they have a trip to defending champion Milwaukee looming on Saturday, it can’t come soon enough.
Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Joe Harris and Goran Dragic — a starting five that could play for a title — were all out Thursday. While some are closer to taking the court than others, none were around against the streaking Celtics.
The last time the Nets faced Boston back on Feb. 8, they dug a 28-2 hole and trailed by as much as 35 points. This wasn’t quite that ugly, but it was one-sided.
The Nets opened shooting 4 of 14 from the floor, falling behind 22-10 when Derrick White found Grant Williams for a running layup.
It grew to 48-26 on White’s free throw with 9:35 left in the half.
The Nets never got closer than a dozen the rest of the way, falling back behind by 29 on Williams’ 3 to make it 115-86 midway through the fourth.
Slumping badly, they’re pinning their hopes on health.
“That’s it. That’s No. 1, 2, 3 and 4,” Nash said. “We could’ve played better, but we could’ve played better on nights when we have everybody, too. … In this league, you flip it, you take the Celtics and take four of their starters out, it’s a different look.”
[ad_2]