For the Long Island Nets, not much is going right at this moment. With the Brooklyn Nets having the three two-ways, Malachi Smith and the remaining Flatbush 4, Long Island has been left with slim pickings and a four-game losing streak.
However, a stroke of luck did favor them Sunday evening. Despite coming up just short against the Capital City Go-Go in Capital City, the Long Island squad is heading back to the G-League playoffs! A combination of other scores around the league helped the Nets back in.
At the moment, they’ve got the seventh seed in the post-season and would play the second seed, the Greensboro Swarm, in North Carolina likely on March 31. Other than the Finals, all the league playoff matches are single elimination, aka win or go home…
The last time Long Island made it this far came two years ago when they got all the way to the conference finals before losing to the Maine Celtics. The team saw a major turnaround this season with the likes of the Flatbush 5’s Danny Wolf, Ben Saraf, Drake Powell, and Nolan Traore, and the three Brooklyn two-way stars – Chaney Johnson, EJ Liddell and Tyson Etienne – leading the charge to get them in this spot.
Now, the question is how many of their three two-ways and 10-day Malachi Smith will be available for the post-season. With Brooklyn losing players to injury one after another, will they send any of the four players back? Indeed, Brooklyn has to make a decision Monday on what to do with Smith who’s initial 10-day runs out. If they renew him, he’ll be with the big club through March 31. If they don’t, he would presumably return to Nassau Coliseum.
Sunday’s game was promising building block game for all five of Long Island’s new starters. After going down 46-23 after the first quarter, Long Island entered the fourth quarter down by ten. Long Island tied the game to force overtime but missed all of its shots in the extended session, as it fell to the Go-Go by seven, 127-120.
Leading the way in this one was second-year Long Island player, Trevon Scott. Scott finished having arguably his best shooting game of the season, connecting on 10 of his 16 tries, including shooting 40% from deep, for a total of 22 points. He also had seven rebounds and two assists to go with it. He was one of just three Nets starters to score over 20 points in this game.
The 6’9” 29-year-old has been one of the team’s stalwarts for the entire season working with the Flatbush 5 and other young players and playing in all but one of Long Island’s games, 46 in all. Scott who hasn’t played in the NBA since 2022 and then only two games with the Cavaliers is a basketball vagabond. He’s played in the G League as well as the French, Canadian and Puerto Rican leagues.
Other normally bench players got big minutes with the two-ways and Smith with Brooklyn. Very promising with the playoffs right around the corner.
Hunter Cattoor, 6’3” 25-year-old point guard, put together a career night, finishing with 21 points. He connected on eight of his 14 tries, including going five-for-nine from deep. Cattoor also had six rebounds, four assists, and a game-leading three steals. This may have been Cattoor’s best all-around showing that we’ve ever seen from him.
David Muoka once again got the start at the center position. Muoka flirted with a double-double after he connected on 10 of his 14 tries for 20 points and hauled in nine boards. Since being named a starter, we’ve seen Muoka show a different and more complete side of himself. He also had two steals and a game-leading three blocks, playing the big-man role.
Terry Roberts flirted with a triple-double, numbers we saw him put up quite often at the end of last season when Killian Hayes first got called up to Brooklyn. Roberts finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists. He also had two steals while playing a clean game and finishing with zero turnovers. However, shooting was a bit of an issue for Roberts, as he connected on just four of his 13 tries. including missing both his tries from deep.
Dre Davis was the fifth and final starter for Long Island on Sunday. Davis, the Seton Hall and Ole Miss product was coming off a career-high of 25 points. The 24-year-old 6’6” wing finished with 15 points on Sunday and had four rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block but missed all six of his 3-point attempts and turned the ball over four times, the most on the team.
One of the biggest difference makers for Long Island on Sunday came off the bench as Javon Freeman-Liberty once again shined. He finished with 15 points, connecting on four of his eight tries, including shooting 25% from deep. He also forced overtime for Long Island as he connected on both of his tries from the foul line to tie the game at 120 with 15 seconds left. Freeman-Liberty also had four rebounds, five assists, and one steal.
Next Up
The Long Island Nets (18-15) return to the court on Tuesday, as they match up with their cross-town rivals, the Westchester Knicks. Long Island looks to get back in the win column after dropping its last four games, with the playoffs quickly approaching. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. EST and can be watched on ESPN+ and the Gotham Sports app.
