Nets vs. Cavs preview: Back in action

The NBA is back from the All Star break and the Nets return to action against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

After a few days off, NBA basketball is back. The Brooklyn Nets were off for NBA festivities last weekend and return to action hoping to speed through the rest of the regular season. When we last saw them, they blew an 18 point lead and lost to the Indiana Pacers on February 12.

The opponent tonight is trying to break into the top tier. The Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018. They’re within striking distance of the No. 2 seed and helped

the cause after beating up the Washington Wizards on February 11. They’re on a five game winning streak.

Where to follow the game

YES Network on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. WFAN on radio. Tip after 7 PM.

🤕 Injuries

Nic Claxton sprained his ankle at practice on February 18. He’s out tonight. Josh Minott, newly acquired from the Celtics at the deadline, is with Long Island as is Ben Saraf and the three two-ways. They’re playing at noon today in Birmingham vs. the Pelicans’ G Leaguers, the Squadron. Game can be seen on the G League website.

No Max Strus or Nae’Quan Tomlin.

🏀 The game

Cleveland won the first meeting in October.

Without Claxton, the Nets will turn to Day’ron Sharpe in the starting five. Sharpe has shown himself to be a more than capable big in the NBA and will start for as long as Clax is out. He’ll be matched up on the inside with our old friend Jarrett Allen. Like many of the Cavs, Allen is going to need to exceed expectations in the postseason if they want to get to their first Conference Finals without LeBron James on the team since 1992. Allen and Evan Mobley are tasked with owning the boards and finishing at the rim.

Nolan Traore will get a workout tonight. He’ll be matched up with the amazing Donovan Mitchell and will do what he can to slow him down. Mitchell is one of the leaders in drives to the rim per game and is still one of the game’s best finishers at the rim. Put it all together and it equals a career best 29 points per game on the season. For Traore, games like this will serve as a great measure of his growth and push him to be even better going forward.

This is the first leg of a back-to-back for the Nets. When they’re done, they immediately head out for a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The schedule makers certainly aren’t making it easy on the Nets, that’s for sure.

And with this being the first leg of the b2b, Michael Porter Jr will play tonight. MPJ has been out since February 7 with right knee tendinitis. The rest should do him plenty of good and the Nets will turn to him to make things happen against this Cavs defense. In all likelihood he’ll sit in Oklahoma City so there shouldn’t be too many restrictions on him tonight. MPJ scored 31 points in the first meeting between these teams way back in October, and Jordi Fernandez will look to

👀 Player to watch: James Harden

Hey, we know him! James Harden was doing well with the LA Clippers as they surged back up the standings. However, they weren’t going to give him a contract extension, so he left and is here. Somebody got to asking James about loyalty, and here’s what he had to say:

There’s that.

On the court, Harden hopes to be the last piece to a championship puzzle for Kenny Atkinson and friends. A big midseason move like this causes everyone to make some changes so the team is comfortable with the new reality. How have the Cavs been doing on that front? Pretty well, so far. From Brendon Ulen of Fear the Sword:

“We have already seen him play faster with the Cavs. But will he move more off-ball? Will he keep the defense in rotation, or will he let it reset and probe it himself when the ball returns to him? If he allows defensive resets, will this mute the impact of the motion-related leaps Jaylon Tyson and Merrill have made? These are all open questions.

The Cavs could attempt to exclusively play their motion-heavy style and fit James in. The man can do it if he chooses. They could also embrace Harden-ball and effectively run two systems, switching between them based on personnel and situation, especially when Harden is on the floor without Mitchell. One system or two? The correct answer to this question is unknown. Having a clear approach is critical though. The Cavs have the rest of the regular season to figure out what they believe is best.“

This is a make-or-break season for a lot of the Cavaliers, and Harden’s play will determine a lot about what Cleveland’s future will look like.

Egor Dёmin is back from Los Angeles and an appearance in the Rising Stars game. Being in the game was a great opportunity for Dёmin to rub shoulders with some of the game’s brightest young stars and show that he belongs. With the Nets looking to the future, Egor has show that he will be a big part of it. The Cavs allow teams to shoot 37.2% from three point range, third worst in the NBA (the Nets are second worst so prepare to see a bushel of three point attempts tonight!). Finding easy looks for Dёmin will help determine this one and if he can heat up early, it will keep the Nets in it against one of the better teams in the league.