Almost had it, but not quite. The Brooklyn Nets had the Boston Celtics on the ropes Friday night, but a late mistake proved costly as they ultimately fell short in double overtime. The L was the team’s fourth in a row.
The opponent tonight, amazingly, is back in the playoff chase. A couple months ago, the Los Angeles Clippers looked dead in the water and were dangerously close to landing near the top of the NBA Draft, which would wind up going to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Luckily for them, they’ve
figured things out. They beat the LA Lakers on Thursday night and have won eight out of their last ten games.
Where to follow the game
YES Network on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. WFAN on radio. Tip after 9:30 PM.
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No Cam Thomas (left ankle sprain), Nolan Traore (illness), or Haywood Highsmith (surgery recovery). Noah Clowney is doubtful with back soreness.
No Bradley Beal, Bogdan Bogdanovic, or Derrick Jones. Kawhi Leonard is questionable. Chris Paul remains in exile thanks to the Clippers front office.
The game
LA won the first meeting earlier this month.
As the Nets PR staff noted to ND, the trip west was eventful thanks to the weather in the Northeast…
But they are now safely ensconced in L.A. where it’s 62 degrees and partly sunny.
Nic Claxton and Day’ron Sharpe are going to be in for a fight on the inside tonight. Ivica Zubac is tied for fifth in the NBA in rebounding at a shade over 11 boards per game. He’s especially tough to deal with on the offensive glass as he captures almost four o-boards a night. To make things more challenging for the Brooklyn duo, Zu is tremendous at the rim. The big guy has shot 70 percent on shots inside of three feet for six consecutive seasons and has an especially soft touch on jump hooks and the like. With Clowney banged up, more will be on their plates tonight. Both of these teams have struggled on the glass this month. Brooklyn is 29th in rebounding in January while Los Angeles is 25th. Whoever wins the possession battle has a great chance of winning this game.
If the Nets want to keep up with the Clips, they’re going to need a huge night from Michael Porter Jr. MPJ struggled in the first matchup against Los Angeles, which was a game after he experienced an MCL sprain against the Orlando Magic. He’s toughing it out, but it has taken a bit of a toll on his performance. Either way, he’ll see if he can make something happen, especially if Leonard is limited tonight.
This Nets team has a great tendency to bounce back and fight harder after tough losses. It speaks to the buy in across the roster and with a team looking to find its future, something that’s a good value to possess. As Nic Claxton recently said:
“It’s so many games when you play an 82-game season. So, you really just can’t get too high, you can’t get too low. You get beat by 50, you got to be ready to respond. If you lose a tough game like this, you just kind of just got to be even-keeled through everything.”
Gotta keep picking yourself up every time you get knocked down.
Player to 👀: James Harden
Just when you think it’s over, Harden reminds you how special he is. This is year 17 for the future Hall of Famer and while he’s not at the gravity bending highs of his peak, is still incredibly good at what he does. The Beard is still a great finisher at the rim, a foul drawing magnet, and has gotten his turnover rate considerably down even as he’s taken on more offensive responsibilities. Harden still has his flaws of course, but the good he does outweighs it. As the Clippers hope to go on a miracle run this postseason, they’re going to need their lead guard to play at a superstar level if they want to beat the bevy of title contenders in the Western Conference.
With no Traore, Egor Dёmin and Drake Powell will get more minutes at the guard position. Dёmin hasn’t crossed the 25 minutes played plateau in each of his past four games, but that should change tonight with Traore and Cam Thomas out. This is the start of a five game road trip that will take the Nets across the country. We’re deep in the dog days of the NBA season as everyone’s waiting for the trade deadline to pass and then the All Star break so they can get some much needed rest. For rookies trying to find their footing, it’s especially tough as the grind of the NBA season is starting to wear on them a bit. A good outing from the kids tonight would give them a nice boost as they face some tough competition ahead.
From the 📺
It’s Conference Championship Sunday in the NFL, and the Seattle Seahawks are looking to reach their first Super Bowl in over a decade. We can’t watch it here because the NFL doesn’t do YouTube embeds, so watch it here. While you do that, special shouts to Alicia Keys
More reading: Clipperholics, SB Nation NBA, New York Post, New York Daily News, Clutch Points, Nets Wire, Steve’s Newsletter, City of Nets
- Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
- Los Angeles Clippers Game Notes – Los Angeles Clippers
- Brooklyn faces Los Angeles on 6-game road skid – AP
