The Brooklyn Nets lost another game on Monday night, this time at home to the Portland Trail Blazers. Trailing by over 20 points in the first half and then by 31 in the third quarter, the outcome was never really in doubt, save for a wonky fourth quarter where the visitors — who played in Philadelphia the night before — briefly forgot how to play basketball, shooting half their lead in the foot.
The Nets started three rookies next to Ziaire Williams and Nic Claxton, and though little can be gleaned from the veterans in a very March game such as this, this size discrepancy between Claxton and 7’2” Blazers center Donovan Clingan was my big takeaway. That’s not exactly why the Nets were immediately down big — the Blazers shot 5-of-8 from three to open the quarter — but they also grabbed five o-boards (Clingan had three) to Brooklyn’s one. Clingan had multiple plays where he contested the rim before also preventing the Nets from getting on the glass, another solemn reminder of Claxton’s long-term limitations.
That said, Claxton did have his dunk of the year in this one, off an alley-oop…
…and finished with a 12-and-11 double-double, doing some damage while Clingan sat on the bench with foul trouble before predictably sitting out the fourth quarter.
Just as in Philadelphia, though, Brooklyn’s bench impressed more than the starters, and may have deserved to close this one even if the Nets were earnestly trying to win. Ben Saraf (the only Nets first-round rookie who didn’t start) scored ten of his 15 points in the final frame, saving what had previously been an uninspiring night. With an NBA-record three Israelis (Saraf, Deni Avdija, and Danny Wolf via naturalization) playing in this one, Saraf got plenty of crowd support in this one.
“It was great. I was waiting for this game a long time.” said Saraf postgame.
Wolf had a particularly rough start offensively in this one and finished with 8/5/4 on 3-of-9 shooting, while the All-Star Advija didn’t have his best game either, putting up 18/6/5 on 4-of-13 shooting and plenty of trips to the line. No matter, the Blazers didn’t need a heroic effort from any one player, shooting 51% from the floor and 42% from three in this one. If they hadn’t turned it over six times in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, they might’ve secured an even bigger win.
Credit, however, to the feisty Nets. Tyson Etienne also scored 15 points, one off his career-high. Playing without a true back-up five, E.J. Liddell and Chaney Johnson took turns screening and playing the DHO game, and it was the 6’7” Johnson that stood out. He hit a couple pick-and-pop threes, he crashed the glass with aplomb, and finished with 17/9/1 on 6-of-8 shooting, including five o-boards and two 3-pointers in a career night.
Fernández heaped praise on the two-way player, postgame: “He plays bigger than what he is. His length, you know, he may get overlooked, but he can guard almost everybody. He is super active, super athletic. He can shoot the three, like, he does everything well, and he doesn’t try to do too much, and I think that always helps. You see that every time he’s on the court, it’s positive … these games are not wasted. These games are for us to see, you know, how these guys take advantage of their minutes, how much better they can get.”
“I try my best to play as hard as I can,” said Johnson. “So I mean, you know, the 5 is lot of pick-and-pops, pick-and-roll, short rolls, trying to get everybody else involved.”
Sadly, this may not be the bright spot Nets fans are hoping for in these low-stakes spring games. Drake Powell and Nolan Traore combined to shoot just 2-of-14 in this one. Powell missed rim on his first two 3-pointers, while Traore was overwhelmed dealing with Clingan inside.
On Traore, Fernández said, “He looks exhausted, and more than physically, mentally. And [this is] something that is good for him to go through it and understand how much, like, stronger he needs to get, and understand what it is to play almost every other night, and all those things, right?”
Right indeed, though a process that will certainly test Nets’ fans patience. We should all be used to that by now, right? Only 14 games left.
Final Score: Portland Trail Blazers 114, Brooklyn Nets 95
Chaney Johnson scored a total of 18 points in his first four NBA appearances before scoring 17 in this one. The highlight of his young career, by any definition.As previously mentioned, 15 points mark Tyson Etienne’s season-high, one off his career-high.Nic Claxton recorded his 11th double-double of the season and the 87th of his career, passing Sam Bowie for the eighth-most in Nets franchise history.In addition to his 15 points, Ben Saraf recorded four steals. He is the first Nets rookie with 4+ steals in a game since David Duke Jr. on 2/8/22 vs. BOS.
The Washington Wizards lost their 12th straight on Monday, while the Pacers are on a baker’s dozen. Yeesh. However, the Sacramento Kings have caught fire, winning two straight and three-of-four. So…
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The Brooklyn Nets were short-handed on Monday night, but not too short-handed given the circumstances. In addition to Egor Dëmin and Day’Ron Sharpe, whose seasons are already over, Noah Clowney missed the game with rest, Terance Mann with left achilles soreness, and Michael Porter Jr. with an ankle sprain.
It was MPJ’s third straight absence with the ankle sprain, and though Brooklyn has not revealed how severe the injury, Jordi Fernández discussed his leading scorer’s health pregame: “Yeah, not qualified to talk about grades [of sprains], but I can share with you that he did form shooting last game that we played, and today is going to be his first workout. So let’s see how he feels after. It’s getting better, and then we’ll assess.”
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The MVP is in town. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City visit Barclays Center as the Nets continue their homestand. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday evening.