{"id":84225,"date":"2025-12-30T02:03:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T02:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/84225\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T02:03:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T02:03:05","slug":"even-near-the-bottom-of-the-east-the-nets-are-earning-the-nbas-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/84225\/","title":{"rendered":"Even near the bottom of the East, the Nets are earning the NBA\u2019s attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nets<\/a> may still sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, but their progress is drawing notice across the NBA.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn posted the NBA\u2019s No. 1 defensive rating in December, its historic rookie class continues to develop, Michael Porter Jr. placed 10th in the first fan return of Eastern Conference All-Star voting, Cam Thomas looked rejuvenated in his return<\/a> Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Nets entered Monday\u2019s matchup with the Golden State Warriors at Barclays Center riding a three-game winning streak.<\/p>\n

After Saturday\u2019s 123-107 win at Target Center, Minnesota star Anthony Edwards said his team \u201cknew everything\u201d the Nets were going to do but couldn\u2019t stop it. National NBA voice Tim Legler said Porter has \u201ccompletely changed\u201d his trade value, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr has also taken notice of his growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe looks strong, he\u2019s confident,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see, given the issues that he had early in his career. You know, multiple back surgeries, just thrilled to see him out there feeling free and confident and healthy. And he\u2019s always been an unquestionably talented, gifted player, and that\u2019s why he was so highly ranked, you know, coming out of school. But he\u2019s a hell of a player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Porter\u2019s resurgence has become a defining subplot of Brooklyn\u2019s season. Freed from the physical setbacks that once threatened to derail his career, he\u2019s embraced a larger role and a different context with the Nets, providing scoring punch while also buying into the team\u2019s defensive identity. That balance has helped Brooklyn stay competitive even as it leans heavily on youth and development.<\/p>\n

Head coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez\u00a0has repeatedly emphasized that progress over placement remains the priority, and he\u2019s pointed to Porter as a standard-setter inside the locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike is a leader by example,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cHe shows up, always been very professional since I got to know him at 19 years old. He\u2019s worked on his body, came in and did his work. Obviously, that shot is pure, but he puts a lot of time into it, and you guys can see it. He makes open shots, contested shots, and impossible shots. I think that\u2019s the work that not a lot of people see, and his teammates see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That work ethic has mattered as Brooklyn navigates one of the league\u2019s youngest rotations. The Nets have committed minutes, responsibility, and trust to a five-player rookie class that\u2019s learning on the fly, often against veteran-heavy lineups. The results haven\u2019t always been clean, but the structure and energy have been consistent enough to register beyond the standings.<\/p>\n

Kerr said as much after watching Brooklyn\u2019s recent stretch, including its win in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks like it\u2019s working,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cI watched the Minnesota game, that was impressive. And I don\u2019t know, I just think that every time we\u2019ve played them over the last couple years, they\u2019ve been energetic, well-organized, well-coached. So, you know, they came to our place last year and beat us. We came here last year, and it was like 24-to-6 right out of the gate. We had to fight to win at the end, so I just think they\u2019re doing a great job. Jordi is doing a great job, his staff, player development, in the face of obviously a rebuild, but seven out of 10 wins, best defense in the league in December.\u201d<\/p>\n

That defensive identity has become Brooklyn\u2019s calling card. Length, activity and communication have allowed the Nets to disrupt opponents even when shots aren\u2019t falling. It\u2019s also why Golden State approached Monday\u2019s game with a clear understanding of the challenge ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a long, athletic team at multiple spots, and they cause a lot of problems defensively with that activity,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cSo, we\u2019ve got to secure the ball tonight and execute.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a team still measuring success in steps rather than leaps, that kind of acknowledgment matters. The Nets aren\u2019t claiming arrival. But they are establishing credibility, one possession and one response at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Nets may still sit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, but their progress is drawing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,4600,21,4475,9,24,63,26032],"class_list":["post-84225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-michael-porter-jr","tag-nba","tag-nets","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-steve-kerr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}