CHICAGO — The Nets haven’t crushed a single elite crew all season, and if they've any hope of hoisting the primary NBA championship trophy in franchise historical past, they’re going to have to interrupt that skid to do it.
Wednesday is one other probability for the Nets (25-14) to get that breakthrough victory, enjoying the Japanese Convention-leading Bulls. And so they might need to do it shorthanded, with two-thirds of the Huge 3 unsure.
The Nets trails the Bulls by two video games pending the results of Chicago’s recreation Tuesday versus Detroit, and each James Harden and Kyrie Irving are listed as questionable. Harden has a left knee hyperextension, whereas Irving has a left ankle sprain. And with heart LaMarcus Aldridge out, now Nic Claxton is questionable.
The Nets are 0-8 in opposition to the top-4 seeds within the East and West, with the most important issues on the defensive finish.
Brooklyn has surrendered 116.4 factors in these losses to elite golf equipment. Their two worst performances predictably got here in opposition to the Bucks, surrendering 127 and 121 factors.
However the next-worst was a 118-95 defeat of their final journey to Chicago.
The Nets took a lead into the fourth quarter on Nov. 8, however collapsed, outscored 42-17 within the closing interval.
The Nets are additionally coming into this recreation having not solely dropped 5 of their previous seven video games, however seemingly worn down beneath the load of a troublesome schedule and heavy minutes load. Wednesday marks the second leg of 4 video games in 5 days, spanning nearly 4,900 miles coated.
“Who cares? It’s part of the sport. It’s part of who we're. We’ve been within the league. We’ve bought younger dudes: They’re purported to rise up to play. They throw s–t at you, you’ve bought to determine find out how to work round it,” Kevin Durant stated. “So who cares? That’s what championship groups undergo: a little bit adversity.
“They play little video games throughout the season that will help you get higher. It’s a possibility for us to do the identical factor. I’m not making no excuses about no flights, our schedule. All people’s schedule is f—-d up, you understand?”
Durant comes into United Middle not solely main the league in scoring however second in minutes at 37.4 minutes — his most since 2013-14. And after logging 43:12 and 41:34 in a cross-country back-to-back in opposition to the Spurs and at Portland, each he and Steve Nash stated he’s not sitting out Wednesday.
“No. Let me die on the market,” Durant stated. “Nah, I’m simply enjoying. [But] I’m not involved. Each time coach needs to offer me a day, then I’ll assist it. However I’m not searching for one, so I’m simply going to play till they inform me I’m sitting out.”
It’s unclear whether or not the diminishing returns on protection are from fatigue or the gamers merely not embracing that identification and shedding their concentrate on that finish. However regardless of the case, after being a top-5 protection that had them atop the East, they’ve been simply twenty sixth in Defensive Score (116.1) since Dec. 29 whereas going 2-5.
The Nets’ pick-and-roll protection bought burned in Portland — getting Claxton in early foul bother and letting the Path Blazers go 12 of 15 from the road within the first quarter. They need to shore that up earlier than Chicago does the identical.
“We’ve bought to lock in, simply be higher,” Durant stated. “That’s by no means what you need as a crew. So you understand they’re going to place the identical stress on us in Chicago, so we’ve bought to play disciplined basketball with out fouling, serving to one another out, rebounding, getting out and working.
“So we will’t shoot ourselves within the foot with stuff like that: reaching down, fouling guys on bounce pictures, so we’ve gotta be extra disciplined in that space and we’ll be all proper.”
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