Some outdated mates would possibly be capable of do the Nets a stable. Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert may very well be the important thing to Kyrie Irving showing in a play-in recreation.
All of the Cavaliers have to do to gift-wrap an April current to the Nets? Lose extra video games than the Raptors the remainder of the way in which.
With 12 video games remaining within the Nets’ season, the play-in seems inevitable. They may enter their dwelling recreation towards the Path Blazers on Friday 3 ¹/₂ video games behind Cleveland and Toronto, that are tied for the No. 6 seed within the Jap Convention.
If the Nets (36-34) maintain off the Hornets (a recreation again) and Hawks (1 ¹/₂ video games again), they'd go to the No. 7 seed within the first play-in recreation. The winner would advance to the primary spherical of the playoffs towards the No. 2 seed; the loser would host the winner of the Nos. 9-10 recreation.
The hazard that has come into focus all through the second half of the common season entails Irving presumably lacking each video games, because the unvaccinated star wouldn't be capable of journey to Toronto and, due to the non-public sector COVID-19 vaccine mandate in New York Metropolis, isn't allowed to play at Barclays Middle.
The Nets, for all their potential, can be the underdog in a play-in at Toronto, and if the New York Metropolis mandate holds, a loss to the Raptors can be adopted by a one-game faceoff for survival in Brooklyn that Irving would additionally miss.
That makes the lifeline the Cavaliers are providing so encouraging.
Cleveland has dropped 9 of its previous 13 video games and three of 5 with out Allen, who fractured his left center finger March 6 and is hoping it should heal earlier than the common season concludes. The 23-year-old middle, who was a part of the January 2021 four-team commerce that introduced James Harden to Brooklyn, was a first-time All-Star this season, and the Cavaliers are a distinct workforce with out the previous Nets fan favourite.
The Cleveland entrance workplace has an affinity for former Nets. LeVert, who additionally was within the Harden swap, was dealt from the Pacers to the Cavaliers in February, and the wing is constructing himself up after lacking 9 straight video games with a foot damage. If the Nets and Cavaliers match up within the play-in recreation, Ed Davis, one other member of the 2018-19 Nets, doubtless would discover his method onto the ground in a revenge recreation, too.
There can be loads of juicy subplots, starting with an opportunity for Allen and LeVert to show that the Nets by no means wanted Harden within the first place. Cleveland additionally would put its younger backcourt, All-Star Darius Garland and potential Rookie of the Yr Evan Mobley, on a nationwide stage towards Irving — who hit one of many largest pictures in NBA historical past to assist the Cavaliers win the 2016 championship.
However the Nets would take these subplots over enjoying shorthanded. With a recreation in Cleveland, Irving can be allowed to play, and with or with out Ben Simmons, the Nets doubtless can be the favorites.
There's a third believable state of affairs through which the eighth-seeded Nets would journey to seventh-seeded Chicago for a play-in recreation, however the Bulls (41-28) would wish to fall flat over their closing 13 video games. Their schedule, nevertheless, is essentially the most tough within the NBA — they are going to face groups with a present cumulative .560 profitable proportion the remainder of the way in which — and at the least offers a path through which Irving and Kevin Durant would go towards DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
Even after their crushing loss Wednesday by the hands of one other outdated pal, Spencer Dinwiddie, the Nets got here away happy with their play after their first loss in 5 video games. Irving has been unstoppable when on the courtroom, and Durant has been his typical self since coming back from his knee damage. And Seth Curry would possibly gown Friday; he's listed as questionable after lacking three video games with an ankle damage.
“I used to be happy with the fellows, nice combat. [The Mavericks] made an ideal play to win it,” coach Steve Nash mentioned after the buzzer-beating loss Wednesday. “Third recreation in 4 nights, I believed [we] confirmed plenty of resilience.”
Nash hardly ever sounds pessimistic, however even with the uncertainty surrounding Irving and Simmons, there are new causes for optimism. Toronto profitable 5 straight and erasing the hole on Cleveland has helped the temper.
The Nets and their followers have been positioned in a curious place: rooting towards LeVert and Allen (ought to he return). For the brand new Nets to approximate full power and emerge from the play-in match, they might should take down the outdated Nets.
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