Raptors well aware of Nets’ resurgence
Toronto’s loss to Brooklyn in December sparked Atlantic rival’s run of success
Back on Dec. 8, the Brooklyn Nets were struggling mightily. The team had lost eight straight games and doubt was starting to creep in, at least from the outside.
But Kenny Atkinson kept his 8-18 group focused on the fact that many of those losses had come in heartbreaking fashion. Brooklyn’s minus-2 net rating (the difference between points scored and surrendered per 100 possessions) indicated the team was a lot better than its record.
The Nets went out that night and stunned the Toronto Raptors 106-105 in overtime. And they haven’t slowed down since.
Brooklyn’s 13 wins since Dec. 8 is tied with three other clubs for most in the NBA during that time period (heading into Thursday’s slate) and its net rating has gone from minus-2 to plus-2. The team’s effective field goal and total shooting percentage in that span rank third overall.
The Nets don’t have an all-star in the lineup and the season’s breakout player, scoring leader Caris Levert, has been out for two months now. But it hasn’t mattered as the team has excelled by committee.
“With a team like that, you have to be really locked into those guys’ strengths. They’ve got a lot of shooters, they put up a lot of threes and they’re a high-paced team,” Raptors guard Norman Powell said of the Nets, who take on the Raptors Friday at Scotiabank Arena.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said Brooklyn has been one of the league’s biggest surprises halfway through the regular season. “They’ve got a pretty good system. They work hard to play within that system,” Nurse said.
Remarkably, 10 players have averaged at or near double figures (Rondae Hollis Jefferson’s averaging 9.9 points per game) during Brooklyn’s last 15 games with longtime Raptors antagonists Spencer Dinwiddie and D’angelo Russell each averaging more than 18 a game.
Rookie Rodiuns Korucs has stepped into the spotlight and ex-raptors Demarre Carroll and Ed Davis have been significant contributors.
MEETING OF THE BEST
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Houston’s James Harden, believed to be the two MVP front-runners halfway through the season, squared off Wednesday night with the Bucks coming away with the 116-109 victory.
Harden scored 42 points, his 12th 40-point game of the season, which is tied for the most in Rockets history, but he was held to 2-for-10 shooting in the second half. It was Harden’s 13th consecutive 30-point game, the longest run since Tracy Mcgrady had 14 straight in 2003. The only players who have had longer streaks since 1970 are Mcgrady, Kobe Bryant, Moses Malone and Kareem Abdul-jabbar.
Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 21 rebounds as a 38-point third quarter allowed Milwaukee to pull off the upset in Houston. The Bucks moved back ahead of Toronto by percentage points for the best winning percentage in the NBA at .725, though Toronto has two more wins (and has played three more games).
With a team like that, you have to be really locked into those guys’ strengths. They’ve got a lot of shooters ... and they’re a high-paced team.
CANUCK NCAA STANDOUTS
Three Canadians have made the 25-man mid-season watch list for the NCAA’S John R. Wooden Award.
Duke’s R.J. Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., Michigan’s Ignas Brazdeikis of Orangeville, Ont., and Virginia Tech’s Nickeil Alexander-walker of Toronto all made the cut. Barrett, like American teammate Zion Williamson, has been a list mainstay since the pre-season, but Brazdeikis and Alexander-walker were new additions.
AROUND THE RIM
Russell Westbrook is on pace for his fourth season with four or more three-point attempts a game while connecting on less than 30 per cent of his attempts. Allen Iverson did it three times, nobody else more than twice … Andrew Wiggins now has seven games with at least 40 points, second in Timberwolves history only to Kevin Love’s 10 … Super rookie Luka Doncic joined Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson as the only first-year players to notch 750 points, 250 rebounds and 150 assists over their first 40 games … Denver’s Nikola Jokic had his 20th triple-double this week. Grant Hill is the only other player to record that many in his first four seasons … Demar Derozan is attempting a three-pointer on only 5.4 per cent of his shot attempts, his lowest rate since his second season.