Bucks, Nuggets on tap for B’klyn’s pivotal road trip
It’s time for another look at the schedule for a Brooklyn Nets team that entered Friday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics riding a four-game losing streak. Things have not gone Brooklyn’s way in the aftermath of the trades that sent both superstar talents Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out West. The Nets have lost nine of their last 12 games and entered Friday night 1-6 in games they have played with a full roster since the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline.
On a related note, Nets star Ben Simmons (left knee soreness) has not played since the NBA All-Star break. It remains unclear when Simmons will return to the rotation after having fluid drained from his knee plus receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection during the break.
The Nets had an influx of healthy bodies arrive in the
Durant and Irving trades — including starters Spencer Dinwiddie, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith — but the losses have piled as the team seeks continuity and identity on both ends of the floor.
The losses project to continue stacking given Brooklyn’s schedule to close the season.
AN UPCOMING ROAD STRETCH
The Nets have an opportunity to secure a victory at home on Sunday against a Charlotte Hornets team playing without star guard LaMelo Ball (ankle) for the remainder of the season.
After that game, however, the Nets embark on a five-game West Coast road trip with pit stops in Houston, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Denver and Oklahoma City.
The Rockets own the worst record in basketball, but it’s important to remember how poor the Nets have played on the road as of late: Brooklyn entered Friday’s matchup in Boston losers of their last six road games, and four of the last five have been blowout losses.
That’s only for the league-worst Rockets: The Bucks own the NBA’s best record; the Timberwolves should have two available stars in Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert; the Nuggets own the West’s best record and employ the reigning league MVP, Nikola Jokic; and if he’s healthy, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a budding superstar who has delivered the Thunder from the depths of irrelevance.
A realistic best-case scenario includes the Nets defeating the Hornets, Rockets and Timberwolves and taking losses against Bucks, Nuggets and Thunder. The worst-case scenario, of course, sees their losing streak extend to 11.
THE LOSSES COULD EXTEND FURTHER
That’s because after that five-game road trip, the Nets host four straight deep playoff contenders: Brooklyn hosts De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and the surging Sacramento Kings; the reigning MVP Jokic and his Nuggets once again; then back-to-back matchups against Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
If the Nets fail to record a win by the conclusion of their five-game road trip, a 15game losing streak is on the table given the stiffening competition.
AT LEAST THE HOME STRETCH ISN’T TOO BAD
Of the Nets’ final nine games, eight of them would be considered winnable, save for the season finale against the Philadelphia 76ers.
After their back-to-back games against the Cavaliers, the Nets will play the struggling Miami Heat and the budding Orlando Magic. They then play the league-worst Houston Rockets again before hosting Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, who won on Young’s game-winning floater in a recent matchup.
The final five games of the season include matchups against the Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic again, and the finale against the Sixers.
The Nets, even with a star-less roster, should be competitive enough to hang around in several of those games.
That stretch will be important because if this team has playoff aspirations — which will take a hit in the coming games given their strength of schedule — they will need to close the season strong.
If the Nets can end the season hovering around .500, they should be able to secure a Play-In Tournament spot. If they skid, however, and the competition takes advantage of a roster lacking cohesion and offensive firepower, a season once boasting championship aspirations could end squarely on April 9.