Last chance
Lopez, Lin to sit vs. Bulls as Nets evaluate youngsters
CHICAGO — With the Nets’ all-time scoring mark safely in Brook Lopez’s back pocket, Brooklyn will go into full-on evaluation mode in Wednesday’s season finale. And it’s sure to cause all sorts of wailing and lamentation in Miami. The Nets are set to play the Bulls without a halfdozen players at United Center, including Lopez, Jeremy Lin and key backup Trevor Booker. It’s noteworthy considering how hard they have played down the stretch — 11-12 since March 1 — and how much the game means to both the Bulls and the Heat.
Despite being guaranteed of finishing with the NBA’s worst record, the Nets (20-61) had taken solace in finish strong and playing spoiler against teams vying for the playoffs. And Lopez had insisted that included knocking twin brother, Robin, and the Bulls out of the postseason.
“Absolutely. Ruin Robin’s season? It’s like a dream,’’ Brook Lopez had said.
But as it happens, he won’t be a part of it.
The Bulls (40-41) enter Wednesday clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot thanks only to a tiebreaker with Miami, which faces Washington. When Lopez was told a Miami writer had posted he might sit out Wednesday rather than risk eliminating his brother, he replied, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Absolutely not. That’s not in our genetic makeup at all to cheat. Not at all.”
But on Wednesday, Lopez, Lin and Booker are all expected to be rested, while Quincy Acy (ankle), Joe Harris (shoulder) and Sean Kilpatrick (hamstring) are injured.
“[I love] that we’re still fighting every game. I just love that we’re a together group,’’ coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We come in every day. These guys could easily ease back and relax, and that hasn’t been the case. They keep fighting. Brook and Jeremy are leading it. They’re fighting me for minutes and more minutes. They want to keep playing in this thing. It’s been great.”
Presumably that means they lost the fight for Wednesday, because Lopez and Lin had been the spark to the Nets’ resurgence after the All-Star break. Instead, Atkinson — and general manager Sean Marks — will give over completely to evaluating and weighing their roster against the Bulls.
“Our young guys are trying to prove themselves. That helps. They’re fighting for minutes, they’re fighting for contracts, they’re fighting for their future,’’ Atkinson said. “So, we have a nice mix of young kids that are trying to come up and then a veteran group that cares a lot.”
The Nets have six players without guaranteed deals for next season. And even though Acy and Kilpatrick are among them, they’re also among the oldest. Youngsters like Spencer Dinwiddie, 24, K.J. McDaniels, 24, Archie Goodwin, 22, and the likes of Justin Hamilton and Andrew Nicholson will be measured.