Nets fall to Clippers; two stars out until after break
Coach Kenny Atkinson said both Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Caris LeVert will be out until after the NBA All-Star break, and then get reevaluated. After another listless, low-energy loss, the duo can’t come back fast enough.
The Nets lost 114-101 to the Clippers on Monday at Barclays Center and played sieve-like defense that underscored how much they missed Hollis-Jefferson.
“We miss his defense. We miss his rebounding, there’s no doubt about it, miss his versatility, those things,” Atkinson said. “He won’t be back. He’ll miss [Indiana on Wednesday]. And I’d throw Caris in there, too. He’ll miss [Indiana] and we’ll see after the All-Star break what that looks like.
“It’s hit us hard. We struggle without those guys. They’re two of our top defenders. [Hollis-Jefferson] is our top big defender, and Caris is obviously an excellent defender. So, yeah, we take a hit there. Unfortunately it is what it is. Our bench, they’re trying, but against a good team like [the Clippers] it was tough going. Couldn’t get stops.”
Certainly not enough. Joe Harris and D’Angelo Russell each had 16 points off the bench, but the defense got shredded.
Lou Williams scored a game-high 20 and DeAndre Jordan bullied the Nets with 16 points and 17 boards. The Nets fell behind by as much as 23 and allowed 56.5 percent shooting. They climbed within single-digits late in the fourth, but it was purely cosmetic.
The Nets (19-39) dropped their sixth straight and have lost 10-of-11.
“Obviously, we’re all frustrated right now,” Atkinson said. “It’s a tough time.”
The NBA’s latest Last Two Minute Report showed that DeMarre Carroll got grabbed by Rajon Rondo with 6.2 seconds left in a tie game Saturday against New Orleans.
“I’m not even mad about the [report] — but the whole big thing is having a conversation with the ref and he actually told me it was all ball,” Carroll said. “So that’s the kind of frustrating thing. But at the end of the day it happened and we’ve got to try to move on from it.”
Pablo Prigioni has been hanging around the Nets the past few days. He was at practice Friday, and came to Saturday’s game versus New Orleans.
The former Knicks point guard had been coaching in Spain, but resigned after a slow start. Still, league personnel feel he could have a future in development, and The Post reported that he is “exploring” whether he wants to be a personnel man.