The Brooklyn Nets returned to action last night and faced off against a potential NBA title contender in the Cleveland Cavaliers. As you’d expect, the Cavs showed why they’re contenders and the Nets are not as they cut the Nets up by 28 points.
From facing title contenders to facing the reigning, defending NBA Champions. The Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t going to set the single season wins record, but they are on top of a tough Western Conference. They went into the All Star break with a 110-93 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Where to follow the game
YES Network on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. WFAN on radio. Tip after 8 PM.
🤕 Injuries
No Nic Claxton. Night two of a back-to-back so don’t be surprised if there are more absences.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Thomas Sorber, and Ajay Mitchell are out.
🏀 The game
In a fun twist, the Cavs and Thunder will play each other Sunday afternoon on ABC.
We mentioned that the Thunder aren’t going to set the win record since that was the early discussion when they got off to their hot start. However, they’re still one of the major favorites to win the NBA championship. From Ricky O’Donnell at the mothership:
When they’re healthy, we’ll see if they can get back to their top form.
The Thunder started this season at 24-1 and looked like they would be a heavy favorite to win the championship. Since then, OKC went 18-13 into the All-Star break, and looked a lot more beatable. Likely MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is currently sidelined with an abdominal injury, Jalen Williams is battling a hamstring strain after being kept out with a wrist injury to start the year, and breakout sophomore Ajay Mitchell has also been in and out of the lineup lately.
OKC needs to know if Williams can get back to the All-NBA level he played at this year, because he just hasn’t been the same player this season. SGA can still take this team over the finish line, but his teammates need to hit some shots. The Thunder are still a pretty average shooting team from deep, and that can catch up to them in the playoffs. The defense will still be elite if Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso can all stay healthy for the playoffs, and that alone should make them the favorites before it starts. I really think SGA is a special player, and one of the three or four best guards the league has seen since Michael Jordan retired. He can carry the Thunder across the finish line to become the league’s first back-to-back champ since Kevin Durant was on the Golden State Warriors. It just doesn’t feel like this is an undeniable dynasty at this point.
We’ll see what they look like once they’re back at full strength.
We’ll see more of the kids tonight. Danny Wolf filled up the stat sheet in his 28 minutes last night, and in the event Porter Jr is out tonight, he’ll get more time on the court. Like the other rookies, Wolf needs as many minutes as possible so he can continue to grow.
Speaking of young players, Jared McCain is looking to find his way on his new team. He came over from the Philadelphia 76ers prior to the deadline, and he’s slotting in to a nice role where he gets 20 minutes a night while the big dogs heal up. If he makes the most of this opportunity, Mark Daigneault could turn to him to provide some shooting in the playoffs.
For the Nets, they’ve had to consistently find ways to pick themselves up from blowout losses. Four out of their last five losses have been by at least 16 points. You learn a lot during the course of a long season, and for this young Nets team, they hope the lessons (and losses) from this year will carry them into 2027 and beyond.
👀 Player to watch: Chet Holmgren
The Thunder’s core is still incredibly young, and Holmgren’s continued growth plays a big part in OKC’s present and future success. Holmgren’s at a career high 56 percent from the field, thanks in part to the team finding more shots for him on the inside. He’s taking more shots inside of three feet, and he’s shooting a blistering 81.5 percent on the inside. Getting easy buckets always makes life easier and while Gilgeous-Alexander heals up, OKC can lean on Holmgren a bit more and trust him to make something good happen every team he has the ball on the inside.
Day’ron Sharpe will have his hands full tonight. Brooklyn got outrebounded by 20 last night and if they want to be competitive tonight, that’s going to have to change. Sharpe has done well on the boards and has a soft touch at the rim so he’s always down to give Jordi Fernandez some good minutes.
📺 From the Vault
Ones in the air for Eric Dane
More reading: Daily Thunder, SB Nation NBA, New York Post, New York Daily News, Clutch Points, Nets Wire, Steve’s Newsletter
- Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
- Oklahoma City Thunder Game Notes – Oklahoma City Thunder
- Brooklyn visits Oklahoma City on 3-game road skid – AP
- The road is only going to get tougher for Nets as new tanking questions loom ($) – Brian Lewis – New York Post
- Nets’ Jordi Fernandez has blunt reaction to blowout loss to Cavs after All-Star break – Erik Slater – Clutch Points