Nets poised for strong season-ending run

Revamped roster begins playoff push over last 23 games

February 24, 2022 John Torenli, Sports Editor

Kevin Durant should be back soon as the Nets continue their quest for the franchise's first-ever NBA title. AP Photo by Rex Arbogast

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Patty Mills came back from All-Star weekend in Cleveland without the 3-point championship he was gunning for.

But that doesn’t mean that the Brooklyn Nets’ veteran sharpshooter is done chasing titles.

“We’re in a really good place from a team standpoint right now,” Mills said before returning to Brooklyn for the stretch run of a season that has gone off the rails, but can still be salvaged.

“The locker room is close, as close as it’s ever been this season and the things that we’ve been able to do off the court has really brought the group tighter together.”

Though closeness and tightness matter on an NBA roster, the Nets (31-28) have gone from Eastern Conference leaders to the eighth seed in a month.

With Kevin Durant waiting to return from a knee sprain, the unvaccinated Kyrie Irving ineligible to play in Brooklyn and James Harden gone to Philadelphia, Brooklyn has lost 12 of 14 games, a trend they hope to begin reversing Thursday vs. Boston here at Downtown’s Barclays Center.

Mills, who has provided the Nets with a dead-eye outside shooter in the absence of injured guard Joe Harris, believes Brooklyn can still reach its preseason goal: the borough’s first major pro sports title since 1955.

Kyrie Irving is hoping to be eligible to play in Brooklyn as soon as next month if New York City alters its vaccination mandates. AP Photo by David Zalubowski

Especially since general manager Sean Marks swapped Harden for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond in a trade-deadline deal that shook up the roster.

“The goal of what we’re trying to get to is clear and now that we add these pieces and get people back from injury it’s a determined, fire-burning hunger that we all have now,” Mills insisted.

“The importance for us to get away, have a break, enjoy some downtime with some family, but once we get back it’s pedal to the metal and we’re trying to get this thing done this year.”

They were trying to get it done last year as well.

But Harden and Irving both got injured during the playoffs, leaving Durant to carry the load in the conference semifinals before Brooklyn fell in seven memorable games to the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks, whom they will visit Saturday.

The last 23 games of this season will provide the Nets with an opportunity to get Durant back, move up from the play-in field and perhaps even go further in the playoffs then they did a season ago.

However, that will likely take Simmons returning to his previous All-Star form after sitting out nearly a year due to mental health issues, Durant once again reclaiming his spot as one of, if not the best, players in the NBA and Irving coming back to work full time, be it on the road or here in Brooklyn.

“They’re finding solutions. They’re trusting in us and we’re showing a deep trust and belief in them,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said of his team.

“Things are getting better. We’re growing I think a resolve that’s really important down the road. Like I said, just really proud of the players for the way they’ve responded with all the challenges that have been thrown at them.”

Irving was reportedly “excited” at the prospect of playing in Brooklyn again if Mayor Eric Adams lifts the vaxx mandates by March.

“I will say that he’s been extremely locked in,” Nash intimated following practice Wednesday.

“Kyrie’s been great on the practice floor. He’s been great in film sessions. He’s been creating dialogue over aspects of our play. So I sense a real focus and urgency from him. And so if that’s any indication, I would say he is getting excited at the prospect of being allowed to play in all our games and hopefully in the short term.”

Even if everything goes as planned, the Nets are unlikely to climb back to the top of the conference standings, where they stood on Jan. 22, but Marks insists that 23 games is enough for this group to be playoff-ready come April.

“I think our biggest dilemma is probably going to be that cohesion, chemistry, the bonds that are formed, getting as many minutes as we possibly can,” he said Tuesday.

“This has not been an easy year for the coaching staff. I think we’ve had 33 plus lineups out there, leading the league in lineups, and nobody wants that record. We don’t want that. But it’s giving other people an opportunity and they’ve seized it, which is great but over the course of these next 23 games we need to be building continuity and chemistry both on and off the court.”

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Ericka James and the Brooklyn College Bulldogs are one win away from their second straight CUNYAC championship. Photo courtesy of BC Athletics

The Brooklyn College women’s basketball team, shooting for its second consecutive CUNYAC title and a perfect record in league play, advanced to the conference championship game with Tuesday night’s 77-45 rout of Hunter College at CCNY in Manhattan.

Ericka James scored a career-high 31 points and CUNYAC Player of the Year Chanel Jemmot added 19 points for the Bulldogs (20-3, 13-0), who will meet John Jay College in the title game Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. at CCNY.