Nets hope to end slide vs. Hornets

Slumping Brooklyn hosts NBA Cup at Barclays

November 19, 2024 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Nets forward Cam Johnson throws down two of his team-high 22 points in Sunday's loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. AP Photo by Noah K. Murray

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Short-handed and undersized, the Brooklyn Nets aren’t making excuses for their worst stretch of the season.

As they prepare for their NBA Cup home opener against Charlotte Tuesday night at Downtown’s Barclays Center, the Nets are simply trying to avoid living up to their preseason billing as a rebuilding franchise looking to trade off veteran talent for future draft stock.

“The reality is this is part of the NBA. Guys will be out,” Brooklyn rookie coach Jordi Fernández ceded Sunday following his struggling unit’s third straight loss and second in a row to the arch rival New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Playing without center Nic Claxton, who will be out at least a week with a back strain that required an epidural injection, and still awaiting the return of reserve pivotman Day’Ron Sharpe (hamstring) since the season began, the Nets (5-9) have been overpowered on the boards and in the paint.

They got outrebounded 47-31 Sunday and were outscored 50-24 along the interior, a trend that has developed since previous injuries to Dorian Finney-Smith, Trendon Watford and Ben Simmons have left Fernández to play small ball in a league where size matters, especially in crunch time.

Brooklyn ranks 25th on the circuit in rebounding differential at -3.2 per game.

Watford finally made his season debut in the finale of the Nets’ two-game set with their East River rivals after missing Brooklyn’s first 13 contests with hamstring issues.

The 6-foot-8 power forward put up four points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists in 13 minutes, but the Nets fell 114-104 just two nights after a heartbreaking 124-122 loss to the Knicks in their Cup opener that came down to Jalen Brunson’s 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds to play.

“It just felt good to be back out there with the guys, just have a safe, healthy game,” said Watford.

Having reserve forward Trendon Watford back should help the slumping Nets as they prepare to host Charlotte in an NBA Cup game Tuesday. AP Photo by Darron Cummings

Fernández is looking to get Sharpe back as soon as Tuesday, though he is still listed as questionable. He got no points and only four rebounds in 22 minutes from Simmons Sunday after the 6-foot-10 playmaker missed three games earlier this year to manage his surgically repaired back.

Offseason acquisition Ziaire Williams, proving to be a key find for general manager Sean Marks, was limited to seven points on 1-of-7 shooting in Sunday’s loss and is listed as probable for Tuesday with right-hip tightness.

Finney-Smith, who had 16 points against the Knicks, is also day-to-day with a left ankle sprain that kept him out of games at New Orleans and vs. Boston last week.

The result of all these absences has been a 1-5 stretch for Brooklyn following an inspiring 4-4 start.

Fernández has been fighting off the “rebuild” label since taking the helm, and even fumed at his team for showing signs of quitting last week following a 139-114 home loss to the Celtics.

The 41-year-old native of Badalona, Spain has returned to more hopeful rhetoric despite another pair of losses since.

“The good thing is, it’s not major injuries,” he said of the ongoing roster shuffle. “They’ll be back soon, and when they’re back, we’ll be happy to have them back. But right now, this is our reality, and we’ll find a way to play.”

Forward Cam Johnson, who is emerging as prime trade bait, has been a bright spot amidst all of the Nets’ injury woes. The 6-foot-8 slasher paced Brooklyn with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting Sunday to go with five rebounds and five assists.

Johnson’s five 20-plus point games this year are one shy of the amount he put up all of last season.

“Obviously, we’re short-handed with bigs and I think that definitely plays a part in it,” Johnson admitted.

“The good thing is we’re going to keep attacking and we’re going to keep trying to score in the paint and you know, the results will be the results, but we’re going to keep on doing it.”

Playing the Hornets (5-8) at home might help.

Charlotte has lost three of four overall and has dropped five in a row on the road, including Sunday’s 128-114 defeat at still-unbeaten Cleveland.

LaMelo Ball continued his scoring spree with 31 points and 12 assists for the Hornets after being fined $100,000 for what the league deemed an offensive anti-gay comment following Saturday’s victory in Milwaukee.

“I really didn’t mean anything (by it) and don’t want to offend anybody. I’ve got love for everybody and I don’t discriminate,” said Ball, who ranks fifth in the NBA with 29.7 points per game.

Charlotte won two of three meetings from the Nets last year, including a 129-128 triumph at Barclays on Nov. 30.

High-scoring Charlotte forward LaMelo Ball was fined by the NBA this week for making offensive anti-gay comments following a loss in Cleveland. AP Photo by Phil Long

NOTHING BUT NET: Cam Thomas’ season-high 43-point effort vs. the Knicks last Friday was the ninth 40-plus point game of his career. He only managed 16 points on 4-of-11 shooting in Sunday’s rematch. … Brooklyn is in a stretch where it will play just twice at Barclays in 11 games, albeit with a pair of those contests nearby in Manhattan. The Nets will go on a four-game road trip following Tuesday’s meeting with the Hornets, beginning with a visit to Philadelphia on Friday night for their Cup game. Brooklyn will go on a three-game western swing thereafter, dropping in on Sacramento Sunday, Golden State Monday and Phoenix the day before Thanksgiving. … The Nets will wrap up their four-game East Group A Cup schedule vs. visiting Orlando on Nov. 29.