Brooklyn Boro

‘Rebuild’ tag wearing on sliding Nets

Look to snap season-high five-game skid in Portland

January 14, 2025 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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Call it a rebuild, a renovation, a time to develop young talent or even a period to evaluate whether dealing off their best remaining veterans would be more prudent than seriously competing at this point of a seemingly lost season.

To the Brooklyn Nets, it’s simply called losing.

“No moral victories. I’m pissed off,” fumed Nets center Nic Claxton following Sunday’s heartbreaking 112-111 overtime defeat to Utah in front of 18,175 fans at the Delta Center.

Brooklyn has dropped a season-high five straight, including the first two legs of this six-game West Coast swing, eight of nine overall and is a dismal 4-16 since opening the campaign with an inspiring 9-10 mark.

Though general manager Sean Marks and owner Joseph Tsai have both apparently signed off on going into rebuild mode, the Nets (13-26) still have to go out and fight through an assortment of injuries and the perception that they may by vying for a better position in the draft than the standings.

They’ll do so again Tuesday night in Portland (13-25), another franchise teetering on the brink of falling into NBA irrelevancy this year.

“I know this is kind of like a rebuild situation, but we’ve got to go in there like we want to win regardless of what the front office is expecting,” Ben Simmons said after putting up 14 points, handing out nine assists and snatching six rebounds against the previously slumping Jazz.

Simmons, who posted a team-best 10-plus rating, wasn’t available down the stretch in the extra session due to what rookie coach Jordi Fernández cited as a load management issue due to the versatile playmaker’s penchant for injury.

Isaiah Collier made the game-winning layup with two ticks left on the clock for the Jazz (10-28), who had only won two of their first 16 home contests before the injury-plagued Nets showed up in Salt Lake City off Friday night’s 124-105 humbling in Denver.

But Utah was just as shorthanded, if not more so.

Cam Thomas (hamstring), Cam Johnson (ankle), D’Angelo Russell (shin) and Trendon Watford (hamstring) were all missing in action for Brooklyn.

The Jazz were without Lauri Markkanen and John Collins as well as list of other rotation regulars, forcing both units to only dress 11 players.

Nets rookie forward Tosan Evbuomwan scored a career-best 22 points during Sunday’s heartbreaking overtime loss in Utah. AP Photo by Bethany Baker

That made the loss even more frustrating for Claxton, who inked a four-year, $100 million contract last summer to be a part of this team moving forward.

“We should have won but we just gotta keep chopping,” he said after scoring 14 points and pulling down a game-high 12 boards. “We’ve been losing a lot, and everybody’s tired of losing. They sat out all their players and we still lost.”

Fernández doesn’t like losing either, but he did like what he saw out of two-way rookie forward Tosan Evbuomwan, one of the rare inspiring stories during this ongoing stretch of futility.

The Princeton alum is averaging 11.2 points in five appearances and should remain with the big league team once some of the walking wounded return.

Evuomwan poured in a career-best 22 points in Utah, hitting all but one of his eight field-goal attempts while burying a pair of 3-pointers and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line.

“Looks like a guy that has been there before and he’s 23. Very happy to see him, keep working with him, keep developing him. He’s doing his job.” gushed Fernández.

Ziaire Williams scored 19 points and Day’Ron Sharpe and Tyrese Martin added 12 and 11, respectively, off the bench for Brooklyn, which hasn’t lost six in a row since last March 13-23.

The Trail Blazers have dropped two straight and three of four, including Saturday’s 119-98 setback to visiting Miami.

Anfernee Simons scored 28 points for Portland, which, like the Nets, is already five games out of the final play-in tournament spot in its conference.

Tip-off is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET Tuesday the Moda Center.

Ben Simmons had one of his best games in Utah, but may not be available for duty when the Nets visit Portland on Tuesday night. AP Photo by Bethany Baker

NOTHING BUT NET: Watford and Thomas are listed as out for Tuesday’s game while Simmons (knee/back), Russell and Johnson are questionable. Even Claxton (hamstring) is going to be evaluated day-to-day as Brooklyn will have a quick turnaround at Los Angeles vs. the Clippers Wednesday. … The Blazers took both meetings with the Nets last year, including a 105-103 triumph in Portland on Jan. 17, when Simons beat the buzzer with a short floater in the lane. … The Nets will also visit the L.A. Lakers on Friday before wrapping up the extended trip Sunday in Oklahoma City. Brooklyn returns to Barclays Center next Tuesday to host the East River rival New York Knicks.





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