Tag: Brooklyn Nets

Nets’ entire rotation resting against Indiana Pacers on Saturday

The Nets are resting half of the team against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

The Brooklyn Nets will be resting their entire normal rotation, according to their latest status report as shared by Erik Slater of ClutchPoints. That list includes: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Joe Harris, Royce O’Neale, Nic Claxton, Seth Curry, and TJ Warren.

All of these players, except for Claxton, played on Friday in their 120-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Claxton did not due to tightness in his right hamstring.

Though dramatic, this move makes sense for the Nets as this game is the second game of a back-to-back and the coaching staff has been trying to find ways to get rest for guys like Durant and O’Neale, who are third and 12th in the NBA in minutes per game, respectively. Even though both players are veterans, Durant could use more rest given his workload and him being 34 years old.

Brooklyn has had games where Durant and O’Neale could’ve been rested such as the Hornets game where the Nets were up by as many as 23 points. For some reason, the Nets have been unable to put inferior opponents away. The latest example is Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

It will be interesting to see what the Pacers do in response to this.

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Nets vs. Pacers game preview: How to watch, TV Channel, start time

Here’s the preview of Nets-Pacers on Saturday.

The Brooklyn Nets (15-12) visit the Indiana Pacers (14-12) on Saturday for the fourth and last matchup between these two teams this regular season. Indiana leads the series 2-1.

The Nets come into this game winning four of their last five games. The lone loss in that stretch came in a 103-92 loss to the Boston Celtics on Dec.4.

The Pacers enter this contest winning two of their last five games. Indiana’s wins in that span have come against the Golden State Warriors and the Washington Wizards.

Kevin Durant comes into this matchup leading the Nets in scoring at 29.8 points per game while averaging 5.5 assists per game. Tyrese Haliburton enters this contest leading the Pacers in scoring at 19.4 points per game and in assists with 11 per game.

Lastly, the Nets are 5-7 on the road while the Pacers are 8-4 at home.

Here’s when and where you should tune in to see the matchup:

Nets’ coach Jacque Vaughn reacts to team’s rebounding effort

Here’s how Nets coach Jacque Vaughn reacted to Nets’ rebounding effort in win over Hawks.

The Brooklyn Nets are one of the smallest teams in the NBA. But, the size is more about bulk than height.

In Brooklyn’s normal starting lineup (Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving, Royce O’Neale, Kevin Durant, and Nic Claxton), the team puts out two seven-footers. However, the biggest player, in terms of weight, is Durant/Simmons with both being listed at 240 pounds.

This lack of size that some would refer to as a ‘lack of bricks in the back pocket’ results in the Nets having trouble rebounding quite often. Coming into Friday’s win against the Atlanta Hawks, the Nets ranked 28th in the league in defensive rebounding percentage (73.6%).

However, against the Hawks on Friday, the Nets broke even on the boards (38-38) and that led to head coach Jacque Vaughn praising the team’s effort on the boards:

“Megan (Triplett), we out-rebounded somebody today. Come on now, huh? You gonna lead with that? Let’s go! We showed that to the team after. Some big possessions and winning plays. And that’s what it boiled down to. It’s just the opponent that night and for us, whatever it’s going to take to win. Whether a different rotation, somebody’s in, out, all the above, we’re getting to a place where you’re just doing your role in order to help us to win. So big rebounds at the end of the game. Some execution that was pretty good.”

Brooklyn’s next game is Saturday at the Indiana Pacers.

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Nets’ Kevin Durant reacts to win over the Atlanta Hawks

Here’s what Kevin Durant had to say about the Nets’ win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant had a great game against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. He had 34 points and nine assists and was crucial in keeping the Nets afloat down the stretch.

Durant started the game hot by making nine of his first 11 shots and he was the offense early on. He couldn’t be stopped from getting to his sweet spot in the mid-range or from getting to the rim.

However, despite breaking even on the boards against the Hawks (38-38), Durant lamented how many extra shots Atlanta got in the game.

“Yeah, I mean, they still shot 10 more shots than us, but I think that’s more so because of the turnovers. But, if we get more possessions than our opponent then we always put ourselves in good shape”.

The Nets gave up 12 offensive rebounds to the Hawks. Brooklyn’s next game is Saturday at the Indiana Pacers where size will matter more with the likes of Myles Turner and Jalen Smith.

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NBA Twitter reacts to Nets’ 120-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Nets’ win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

The Brooklyn hosted the Atlanta Hawks on Friday at the Barclays Center and won 120-116. The Nets are now 1-0 in the four-game regular season series.

It was a battle of the stars in this game as Kevin Durant had 34 points and five assists while Kyrie Irving had 33 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets. Trae Young had 33 points and nine assists while Bogdan Bogdanovic had 31 points and three assists off the bench for the Hawks.

Neither team played much defense in this one as both teams shot at least 49.5 from the field. However, Brooklyn led the assists battle 30-21 and that allowed the Nets to generate better shots throughout the contest.

Both teams had at least 18 turnovers in a close-but-sloppy game and Atlanta outscored Brooklyn in the paint 62-48. With the Nets being up by as many as 12 points in the game, having Durant and Irving down the stretch made the difference in this matchup.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Nets’ win over the Hawks:

Nets vs. Hawks game preview: How to watch, TV Channel, start time

The Brooklyn Nets host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday for the first of four meetings this season. Here’s all you need to know.

The Brooklyn Nets (14-12) host the Atlanta Hawks (13-12) on Friday for the first of four games between these two teams this season. The Nets are coming off a 122-116 win on Wednesday over the Charlotte Hornets while the Atlanta Hawks lost 113-89 on Wednesday to the New York Knicks.

Brooklyn has won four of its past five games while Atlanta has won two of its last five contests. For the Nets, Kevin Durant is averaging 29.8 points per game and Kyrie Irving is averaging 24.9 points per game.

For the Hawks, Trae Young is averaging 27.2 points per game and Dejounte Murray (out for this game because of an ankle injury) is averaging 20.8 points per game.

The Nets are about in the middle in offensive rating (14th in the NBA) and defensive rating (13th), but can be taken advantage of on the glass (28th in defensive rebound %). The Hawks have been solid on defense (14th in defensive rating) and below-average on offense (19th).

Here’s when and where you should tune in to see the matchup:

Nets’ Ben Simmons available against the Atlanta Hawks; Yuta Watanabe out

See who’s in and who’s out for Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons will be available for Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks, according to the NBA’s official injury report. Simmons will return after missing four games with a left calf injury.

Simmons coming back should push Joe Harris back to the bench as he was starting in place of Simmons. Simmons is averaging 8.4 points and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 61.4% from the field.

Wing Yuta Watanabe has been ruled out against the Hawks as he continues to deal with his hamstring injury. Coach Jacque Vaughn said during his pregame press conference before the Hornets game that Watanabe was “on track” to play this weekend so Watanabe could play against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

Wing David Duke Jr. and center Day’Ron Sharpe are available against the Hawks as well.

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Nets coach Jacque Vaughn wants to reduce Kevin Durant’s minutes

Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn has made it a priority to reduce Kevin Durant’s minutes.

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant has been playing a lot of minutes this season. He is currently averaging 36.8 minutes per game which ranks third-most in the NBA.

With the Nets at only 14-12, it is clear that Brooklyn needs Durant to play as many minutes as possible in order for them to win games, especially with the injuries that the team has faced this season. Guard Ben Simmons has been in and out of the lineup with recurring issues in his left knee and forward Yuta Watanabe has missed a considerable amount of time with his aching hamstring.

“It’s priority number one”, Vaughn said in his pregame press conference about reducing Durant’s minutes. “In all honesty, it is, and we looked at the short-term and long-term piece of it. We knew we were gonna give a tremendous amount of effort against Boston, had the two-and-a-half days in between before we played Charlotte again, and we take care of business tonight (Wednesday against the Hornets) and we’re 5-1 in our homestand. There is vision going ahead of hopefully getting some of those minutes down.”

The Nets’ next game is Friday as they host the Atlanta Hawks.

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NBA Twitter reacts to Nets’ close win over the Charlotte Hornets

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Nets’ win over the Charlotte Hornets.

The Brooklyn Nets beat the Charlotte Hornets 122-116 on Wednesday to improve to 5-1 during their 7-game homestand. Kyrie Irving had 33 points and nine assists while Kevin Durant had 29 points and nine rebounds in the winning effort.

The Nets were leading by as many as 23 points in this game thanks to some efficient shooting in the first half. However, Brooklyn cooled off in the third quarter and that allowed the Hornets to make a slow, but steady comeback to make this a competitive game in the fourth quarter.

The Hornets were able to come back in this game despite not having LaMelo Ball or Gordon Hayward. Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Nets’ win over the Hornets:

Nets’ Kevin Durant says pick-and-roll with Kyrie Irving gives team ‘versatility’

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant says that the pick-and-roll with Kyrie Irving gives the Nets versatility in how to attack defenses.

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant delivered another MVP-caliber performance in Wednesday’s 122-116 win over the Charlotte Hornets, posting 29 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists while shooting 12-of-19 from the field and 2-of-5 from the three-point line.

At one point in the game, Kyrie Irving and Durant employed a two-man game. In the waning minutes of what was a close game, Durant and Irving ran pick-and-rolls with each other and that action generated some good looks that allowed the Nets finish the game with a win.

“Just gives us some versatility.”, Durant said about running pick-and-rolls with Irving. “He (Irving) can score at all three levels with legendary efficiency. They (Hornets) even put two guys on the ball, I can throw that (the ball) over the top, he can act as a big man, shoot that little middie and play in the pocket”.

Durant and Irving will be able to use that action again on Friday when they host the Atlanta Hawks.

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