Here’s an overview of Dorian Finney-Smith’s 2022-23 season with the Nets
The 2022-23 season was an interesting one for the Brooklyn Nets. In a season that started with championship expectations, the Nets’ season ended with just trying to hold on to a playoff spot after trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to end the superstar experiment once and for all.
At one point, Brooklyn was regarded as one of the main contenders in the Eastern Conference with Durant and Irving leading the way. Once the trade deadline came and went, the Nets had a completely different team led by budding star wing Mikal Bridges.
Not to mention, Brooklyn went through a coaching change after Steve Nash was fired following a 2-5 start to this season. Jacque Vaughn is now the head man of a team that is currently in flux thanks to the trades of Durant and Irving. While the offseason is still fresh, it’s a good time to review all of the Nets who played this season starting with: forward Dorian Finney-Smith.
The Nets are believed to be trading Dorian Finney-Smith or Royce O’Neale, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
The Brooklyn Nets are expected to trade Dorian Finney-Smith or Royce O’Neale because of how much wing depth they have, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. While the Nets have a lot of wings on the team, Scotto notes that NBA executives believe that Brooklyn is not trading Mikal Bridges under any circumstances.
It will be an interesting offseason for Brooklyn for many reasons including how the team decides to retool for next season. One of the curious aspects of the organization after trading superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was how wing heavy the squad. While that level of depth on the wing gave the Nets more versatility than most teams, it was evident that the team lacked quality guard depth and frontcourt depth at the same time.
Nets general manager Sean Marks noted during his exit interview on Sunday that Brooklyn needs to get bigger in the frontcourt if it wants to be competitive with the better teams in the Eastern Conference. The Nets could start their journey towards balancing the team by trading Finney-Smith and/or O’Neale. HoopsHype has more:
“‘The Nets have cornered the market on 3-and-D wings,’ an NBA executive told HoopsHype.
During a frantic trade deadline following the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade, the Nets fielded trade interest in several of their wing players, including Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale.
Ahead of the trade deadline, Brooklyn had offers to flip Finney-Smith for two first-round picks and could’ve gotten a first-round pick in exchange for O’Neale, league sources told HoopsHype.
While many rival executives around the league are convinced Bridges isn’t going anywhere, there’s a belief the Nets could break up their surplus of wing depth and trade either Finney-Smith or O’Neale. Various teams around the league, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, are expected to pursue potential 3-and-D wings this summer.”
Dorian Finney-Smith had successful finger surgery on Wednesday, according to the team on Wednesday.
Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith had successful surgery on his right fifth finger, according to a statement made by the team on Wednesday. The statement also noted that Finney-Smith is expected to be fully cleared to participate in all of the offseason activities in six weeks once his finger has healed.
Finney-Smith was listed on the injury report towards the end of the season with a right wrist issue, but it looks like it was his finger that was bothering him. The seventh-year veteran out of the University of Florida played through the injury to provide versatile frontcourt play next to starting center Nic Claxton.
Despite being touted as a 3-and-D played at the forward spot, Finney-Smith struggled with his shot during his time with Brooklyn. While he shot 41.6% from the field and 35.5% from three-point land during his time with the Mavericks, Finney-Smith shot just 35.1% and 30.6%, respectively. However, Finney-Smith should have a better rhythm with this group assuming that he isn’t traded this offseason.
Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith underwent successful surgery today to correct a contracture of the right fifth finger. The procedure was performed by Dr. Michelle Carlson at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Finney-Smith is expected to be fully cleared for offseason…
Dorian Finney-Smith enjoyed being with the Nets even though the postseason resulted in getting swept in disappointing fashion.
Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith reflected on his 30 games with the Nets (26 regular-season games and four playoff games) with a positive attitude despite the fact that Brooklyn was hanging on for dear life to finish the regular-season with the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Even though the Nets could not win a game against the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in their best-of-seven series despite two good chances to steal wins in Games 3 and 4, Finney-Smith overall enjoyed his time with Brooklyn.
Finney-Smith came to the Nets in the Kyrie Irving deal and during his time in Brooklyn, the former Florida Gator did everything that he was expected to do except shoot the ball. In 40 games with the Dallas Mavericks, Finney-Smith shot 41.6% from the field and 35.5% from three-point land on 5.4 three-point attempts per game. During his time with the Nets, he shot 35.1% from the field and 30.6% from three on similar volume. To his credit, he shot the ball better in the playoffs as he made 39.1% of his field-goal attempts and 41.2% of his three-point attempts.
As has been stated before, every player that remained on Brooklyn’s roster after the trade deadline had to adjust to essentially a brand-new team. After the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving deals, the Nets had four new starters (including Finney-Smith) to go with center Nic Claxton, who said himself that there was a lot of adjusting to the different personnel. It’s hard enough to make adjustments in the offseason so one can only imagine how hard it is to do in the midst of a season with a playoff berth on the line. Through it all, Finney-Smith said during his exit interview that he enjoyed his time with Brooklyn:
“It was fun. Obviously, that playoff energy. Brooklyn fans, you know, they brung the energy. Sorry, we couldn’t get a win. But, we learned a lot about each other over the past 20, 26 games. It was great being with them guys. Watching Mikal (Bridges) and Cam (Johnson) blossom in front of our eyes was amazing to see. I feel like I gotta get better. I didn’t have a great 26 games. But, you know, I felt like I started playing better towards the end, started making some shots. But, it’s gonna be a great summer, gotta get better.”
Here is a position-by-position breakdown for the Round 1 series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets.
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets will begin their first round playoff series on Saturday with Game 1 from the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly. The Sixers will be looking to get off on the right foot as they prepare for what they expect to be a deep playoff run.
The Sixers are heavy favorites over the Nets in this series and it’s understandable. They are led by a powerful star duo in Joel Embiid and James Harden and they are expected to make quick work of the Nets who have solid players, but no star power.
In this preview edition, it’s time to break down each position and see who has the edge. From the starters down to the bench unit, it’s time to examine and give the advantage to either side.
Dorian Finney-Smith is happy to give Brooklyn a ‘different’ look when the team needs it.
NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith showed a lot of abilities that he’s capable of in Friday’s 124-107 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Not only did he show that he can shoot the three, but he also showed that he can put the ball on the floor and make plays for himself and others. In addition to that, Finney-Smith displayed his ability to be a big in a small lineup when needed.
“Oh, you know, when I go to the five, I just try to use the advantage, especially my energy,” Finney-Smith said after putting up 19 points and eight rebounds in the winning effort. He scored the most points in a game during his short tenure with Brooklyn. “You know, I can get up and down the court fast. And you know, I can guard one through five. So, it just gave them a different look,” Finney-Smith continued.
Finney-Smith has played the center spot in certain lineups whenever starting center Nic Claxton needs a rest or when backup center Day’Ron Sharpe isn’t playing his best ball. Claxton played well on Friday (14 points and 12 rebounds along with five assists), but Sharpe had zero points and was a -17 in just under nine minutes. Finney-Smith playing center helped force the Hawks to go small once Brooklyn began separating in the second quarter and Atlanta could not match up.
Dorian Finney-Smith is happy to have the support of his team while he struggles shooting the ball from three-point land.
Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith has been one of the most valuable members of the “new-look” Nets ever since he came to Brooklyn. Finney-Smith came to the Nets with the reputation of being a 3-and-D kind of player and while he was bringing his usual defense, he wasn’t making a lot of his three-point attempts.
In Sunday’s 122-120 win over the Denver Nuggets, Finney-Smith had four steals and one block, but he also 5-of-7 from three-point land for 15 points. Coming into Sunday’s matchup, Finney-Smith was shooting just 24.2% from behind the three-point line compared to the 35.5% he was shooting from that distance this season while with the Dallas Mavericks.
Finney-Smith has been getting similar shots to the ones that he was getting with the Mavericks, but for some reason, he wasn’t able to make those threes with the same consistency. However, he has been steadfast in taking those threes when those shots present themselves and on Sunday, things went in his favor. Finney-Smith spoke after the game about how happy he is to have the support of his team through his three-point shooting struggles:
“Come on y’all, stick with me baby. Come on man. Stay with me man. It’s gonna keep going up and like I say, I’m happy about a team yelling at me when I turned down shots so you know it feels good when you got your team behind you like that.”
Dorian Finney-Smith is relieved to finally being able to hit some shots.
Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith has not had the offensive start with the Nets that we was hoping for when he was traded to the team on NBA trade deadline day. Known as a wing who can play defense and shoot the three-ball, Finney-Smith has only been able to contribute on the defensive end. Until Friday.
In Friday’s 115-105 win over the Boston Celtics, Finney-Smith had 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field and 5-of-11 shooting from behind the three-point line. While Finney-Smith was not particularly efficient from the field, he was efficient from three-point land and that was something that had eluded him as a member of the Nets.
In eight games for Brooklyn, Finney-Smith’s most points scored in a game before Friday was Feb. 26 when he scored 12 points against the Atlanta Hawks. Finney-Smith’s shooting on Friday was a welcomed sight for Nets fans as he has struggled mightily shooting the ball from three. Finney-Smith reacted to his bounceback performance after the final buzzer:
“Man, it feels good to make some shots man. Now, when we get stops, we can get (out) in transition and we get better looks. It’s hard to get them looks when we got to walk it up every possession. So, we get stops and it makes our offense look a lot better.”
Dorian Finney-Smith wants the team to stick together amidst the chemistry issues and losing games
Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith knows that the Nets have a tough task ahead of them for the rest of the season. Without having played together much, the new-look Nets will have to find a way to build chemistry soon enough so that they can stay in the playoff race.
Brooklyn after the Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are a fundamentally different team now than they were with both superstars. Monday’s 124-106 loss to the New York Knicks, in which Finney-Smith nine points, showed that. Areas that take time to develop, such as chemistry and familiarity, the new-look Nets will have to endure these hardships in order to get better in those areas. Spencer Dinwiddie and Cam Thomas are the only players on this team that are adept at creating shots from themselves and others and Thomas has not played as much as he was before the trades.
As has been religiously stated, this version of the Nets will hang their hat on defense. However, if your calling card and the other team is scoring 124 points like the Knicks did, you have to change strategies and time will tell if this Brooklyn team can do that by the end of the season. Finney-Smith reacted to the loss after the game:
“We want to end this thing on the right note. We get this win, you know, we can just look forward because we still in a good position now as a team to do something special but we just gotta stick together. Stick together. It’s gonna be a long season.”
The Brooklyn Nets made monumental moves in the past few days that change the trajectory of the franchise in the short-term. Not only has Brooklyn traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks, but they also traded Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns.
What seemed like a potential dynasty when the team acquired Irving and Durant in the summer of 2019 and when they traded for James Harden in January of 2021 turned into an experiment that seems like wasted time. Harden ended up wanting out and Irving and Durant followed suit for different reasons, but all of them relating to the organization.
It looks like the Nets not only did not do everything it could to keep the players happy while holding them accountable but also end up in the same spot that they were in before beginning the acquisition of superstars. With that being said, the team did add four new players in the roster and here they are:
