Brooklyn Nets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Nets, Simmons, Okoro, Cunningham

April 24th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by JD Shaw

The Nets are facing elimination after going down 3-0 to the Celtics in their first-round series. With their backs against the wall, the team will need a miracle to overcome such a deficit, Scott Cacciola of the New York Times writes.

No team has ever come back from trailing 3-0 in NBA history. It’s happened in other sports such as baseball — the Red Sox defeated the Yankees prior to the 2004 World Series — and the NHL has seen it happen four times. As other coaches like Toronto’s Nick Nurse have noted (the Raptors were down 3-0 entering Game 4), several NBA teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit, making Game 4 an important one.

Brooklyn will have to win on Monday to have any glimmer of hope. The following game would be played in Boston. If the team can somehow manage to steal that contest, Game 6 in Brooklyn could provide enough momentum for a Game 7. Then again, there’s a reason so few professional sports teams have been able to achieve this feat.

Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference:

The return of Ben Simmons‘ back pain this weekend was met with surprise and disappointment from the Nets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski writes. Simmons was expected to play in Game 4, but he reported back soreness on Sunday and will no longer play. He hasn’t appeared in a game this season.
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com examines whether second-year swingman Isaac Okoro could make a jump for the Cavaliers next season. Okoro disappointed in the team’s play-in tournament games, but he showed flashes of potential throughout the campaign. Cleveland drafted him No. 5 overall in 2020.
He may not have won the Rookie of the Year award, but Pistons guard Cade Cunningham is vital to the team’s future, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. As we previously relayed, Cunningham placed behind Evan Mobley (second place) and Scottie Barnes (first place) for the award, receiving nine of 100 possible first-place votes.

Ben Simmons Will Not Play In Game 4

April 24th, 2022 at 3:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Nets star Ben Simmons will not make his season debut in a do-or-die Game 4 of Brooklyn’s first-round series against the Celtics, scheduled for Monday, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

It had been assumed Simmons would suit up for the Nets tomorrow, provided his recovery from a herniated disc in his back did not face any setbacks. After getting an epidural to treat his back in March, Simmons had finally taken part in his first 4-on-4 scrimmage this week and was targeting Game 4 for his Nets debut.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets that both Brooklyn and Simmons anticipated he’d be able to hit the hardwood on Monday, but he did in fact face a setback following some scrimmaging on Saturday. According to Woj, Simmons said he woke up to a sore back on Sunday, and ultimately the club decided to keep their pricey new player sidelined for another game.

Boston currently leads the series 3-0. No team in NBA playoff history has managed to recover from that level of deficit, so from a strategic standpoint for Brooklyn, it makes sense to not throw Simmons into the fire at this point of the team’s season if he’s not 100% healthy.

Simmons had been trying to make a comeback in time to help his new club in the postseason. Brooklyn traded for the three-time All-Star in a blockbuster deadline deal with Philadelphia.

If the Nets wind up winning Game 4 at home, a fifth contest against the Celtics would be played in Boston on Wednesday.

Nets Notes: Durant, Irving, Nash, Brown

April 24th, 2022 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant was left searching for answers after another frustrating offensive performance Saturday left the Nets in a 3-0 playoff hole, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Durant, who is shooting 19-of-52 against the Celtics’ relentless defense, thought he might have overcompensated to Boston’s focus on him. He handed out eight assists, but only took 11 shots and finished with 16 points.

“I feel like the first two games I was trying to be too aggressive,” Durant said. “A team that’s loading up on me, that’s trying to take me out of all my actions. I felt like I was still trying to force the first two games and watching film, a lot of my teammates were open and they were knocking down shots, so I felt my approach to this game was to play off of everybody — get in the flow of the offense and let the ball move and find me.”

The Celtics have taken a physical approach with Durant and are using multiple defenders to keep him off balance. He played at an MVP level in March and April, averaging 30 points per night to help Brooklyn climb into the seventh seed, but has been limited to 22 PPG in the first three games of the series. Now he faces a monumental task just to get the Nets out of the first round.

“Man, we know what it is,” Durant said. “I don’t think no speech or anything will do it at this part of the year. You know what it is — we down 3-0. … On Monday, we’ll come out and play.”

There’s more from Brooklyn:

The chaos that surrounded the Nets all season might be catching up with them, suggests Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. Between Kyrie Irving‘s long absence due to the vaccine mandate, the James Harden trade that shook up the roster at midseason and Durant’s injury, Brooklyn had little chance to develop into a cohesive unit. “We’re all trying to jell and usually you’re jelling around the right time,” Irving said. “And that team in the other locker room is jelling at the right time, been jelling since Christmas. We’re just in a new experience as a group, and we have to respect that.”
Steve Nash has been badly outcoached by Ime Udoka, argues Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Mannix notes that the Nets’ offense features constant isolations with very little movement, and when they do force switches the Celtics are able to adapt quickly. He also questions whether Nash will return next season if things don’t turn around quickly.
One bright spot for Brooklyn has been Bruce Brown, who led the team in scoring Saturday with 26 points. He took the rare gamble during the offseason of accepting a $4.7MM qualifying offer and now is in position to cash in as an unrestricted free agent, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The Nets own his Bird rights and can go over the cap to keep him.

Nets Notes: Simmons, Nash, Durant, Griffin

April 23rd, 2022 at 8:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ben Simmons is targeting Monday’s Game 4 to make his debut with the Nets, but coach Steve Nash isn’t committing to anything, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Simmons went through a full workout today, which Nash said went well, but he cautioned that it’s difficult to start playing at this point of the season.

“I think it’s possible, but I’m not sure,” Nash told reporters before tonight’s game. “Like I said before, it’s not a normal return to play, having been off for nine months and being injured as long as he has been at the back of this, going on two months now – I think if I’m not mistaken – or more, so it’s not just, he got through three workouts and he’s ready to play. There’s a lot of bigger picture, bigger context — how he’s feeling, how able he would be to adapt to the environment. It’s a little different than playing a game that’s in the middle of the regular season so I think there’s a few factors at play to evaluate when he’s ready to play.”

Simmons was just cleared for contact five days ago as he continues to make progress from the back ailment that has kept him out of action since Brooklyn acquired him in February. He hasn’t played since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals more than 10 months ago.

There’s more on the Nets:

The Celtics‘ defensive approach has forced Kevin Durant into two of the worst playoff games of his career, observes Sam Amick of The Athletic. Amick talked to a pair of scouts who point out that Boston is being physical with Durant before he gets the ball and has guarded him with six different players so far. Durant is coming off a 4-for-17 performance in Game 2 and committed six turnovers in each of the first two games of the series.
The Nets are in danger of letting another of Durant’s prime years slip away, warns Ian O’Connor of The New York Post. O’Connor notes that it’s not a sure thing that Durant and Kyrie Irving will both be healthy at playoff time ever again, so the Nets should have a sense of urgency to get back in the series.
After missing the first two games of the series with a sprained left ankle, Blake Griffin was upgraded to available for Game 3, Lewis tweets. The veteran big man hasn’t played since April 2.

Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Simmons, Smart, Maxey

April 23rd, 2022 at 11:33am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Raptors, down 3-0 in their first-round playoff series against the Sixers, need more production from star forward Pascal Siakam, but criticism of the 2020 All-Star should be nuanced, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

Siakam underwhelmed during the team’s 104-101 Game 3 overtime loss on Wednesday, scoring just 12 points on 6-of-16 shooting, a far cry from the 22.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 6.5 APG he put up in the team’s two games in Philadelphia. Siakam also missed all five of his field goal attempts during the game’s second half and overtime.

Lewenberg writes that Sixers starting power forward Tobias Harris handles chief defensive duties on Siakam outside the paint, while All-Star center Joel Embiid guards him inside. Siakam has struggled to adjust to the defensive attention, but Lewenberg cautions that the 28-year-old still has room to grow, even after his six NBA seasons.

“I think for me, I just gotta stay aggressive, get to my spots and live with the results,” Siakam said. “I think that the experience from just being in the playoffs, we all learn from it. Even players that have been in the league a long time, that [have] been in many playoff games, I’m sure that there’s some series where they learn something about themselves or about their game or how they can evolve.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

In what has been a topsy-turvy kind of season for the Nets, it is perhaps fitting that the newest star player, Ben Simmons, is set to play for the first time in the fourth game of a playoff series, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Lewis observes that, should the Nets lose to the Celtics again tonight, Simmons will be rejoining the club as it faces a 3-0 deficit. Mental health issues and a desire to be traded resulted in Simmons opting to sit out while with the Sixers, prior to being traded in exchange for James Harden at the deadline. A back injury has hampered him since joining Brooklyn.
Celtics guard Marcus Smart, the newly-minted 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, hasn’t just been excellent on defense in helping Boston achieve a 2-0 series edge against the Nets, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. He is also averaging 16.0 PPG and 5.5 APG across the team’s first two playoff contests. After spending years as a combo guard, his emergence as a passer may be surprising some, but not Smart. “To hear people say I’m not a point guard or, oh my gosh, I can’t believe he’s a point guard — I was a top-six pick, as a point guard,” Smart said. “I was chosen as a point guard — for some reason. It is funny but I just continue to keep getting better, working on my game, and not really worried about everybody else.” Team president Brad Stevens praised Smart’s ability to handle plays mapped out by head coach Ime Udoka. “He’s got a lot of the qualities that really good point guards have,” Stevens said. “I think what we wanted to do this year, and Ime and his staff has done a really good job of coaching to, is we wanted to be big and versatile.”
Second-year Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has taken significant strides this season, and that has continued apace during the team’s first-round matchup against the Raptors. Tim Bontemps of ESPN details Maxey’s rise, noting that he put in the hours during the offseason to grow his game as a long-range shooter. “In my exit interview [last season], my goal was to get one percent better every single day,” Maxey says. “I stuck with it the entire summer.” After shooting 54.7% from the restricted area during his rookie season, Maxey converted 60.5% of his looks around the rim this year. He also saw his three-point shooting improve from making 30.1% of his 1.7 looks a night last year to 42.7% on 4 attempts this year. “I would get up, and I’d be in the gym,” Maxey said of his prep as a three-point shooter during the offseason. “First one in the gym at 6 a.m. and I’d try to make at least 700, 800 shots. And then I’d go lift and I’d come back again at 10 [a.m.] and I’m doing the same thing.”

How The Nets Might Use Simmons

April 22nd, 2022 at 6:53pm CST by Rory Maher

Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link) explores how the Nets might use Ben Simmons if he returns to action against Boston — perhaps in Game 4. Lowe believes Simmons would initially come off the bench, and his addition would help Brooklyn’s defense, rebounding, and transition offense. A frontcourt featuring Simmons and Kevin Durant would provide more versatility than the team currently has at its disposal, Lowe notes.

Celtics’ Robert Williams Targeting Game 3 Return

April 22nd, 2022 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

1:58pm: Barring a setback, Williams intends to return in Game 3 on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wonjarowski, who tweets that the big man will be on a minutes restriction. If everything goes according to plan, Williams would take on something closer to his normal role in Game 4 on Monday, Wojnarowski says.

12:17pm: Celtics center Robert Williams is close to returning to action, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Williams could potentially play vs. the Nets in Game 3 on Saturday or Game 4 on Monday.

A final determination will be based on how Williams is feeling from day to day as he goes through the final stages of his recovery process, Charania adds. A league source who spoke to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) stressed that it remains possible the 24-year-old will need a little more time and won’t return for the upcoming games in Brooklyn.

When Williams underwent a partial meniscectomy to address the torn meniscus in his left knee on March 30, the Celtics announced a recovery timeline of four-to-six weeks, and have repeatedly stated since then that the big man remains on track. It has only been 23 days since that timeline was confirmed, so if Williams is able to make it back for one of the next two games, he’ll be returning ahead of schedule.

Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said on Thursday that Williams was progressing well and would travel with the Celtics after participating in some 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 scrimmages and doing contact work this week (Twitter links via Jay King of The Athletic).

The Celtics have a 2-0 lead over the Nets as the series moves to Brooklyn, so there’s no urgency to rush Williams back if he’s not quite ready yet. Still, it sounds like there’s a decent chance both teams could get reinforcements by Game 4, with Ben Simmons also targeting a return on Monday.

Injury Updates: Doncic, Booker, Barnes, Simmons

April 22nd, 2022 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Friday if he’s optimistic about Luka Doncic‘s odds of returning from his left calf strain in Game 4 of the team’s series vs. Utah on Saturday, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd replied, “Optimistic? That’s a good word. … He’s going in the right direction.”

As Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News writes, neither Doncic nor Kidd would guarantee that the All-NBA guard would be active on Saturday, preferring to emphasize caution. Doncic said he’ll do some more 5-on-5 work in practice today before any decisions are made about his status, but it sounds like it will once again be a game-time call.

The possibility of aggravating the injury will be an important consideration for the Mavericks and Doncic as they determine whether he’s ready to return. Doncic said today that it would have been “too much” risk to play in Game 3 on Thursday for that reason (Twitter link via Marc Stein). As it turned out, the Mavs didn’t need him, as Jalen Brunson led the team to a crucial win in Utah to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Following up on Brian Windhorst’s report that Suns guard Devin Booker could miss two or three weeks due to his right hamstring strain, ESPN’s Zach Lowe (video link) said he has heard optimism that Booker’s timeline should be much closer to two weeks than three.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse spoke after Wednesday’s Game 3 loss as if he expected rookie Scottie Barnes (left ankle sprain) to return for Game 4, but he tempered expectations on Barnes today, telling reporters that the forward is making progress but is doubtful to play on Saturday (Twitter link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN). Nurse added that the series score isn’t a factor in determining Barnes’ availability — the team wants to get him more playoff experience, so if he’s ready to play, he’ll play (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca).
It appears Ben Simmons won’t be ready to play in Game 3 of the Nets‘ series vs. Boston on Saturday, but he told reporters today he’s “very hopeful” about returning soon and confirmed that Monday’s Game 4 looks like a “reasonable” target to make his Brooklyn debut, per Peter Botte of The New York Post. Shams Charania reported on Thursday that Simmons plans to play in Game 4.

Ben Simmons Plans To Make Nets Debut In Game 4

April 21st, 2022 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

APRIL 21: Simmons plans to make his Nets debut in Game 4 on Monday as long as he has no setbacks between now and then, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

APRIL 20: Game 4 of the Nets‘ series vs. Boston on Monday appears to be a “realistic target” for Ben Simmons to make his Brooklyn debut, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

As Wojnarowski explains, the possibility of Simmons returning for Game 3 on Saturday hasn’t been ruled out, but there may not be enough time for the three-time All-Star to clear all the hurdles he needs to by then. Based on his progress in practices this week and the expectation that he’ll continue to further accelerate his ramp-up process in the coming days, Game 4 is a more viable target date, Woj says.

Acquired in February’s James Harden blockbuster, Simmons has yet to suit up for the Nets, largely due to a herniated disk in his back. But he has been making steady forward progress in his recovery from that injury since receiving an epidural last month, and participated in a 4-on-4 scrimmage this week for the first time since becoming a Net.

Head coach Steve Nash has consistently stressed that there’s no timeline for Simmons’ return and repeatedly told reporters that the 25-year-old still has to go through several stages of the ramp-up process before being cleared. However, while he reiterated on Wednesday that the team doesn’t have a set timeline for Simmons, Nash shifted his tone a little and hinted that a return could be close.

“There’s no other way than him to say, ‘I’m ready,'” Nash said when asked about a timetable, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. “Especially after an absence this long. So whenever he is ready, it’s going to have to be on him to say, ‘I feel comfortable. I feel ready to go. I want to play and I want to contribute.’

“We can’t push him places when you have been out this long. It’s got to be something where he is definitely comfortable and ready to play.”

Before arriving in Brooklyn, Simmons sat out the entire season as a Sixer due to mental health issues and a desire to be traded. He hasn’t played since last June when Philadelphia was eliminated by Atlanta in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. If he returns during the Nets/Celtics series, Simmons will almost certainly play a more limited role than he did with the 76ers.

Four NBA Teams Have No 2022 Draft Picks

April 20th, 2022 at 4:12pm CST by Luke Adams

In a typical NBA draft, each team receives two picks — one in the first round and one in the second. However, as our pre-lottery draft order shows, only five NBA teams (the Knicks, Pistons, Hawks, Wizards, and Rockets) control exactly two picks in the 2022 draft. The other 25 clubs currently hold either more or less than that.

Two of the picks in the 2022 draft have been forfeited — Milwaukee and Miami lost second-rounders as penalties for jumping the gun in free agency.

Of the draft’s 58 remaining selections, 10 are controlled by the five teams noted above. Twelve more are owned by the Spurs, Timberwolves, and Thunder, who have four apiece. And 27 others are held by the Cavaliers, Pacers, Hornets, Magic, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Warriors, and Kings, who each have three.

That leaves nine picks for the league’s remaining 13 teams. The Celtics, Raptors, Bulls, Bucks, Heat, Mavericks, Nuggets, and Clippers each own one, while the final pick – No. 23 overall – will be controlled by either the Nets or Sixers. Philadelphia traded it to Brooklyn in the James Harden blockbuster, but the Nets have the option of letting the 76ers keep it and acquiring Philadelphia’s unprotected 2023 first-round pick instead.

Whichever team ends up not getting No. 23 will be one of four clubs that doesn’t currently have a draft pick in 2022. The other three? The Suns, Jazz, and Lakers.

Phoenix traded away its 2022 first-round pick two years ago for Chris Paul and its second-rounder earlier this year for Torrey Craig. Given that the Suns won 64 games and ensured those picks will land at No. 30 and No. 60, it’s safe to assume they have no regrets.

Like Phoenix, the Jazz used their 2022 first-rounder to acquire their current starting point guard (Mike Conley). The team gave up its second-rounder two years ago to land Elijah Hughes. Those trades may not have been quite as successful as the Suns’ deals, but the picks Utah surrendered landed in the bottom third of the draft order, at No. 22 and No. 52 — that’s not a huge loss.

The Lakers, who missed the playoffs, will have to surrender a lottery pick this year. We don’t know yet where exactly it will land, but the odds say it’ll probably be at least No. 8 or No. 9 — and it could end up as high as No. 1.

The Lakers can at least take solace in the fact that they gave up both of their 2022 draft picks in the Anthony Davis blockbuster, which helped them win a title in 2020. Still, of the teams without any ’22 draft selections, L.A. is the club that could most use one to inject its roster with some young, inexpensive talent. It will be interesting to see whether the Lakers find a way to get involved in this year’s draft, flexing their financial muscle by buying their way into the second round.