Nets get big win over Pacers, but postseason dream is over
The Nets' Mikal Bridges shoots during the second half of an NBA game against the Bulls in New York on March 29 at Barclays Center. Credit: AP/Peter K. Afriyie
The Nets played with energy and purpose Wednesday night. But a 115-111 win over the Pacers at Barclays Center couldn’t save their season from its inevitable conclusion.
The Nets’ postseason dreams officially ended with the Hawks’ win over the Pistons. In all honesty, the season seemed over long before that.
Too many fourth-quarter collapses and defensive lapses. Not enough shot creation or star power to carry them to victory. Missing the playoffs for the first time since 2018 felt appropriate for a Nets (30-47) team that lacked the talent or urgency to compete in the Eastern Conference.
Now with five games left, they have to avoid complacency. “We still got some games coming up,” Cam Thomas said. “So we just going to finish strong and try to win. Just creating that culture that we instilled early in the year from training camp.”
There were signs of that against the Pacers (43-34). Thomas had 27 points. Rookie Noah Clowney earned the game ball after his first double-double with career highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Interim coach Kevin Ollie praised his team for believing they could win when “everybody in the world thought we were going to give up tonight.” Yet where was this over the last three months?
Where was this physicality in losses to lowly teams like the Grizzlies and Spurs? It’s fine to build good habits late but they needed it sooner. Wednesday’s win felt good but also left room to feel bothered that it didn’t happen more often.
“You get paid to play 82 games,” Mikal Bridges said. “No matter what the outcome is, you should go hard and play hard every time you’re out there.”
The Nets’ culture so far hasn’t inspired much hope. The most energy at games in 2024 was when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving returned or LeBron James on Sunday exceeded his 39 years of age with a 40-point night.
The losses adding up aren’t shocking since most preseason observers expected the Nets to be play-in tournament contenders. Yet it’s disappointing because that bar was apparently too high, especially after Dec. 27.
That’s when the Nets, 15-15 at the time, sat four players in a home loss to Bucks on the second night of a back-to-back. They also pulled Bridges, Cam Thomas and Royce O’Neale after the first quarter.
It was a poor message to their fans and players. It was even more foolish with the NBA cracking down more this season on player participation.
The Nets were fined $100,000 as a result, but they’d pay a bigger cost losing 11 of their next 13 games after that loss. The 50-point loss at the Celtics on Feb. 14 was rock bottom that brought a rare public rebuke by Bridges and cost coach Jacque Vaughn his job six days later.
But the troubles really started with that Bucks game. That’s when the season’s spiral began and the Nets never recovered.
Ironically, a loss to the Bucks earlier exposed another Nets mistake. Ben Simmons was hurt on Nov. 6 and would be limited to 15 games due to another nerve impingement in his back.
The mistake wasn’t just betting on Simmons’ health, although he’s played only 57 games since 2021. It was failing to have an adequate backup plan. The Nets built this team around Simmons’ strengths. Without him, their weaknesses were evident every night as they struggled to score in the halfcourt.
That’s why the season felt over well before Wednesday. Now it’s up to the Nets’ front office to assess things, hire a quality head coach and figure out how to avoid repeating this season’s problems next year.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
