Nets' second loss to woeful Blazers shows gravity of tailspin
Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson, front, is fouled by Portland Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon. Credit: AP/Craig Mitchelldyer
PORTLAND, Ore. — The snapshots after the Nets’ latest gut-punch loss Wednesday told a story of a battered, struggling team.
Cam Johnson stared up at the scoreboard — Trail Blazers 105, Nets 103 — with hands on hips as streamers fell at Moda Center. Mikal Bridges sat at his locker with ice wrapped around his lower right leg.
Bridges briefly left the game in the third quarter after Jabari Walker ran into his leg. Coach Jacque Vaughn said he had a contusion, but Bridges wasn’t worried about his streak of 431 consecutive games played being in jeopardy.
“I’ll be all right,” he said when asked about playing Friday against the Lakers.
Bridges might be fine, but the Nets (16-24) aren’t all right. They’ve lost 14 of 17 games, and a fourth consecutive loss has them eight games under .500 for the first time since December 2018.
They’re also one game behind the Hawks for 10th place in the Eastern Conference, the final play-in tournament spot. They’ve lost twice to an 11-29 Trail Blazers team that lost its previous four games by an average of 31 points, including a 62-point defeat.
If the Nets haven’t hit rock bottom with just one win since Dec. 26, it feels pretty close after Anfernee Simons’ game-winning floater continued their free fall.
“They’ve been getting cooked and then they come out against us and they beat us twice,” Nic Claxton said. “So it's definitely disheartening, but we got to just stick together. We can’t fall apart.”
Making it worse was that the Nets gave up 50 paint points. Simons' shot came in the paint after he got by Bridges and shot over Claxton’s outstretched hand. Claxton took the blame for not protecting the rim better during the game and Spencer Dinwiddie said he was late in double-teaming Simons.
The Nets take pride in protecting the paint, even if it means giving up too many three-pointers. But if that’s failing them, what happens Friday against Lakers center Anthony Davis?
A strength becoming a weakness is another sign the wheels are falling off. Near the halfway point of the season, the Nets are at a tipping point where things could get worse.
Seven of their next eight games are against teams .500 or better. The Nets are 7-17 against such teams and the Rockets, the lone sub-.500 opponent coming up, beat the Nets earlier this month.
If things are bad now, the Nets are heading further into quicksand. With 10 games before the Feb. 8 trade deadline, how far will they fall, and can any potential roster changes be enough to save them?
Either way, the Nets aren’t panicking as the losses add up.
“We can't afford to do that,” Dinwiddie said. “If we get caught up in that thinking, then where else are we gonna go, right? So all we can do is try to execute the game plan, stay focu sed, pick up wins and get back on track.”
Dinwiddie noted that since being eight games under .500 on Dec. 20, the Jazz are 12-2. The Nets can only hope for a similar turnaround because their season is coming undone.
Whitehead has stress fracture
Nets rookie Dariq Whitehead was diagnosed with a left shin stress reaction Wednesday night, per the team. Whitehead had been playing this season mostly in the G League. The Nets are evaluating treatment options and will provide an update at a later date. Whitehead previously had surgery on his right foot last June to correct an initial surgery done in August 2022 before his freshman year at Duke.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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