Nets crush Trail Blazers after Cam Johnson’s big night

PORTLAND — If the NBA were to launch a tanking investigation, Brooklyn should be given blanket immunity on nights like Tuesday.

In a game against their closest lottery rival, the Nets not only had injured regulars Cam Johnson and D'Angelo Russell back, but they also led wire-to-wire with a 132-114 victory over the Trail Blazers. .

Their tank-loving fans will almost certainly deride this victory as pyrrhic. But for the Nets themselves, it's a sweet deal.

Brooklyn (14-26) has lost five in a row and did so thanks to a near-flawless team effort.

Their passing capped the Portland defense with 36 assists (a season high), nearly double the Blazers' 20 assists, and just 13 turnovers.

His 132 points and 54.4 percent shooting were season highs in regulation, as were his 29 fast-break points.

Johnson scored 24 points in his first game since Milwaukee on Jan. 2, which coincidentally was his last win until Tuesday.

Ben Simmons had a double-double (game-high 11 assists, 9 rebounds).

And in the end, they never trailed, racing to victory with a lead of up to 16 players.

It's worth noting that this win moved the Nets a half-game ahead of Portland in the standings, or more accurately, dropped the Nets from 6th to 7th in the lottery standings.

But the lottery is fickle.

That's one reason Brooklyn GM Sean Marks amassed not only the NBA's most draft picks (31), but also the league's most cap space ($65 million).

The more roads we build, the more we bite into the proverbial apple, the better.

But teams will have to weigh the value of every prospect against the possibility of a pick.

And we must evaluate what benefit the experience young players gain in the tank will bring compared to the damage caused by the inevitable losses.

Draft picks are not guaranteed.

Brooklyn's Ziare Williams, who scored 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from deep, was a former lottery pick who Memphis gave up as a salary dump.

The Nets acquired another former lottery pick, Killian Hayes, who plays in the G League this summer.

That's why the more you bite into an apple, the better.

The Nets have a total of 15 future first-round picks, the most in the NBA, four of which were selected in June.

The odds are tilted in their favor.

However, they are still only probabilities.

NBA fans have seen better odds turn into crap.

Remember the 2009 Timberwolves and Portland-bred GM David Kahn?

Minnesota had four first-round picks, including the fifth and sixth picks, and traded away Stephen Curry not once but twice.

They drafted Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn, but Kahn reportedly told his staff they looked like Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe. Curry finished seventh, DeMar DeRozan ninth and Jrue Holiday 17th.

It's Marks' job to make sure he doesn't become a Khan.

Future picks will also help, as will cap space.

But as the Nets enter a youth movement and slump, it's important to continue building a positive culture so that inevitable losses don't negatively impact the development of young players.

It's important to have nights like Tuesday.

“We've got to control what we can control, keep pushing, keep getting better,” Johnson said. “Everyone wants to win, everyone wants to compete. That's what we're going to continue to do. Just strive for the next goal, strive for the next goal. , growing in the process.”

The Nets broke the game off with a 19-3 run that spanned the first and second quarters.

Brooklyn opened the second quarter with six unanswered points to take a 46-30 lead, but was never challenged from there.

The Nets' offense was heated with Simmons and Russell at the center, with Russell coming off the bench and recording 13 points and nine assists.

Scoot Henderson (game-high 39 points) and Shaydon Sharpe helped the Blazers get within 66-63 early in the third on the latter's layup, and Brooklyn cut the lead back to 12 points. .