LOS ANGELES — Nothing good came from the Nets' historic 126-67 victory over the Clippers. I haven't had a positive test since Wednesday night, except by Thursday, which was like a bad dream.
It's more like a nightmare
But they'll move on from there starting Friday against the Lakers.
It will hurt their pride, but it will not hurt their plans.
“When you look at a loss like this, you can see that a lot of things went wrong. There was obviously no energy and no competitive spirit,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “It's never a good experience to go through this. But when you analyze the whole season, none of our members worked for this. They've been fighting the whole time, so all I can do is cheer. Just own this, of course, and show up the next day and try to be better.
“We know we can be better. … We know our players are competitors and fighters and strive to get better, and that's what we do.” I'm planning on coming the next day.”
This 59-point loss was not only the worst in franchise history, but tied for the 10th worst in NBA history.
But Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson, Ben Simmons and D'Angelo Russell gave their all. And that only helped the lottery standings, which are the core of this rebuild.
Some are asking if their record could affect potential pursuits of stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo.
First, the Bucks star may be the Nets' white whale, but he hasn't requested a trade and it's unclear if he wants a franchise anyway.
If a star in his 30s wants to go to an established team like Kevin Durant going to Phoenix or Paul George going to Philadelphia — the jury is out on each side, you can win now. Both teams have losing records — the Nets don't. that.
But for a star who likes having teammates and having a blank canvas, the Nets fit the bill perfectly. They lead the NBA in cap space ($65 million) and assets (31 picks).
It's unclear which one would be a better fit for Antetokounmpo.
Now that the Kings are winning again, whether De'Aaron Fox leaves the table or Durant considers a reunion with the Nets, who have always liked Brooklyn but lost faith they can win.
Sources told the Post that the Nets are not focused on Jimmy Butler, and that they have enough space to acquire not only the highest salary but also the highest-paid rookie (probably Jonathan Kuminga). It is said that they are looking for.
They want options, and they went through a horrible tank season to buy them.
“It's been frustrating. It's been a frustrating year for me personally and for the team,” Nick Claxton said. “But you just have to keep grinding.”
“We have to put that behind us. We have a game. [Friday] When playing the Lakers. We just have to go out and compete and try to win,” Dayron Sharp said. “We had guys [get hurt]they lost players to injuries and have a different lineup. … So I feel like we have to find a way to continue to play hard in the second half of the season, giving teams tough matchups every night, but we need to get more points.” ”
The problem was that victory was hard to come by. They will become even more difficult.
Tank-happy fans are lamenting the Nets' win in Portland, but they're still only three games out of third place in the lottery standings.
And since Dec. 27 (the swan song before the Dorian Finney-Smith trade), they have dropped nine of 11.
The Nets are starting to look like the team many expected them to be at the beginning of the season.
Their top players could continue to move in and out of the lineup, and Johnson could be gone within three weeks of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Johnson has missed eight games this season. Without him, the Nets are 0-8.
The impact of the releases of Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroder is clear.
The impact of Johnson's move will be clear in every way.
But even if it was a 59-point difference, would a lone loss in January have an impact?
It will hurt their pride, but it won't hurt their plans, whether it involves Antetokounmpo, Fox, or someone else.
