The Nets, coming off one in all their higher victories of the season, had been greeted at observe Monday by the postgame remarks of Houston head coach Ime Udoka, who slammed his personal workforce’s effort and stated that was the rationale for the loss.
At one level, Udoka — who was practically employed by the Nets to interchange Steve Nash as their head coach in 2022 — referred to the Nets as a “lower-level team.”
Day’Ron Sharpe stated after Monday’s observe that the gamers felt disrespected by the remark from a coach of one of many Western Convention’s high squads.
“When we walked in, Jordi showed us what Ime said [Saturday] night,’’ Sharpe said of Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez. “They look at us like we’re not competition.”
That seemingly gained’t be the case when the groups play one another Tuesday at Barclays Heart, given the Nets’ 12-point victory within the earlier matchup.
“We’ve got to come in with the same mindset, the same aggression, the same bully mentality,’’ Sharpe said of Tuesday’s game. “We can’t get bullied. We’ve got to bully them so we can win both games back-to-back.”
Requested if Udoka’s feedback would “motivate” him, Sharpe stated, “I’m motivated every game, no matter who we’re playing. So, I guess.”
Tuesday’s sport is the primary of six straight residence video games for the Nets, who could possibly be impacted by Thursday’s commerce deadline.
Fernandez stated that though Cam Johnson (ankle) “went through the majority of practice” Monday, he’ll miss his sixth straight sport Tuesday.
“He did a good job,’’ Fernandez said. “He’s feeling good. He’s out for [Tuesday] and then after that, he’ll be day-to-day.”
Which means Johnson might probably play towards the Wizards on Wednesday, however the 6-foot-8 ahead is likely one of the Nets’ interesting commerce chips and the workforce could also be reluctant to place him again within the lineup previous to the commerce deadline and danger worsening the damage.
Johnson, 28, is averaging a career-best 19.4 factors per sport.
Ziaire Williams referred to as the workforce’s response to the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis commerce “crazy.”
“I actually lost a bet,’’ Williams said. “I lost a bet with a couple of guys because I thought it was fake. So I owe about $300 to some of these guys. … Definitely a blockbuster, to say the least.”
The truth hadn’t even set in for Williams.
“Even now, until I see Luka in a different jersey, I just can’t grasp the concept that he’s on a different team,’’ Williams said. “Like I said, you just never know.”
Sharpe added, “I ain’t gonna lie, Mavs fans should be mad. But you never know how it’ll play out. … If I was a Mavs fan, I’d be mad that they traded Luka — me, personally.”
