PORTLAND — If the NBA ever begins tanking investigations, an evening like Tuesday ought to give Brooklyn blanket immunity.
In a sport in opposition to their closest lottery rival, the Nets not solely obtained again injured regulars Cam Johnson and D’Angelo Russell however led wire-to-wire in a complete 132-114 rout of the Path Blazers.
Their tank-happy followers will nearly actually deride the victory as Pyrrhic. However for the Nets themselves, they’ll name it a candy one.
highway win over the Path Blazers on Jan. 14, 2025. NBAE by way of Getty Pictures
Brooklyn (14-26) snapped a five-game shedding skid, and did it behind a reasonably full staff effort.
Their passing carved up the Portland protection for 36 assists (a season-high) — practically double the Blazers’ 20 — and simply 13 turnovers.
The 132 factors and 54.4 % taking pictures have been additionally season highs for regulation, as have been their 29 quick break factors.
Johnson poured in 24 factors in his first sport since Jan. 2 in Milwaukee — coincidentally their final victory earlier than Tuesday.
Ben Simmons flirted with a double-double (game-high 11 assists and 9 rebounds).
And in the long run, they by no means trailed, led by as a lot as 16 and cruised to victory.
Path Blazers. NBAE by way of Getty Pictures
It needs to be famous the win moved the Nets a half-game forward of Portland within the standings — or extra precisely, dropped them from sixth to seven within the lottery standings.
However the lottery is capricious.
It’s a part of the explanation Brooklyn GM Sean Marks has collected not simply the NBA’s largest horde of draft picks (31) but additionally the league’s largest cache of cap area ($65 million).
The extra avenues to construct — the extra bites on the proverbial apple — the higher.
However a staff has to weigh the potential of a choose, the price of each prospect.
And it should measure the good thing about the expertise its younger gamers get in a tank in opposition to the harm that every one these inevitable losses can inflict.
Draft picks are not any assure.
Brooklyn’s Ziaire Williams — who had 13 factors on 3-for-4 taking pictures from deep — had been a former lottery choose given up on by Memphis as a wage dump.
The Nets picked up one other ex-lottery choose, Killian Hayes, this summer season who’s laboring within the G-League.
That’s why the extra bites on the apple, the higher.
The Nets have an NBA-high whole of 15 future first-round picks, 4 this June.
The chances are tilted of their favor.
However they’re nonetheless simply that — odds.
NBA followers have seen higher odds come up craps.
Keep in mind the 2009 Timberwolves and their Portland-bred GM David Khan?
Minnesota had 4 first-rounders, together with picks No. 5 and 6, and handed on Steph Curry not as soon as however twice.
They picked Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn, Kahn reportedly telling workers they have been much like Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe. Curry went seventh, DeMar DeRozan ninth and Jrue Vacation seventeenth.
It’s Marks’ job to keep away from turning into Khan.
The longer term picks will assist, as will the cap area.
However with the Nets tanking as they enter a youth motion, it’s essential to maintain constructing a constructive tradition, one which retains all of the inevitable defeats from hurting the younger gamers’ improvement.
It’s essential to have nights like Tuesday.
“You’ve got to control what you can control and just continue to push, continue to get better,” Johnson mentioned. “Everybody wants to win and everybody wants to compete. That’s what we’re going to keep doing. Just striving for that next one, trying to get that next one and growing in the process.”
The Nets used a 19-3 run that spanned the primary and second quarters to blow it open.
Brooklyn opened the second quarter with six unanswered factors to take a 46-30 lead, and by no means obtained challenged from there.
The Nets offense was white-hot behind Simmons and Russell, who got here off the bench with 13 factors and 9 assists.
And when Scoot Henderson (game-high 39 factors) and Shaedon Sharpe helped the Blazers pull inside 66-63 on the latter’s layup early within the third, Brooklyn padded it again to a dozen.
