Linked to the playoffs. The Brooklyn Nets were able to put the finishing touches on their playoff bid and managed to win against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night in the bubble. It’s been a crazy year and officially earning a playoff spot is a nice reward for Jacque Vaughn and his friends.
The opponent tonight will be the Los Angeles Clippers. After an off-season banner, the Clips are hoping to take him home with an NBA championship. Yesterday afternoon they put their big guns down the stretch against the Portland Trailblazers headed for game in play (in a likely attempt to get Portland to eighth place so they could pester LeBron James and the Lakers), but they still won! Funny how things turn out sometimes.
Where to follow the game
YES and NBATV got us covered. Also WFAN 101.9 FM. Prime time deal, so we’ll start after 9pm.
injury
Caris Levert was seen flexing her knee at the end of Friday’s match and is likely to stay out. Joe Harris is listed as dubious as Jarrett Allen. Jamal Crawford is out. For the sake of the Nets, they hope they won’t be fined again. Looking ahead, Brooklyn will play Magic on Tuesday, the Blazers on Thursday, so they will have four days off before the playoffs open on August 17th.
Montrezl Harrell is away from the team following the death of a family member. Patrick Beverley is out with a calf injury. Kawhi Leonard is back.
The game
We know the Nets will be seventh or eighth-seeded in the East (currently 1.5 games ahead of Orlando). The Nets will probably watch the scoreboard. Before the Nets rebel, Magic and Celtics face off. A Boston win would almost close the deal for the seventh seed.
We have no idea where the Clippers will land, or what the rest of the Western Conference will look like with the exception of the seeded Los Angeles Lakers. The Clips have pivotal games this week against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday and the regular season finale against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
For a league caliber team, we haven’t really had an extended opportunity to see the Clippers at their peak. Sabreena Merchant of Clips Nation has more:
Remember the Clippers are 25-10 when both Kawhi Leonard is Paul George play, which is a win rate of 0.714. That record improves to 22-7 when both superstars play with Beverley, a win rate of 0.759. For Pivot analysis, in these 29 games, the Clippers’ effective field goal percentage is 54.6% and their net score is +10.1, compared to 53.2% and +6.5 overall.
The Clippers have been waiting to get their entire squad together for most of the season, and it’s fair to wonder if the lack of availability is simply a bug on this list. The eight-game period where the Clippers went 7-1 towards the break is the only time we’ve seen this team at their peak, and it’s been tempting, but maybe that’s the only taste we’ll get.
As a secondary star, you can do a lot worse than PG. Check as many boxes as you want from an All Star player – he can score on all three levels, is a high level defender, and is a skilled enough playmaker to be able to execute the attack for you. The big blow to George (actually from 2017) is that he doesn’t do enough to lead his teams to victory in the playoffs. With an elite roster around him, perhaps George will be able to silence everyone at playoff time.
And since we’re all fans of the confusion, here are some of the post-match chatter between George, Beverley and Damian Lillard
I’m so glad the NBA is back.
If this continues, Jarrett Allen will make it impossible for the team to put him back on the bench next season. The big dude put together one of the best all-round games of his career on Friday with a line on 11/17/8. He’s been really able to adapt to all the changes thrown on him this year and a good playoff performance will go a long way in his future.
With Allen likely out, Donta Hall and Rodions Kurucs will clash with Ivica Zubac on the inside. Zubac does the dirty work for the Clips and is one of the best offensive rebounds in basketball. If the networks can control the boards, they can dictate the timing of this.
Meanwhile, Woj thinks Jacque Vaughn has a very good chance to return as head coach next season. Here’s what he wrote Saturday morning …
It should be noted that virtually every network, from Jarrett Allen to Jamal Crawford, praised Vaughn.
Who is the man with the master plan? In his first season in LA, Leonard was as good as advertised and has a chance to accomplish something no one has ever done in NBA history: win the Finals MVP in three different teams. With key Brooklyn players likely seated, we probably won’t see Leonard for too long. The playoffs begin next week and at that point Leonard’s big minutes will play. You feed someone throughout the year so they can be ready to rock when you win.
Garrett’s temple will have a busy night. When the Nets start the playoffs, he will be counted on to strike open looks and play quality defense. Pairing with Leonard will be a big tune-up for him as Brooklyn fine-tunes things in the final week of the regular season.
From the Vault
I had a chance to sit down and enjoy the last fight of Verzuz on Thursday night, so let’s throw one of the many drug tracks Rick Ross left on the cutting room floor.
Further reading: Clips Nation
