Nets @ Bulls, 10PM EST Game Thread

[LOUiS-D]

The young legs have helped a lot. Love Blake's effort and Aldridge really does bring a lot of touch and execution on offense. Neither of them can jump over a phone book though.

[Fallout_3]

It's like the Kyrie situation wasn't really an issue. I was mentally prepared to be embarrassed and then suddenly best game of the year.

[GTR11]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

This is a good sign with Harden being happy. Flat earth creature better not f*** this up.

[MrDollarBills]

I lost $250 last night. I suppose that's what I get for betting against my own team.

Edwards and Sharpe need to continue to start.

[MrDollarBills]

My boy Day’Ron with his first 20 piece!

Is it just me or does Harden seem to have better chemistry with Sharpe than Clax?

This is why I think Sharpe needs to continue to start. Having a strong big like Day'ron rolling on those screens made a huge difference for Harden.

[MrDollarBills]

Woj has spoken.

Read on Twitter

If Woj is saying this, then the Nets are about to pay the fine.

[MrDollarBills]

Wake up MDB!!!

I was watching bro

Did yall see how much better Patty is when he gets open looks?

If we can get Kyrie back full time, and Joe back soon, I feel like it doesn't matter what Nash does.

[NetsWorld]

I had a feeling by inserting Edwards in with the big three will imrpove the spacing and I was right. Sharpe was a dominant force as well. Youth/veteran combo helped last night. The Nets played like the Nets of last year, now it just has to get done more consistently. I hope this was not a fluke win but you can tell the Nets, whether they want to admit it or not, were out to prove on national TV they would diminish the hopes of the rest of the Eastern Conference and the league. If they continue to play this way, no one can beat them, but if they play lazily, they will get eaten alive by G-League teams. Come on Nets! Lets go Nets and lets get that damn ring and put this season to bed already!

[Prokorov]

They're waiting for the Omicron case numbers to crater in NYC and the mandate to get revised. Hopefully there's a Valentine's Day surprise.

Yea, at this point it has become endemic. you are not protecting people to any degree that matters much keeping these tight mandates. Everyone is getting Omicron anyhow and its shown to be not a serious compared to prior strains.

[Stone]

The one stat that stands out is that we only had 2 TO's in the second half. And I'm pretty sure they both came in garbage time.

But this game was really about the intangibles and teamwork and of corse effort. We really kept our foot on the gas and didn't look back. It felt like a ton of bricks off the chest when we pulled Harden out and sailed to the buzzer.

KD35Netted.....you got the hot hand. Bring us more luck with tonights game thread.

[Prokorov]

The obvious question is -- what happened between that terrible stretch of pedestrian games capped by that horrendous showing against the G-League version of the Blazers, and this statement game? Did a players-only meeting clear out the air in the locker room? Or might this be just a one-off (where the players brought the energy-&-effort collectively, and Nash managed not to get in the way) with no sustainable formula that can be bottled & applied to similar, devastating effect moving forward?

Does Day'ron Sharpe's emergence now make the less-than-reliable Nic Claxton a possible tradeable asset before the deadline?

Having KD & Kyrie allows us to compete with most teams on most nights... But having a Harden whose shots are falling AND is orchestrating efficiently for others allows us to blow out ANY team.

What Happened is all 3 of Kyrie/Harden/KD played.

When that happens our offense is the GOAT offense and we are almost impossible to beat. I think we are 13-3 when the big 3 play including the playoffs and the 3 losses were all kind of flukey:

-KD gets pulled from toronto mid game cause of contact tracing
-Wizards have miracle finish where they score 5 points in 2 seconds, harris botched the inbound and TLC missed an open GW layup
-Cavs came back from down 20 to win in overtime and Sexton went god mode

otherwise, we pretty much score 130 points a game and curb stomp everyone. Having the big 3 overcomes almost everything. Nash's coaching incompetence matters far less, Spacing is never an issue. We never have to play all bench units without a star. it becomes impossible to double all our stars cause you cant play with 6 guys. Mills doesnt have to work for open shots to take off balance threes, he gets wide open corner looks. the bigs get free dunks, and the defense isnt on a fast break all game because we go in long scoring droughts cause those dont happen

most of all KD/Harden play less and their minutes require less effort.

I still worry Nash's coaching kills us in the playoffs when we meet like miami/spo.

[Prokorov]

The young legs have helped a lot. Love Blake's effort and Aldridge really does bring a lot of touch and execution on offense. Neither of them can jump over a phone book though.

I think Blake brings some energy though and it goes overlooked that despite missing time he is still #2 in the NBA in charges drawn. We dont block alot of shots, those charges offer another form of rim protection and it pumps guys up.

Its interesting. I'd be ok trading Claxton. It is similar to shamet, he provides a great needed skill (Switching center) but we also likely cant pay him in the offseason. If we could get a 3&D wing or another sniper id probably do that.

LMA for me is a matchup situational play. His midrange are great, especially off the bench when stars sit. But too often we start him and our first 5 shots are settling for his mid range. and when he goes 2/5 instead of 4/5 it typically means we are down 8 or 10 points early.

Sharpe has played well, but small sample and in the playoffs he will need to gaurd smalls. i trust nic more for that.

[HardenGoat]

Woj has spoken.

Read on Twitter

Coming from Woj that is HUGE! Game changer ... puts us on ANOTHER LEVEL! Haters retreat! Return to the bowels of your origin!!!

[Prokorov]

Woj has spoken.

Read on Twitter

If Woj is saying this, then the Nets are about to pay the fine.

If you watch, Woj flat out says they wont pay the fine... Tsai and the Nets being vocal about encouraging people to get the vaccine and then pay a fine so an unvaccinated player can play isnt something they would be willing to do. and im glad, i love kyrie and and fine with his choice but you dont break the laws. he lives with the restriction or he gets the shot. not pay your way out of it.

Woj says the team has optimism the mandate will change/go away

[NetsJets]

The organization is seeing what everyone is seeing they’ll probably pay the fine.

[HardenGoat]

The young legs have helped a lot. Love Blake's effort and Aldridge really does bring a lot of touch and execution on offense. Neither of them can jump over a phone book though.

I think Blake brings some energy though and it goes overlooked that despite missing time he is still #2 in the NBA in charges drawn. We dont block alot of shots, those charges offer another form of rim protection and it pumps guys up.

Its interesting. I'd be ok trading Claxton. It is similar to shamet, he provides a great needed skill (Switching center) but we also likely cant pay him in the offseason. If we could get a 3&D wing or another sniper id probably do that.

LMA for me is a matchup situational play. His midrange are great, especially off the bench when stars sit. But too often we start him and our first 5 shots are settling for his mid range. and when he goes 2/5 instead of 4/5 it typically means we are down 8 or 10 points early.

Sharpe has played well, but small sample and in the playoffs he will need to gaurd smalls. i trust nic more for that.

Couldn't agree more. LMA is going to be huge in the playoffs, he is capable of spacing the floor simply by standing at the corner post spot. Plus he can get a bucket when we need it on any mismatches generated. He's strictly a bench player though. We need a legit 3-D player and use Kessler off the bench come playoffs. If you read the body language and cues you can see Sharpe became the big 3's roll man this game. Claxton simply lacks the overall size and physicality we needed as evidenced by his injury history and banging down with bigger guys. Sharpe is a beast, and he's athletic, has a nose for where to be on rebounds and is the better finisher.

[Prokorov]

MY thoughts on the game....

1) What we have all been saying. 'why is duke starting?' It makes so much more sense to have edwards start if you want a rookie in there. More of a shooting threat, bigger, more athletic, better defender.

2) The 2 rookies starting looked great but im not going to overreact to either. Anyone is going to look alot better playing along side all 3 stars. the Gravity of the trio is unmatched. I'm sure claxton would have killed it too. I'd keep giving Sharpe burn to evaluate him. at worst he helps us on the glass. I'm excited to see what edwards looks like with Kyrie out tonight. Our offense has sucked and had awful spacing with just KD/Harden the last few weeks. will he continue to help in that regard and on a back to back?

3) Patty mills getting WIIDDDE open jumpers is a thing of beauty. He can hit from anywhere the % of his threes that came from hand off off balance heaves was way to high as of late. wide open in the corner is a layup for him.

4) Kyrie breaks the game. He didnt score double digits and shot poorly. But he adds so much. His gravity is there, several times we saw the bulls pass on helping on a Harden/KD drive because Kyrie was in the corner. His playmaking is there... he found shooters and cutters. Harden is better at it, but Kyrie adds another playmaker. The threat of his scoring is there. They had to dedicate a good defender to him. or he will cook. you have to help, or he will cook. Just by being on the floor, he takes us to a god level tier.

5) Bembry is a G

+35 in 20 minutes. He has to play. 20-25 mpg. too good defensively, glue energy guy. when he is on the floor good things happen. I feel similarly with Blake. i dont know on minutes but he needs to play and be in the rotation. His energy/IQ/Charges help make us a good team.

6) our next 9 games:
Thunder
Pelicans
Cavs (Kyrie)
Wiz (Kyrie)
Spure (Kyrie)
Wolves (Kyrie)
Lakers
Nuggets
Kings (Kyrie)

We should be favored in every one of those games. we can make a nice run here to build confidence and get some distance between the 3-5 seeds. Tonight's game is big. If we can gut through the back to back then we have an awful pelicans team followed by having Kyrie for 4 straight vs inferior competition.

7-2 is a reasonable expectation with a real shot at 9-0

[Prokorov]

The organization is seeing what everyone is seeing they’ll probably pay the fine.

They wont. And it would be a really really really bad idea if they did for multiple reasons:

1) Its sports. you dont break the law and spit in the face of public health for sports
2) Its selfish and it makes the NBA look bad. It is morally wrong and gives the league bad press
3) The city may not allow it, and try and make an example of the Nets
4) The mandate likely is lifted or revised in the next month or so anyhow
5) would be a huge distraction and put negativity around the return of Kyrie, which there is already enough of

Kyrie is going to play 4 of our next 6 games and and 7 of our next 11. that will take us into February. things could very easily change or be on the verge of changing by then.

Paying the fines would be an all-time worst move in team history

[NetsJets]

The organization is seeing what everyone is seeing they’ll probably pay the fine.

They wont. And it would be a really really really bad idea if they did for multiple reasons:

1) Its sports. you dont break the law and spit in the face of public health for sports
2) Its selfish and it makes the NBA look bad. It is morally wrong and gives the league bad press
3) The city may not allow it, and try and make an example of the Nets
4) The mandate likely is lifted or revised in the next month or so anyhow
5) would be a huge distraction and put negativity around the return of Kyrie, which there is already enough of

Kyrie is going to play 4 of our next 6 games and and 7 of our next 11. that will take us into February. things could very easily change or be on the verge of changing by then.

Paying the fines would be an all-time worst move in team history

Either that or Kyrie gets the vaccine I don’t see a revision anytime soon.

[HardenGoat]

My thought is the mandate will be lifted and this is what Kyrie is hoping for, he is not on board with being the reason for fines getting paid for his vaccination status and playing. In the event the mandate doesn't get lifted in the next couple months, he will get vaccinated. We are seeing the crest of the Omicron wave and in the next few weeks we should see a big push to loosen restrictions as the endemic phase begins.