Escape From Detroit: Mikal Bridges and Nets hold o Pistons
Coming up the Brooklyn Nets go into the history books as the team that handed Detroit their 27 straight loss we break down on the tight contest the impressive performance from Kate Cunningham and ultimately the bench mob that came in like Heroes along the way we dive in
Next you are locked on Nets your daily Brooklyn Nets podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day Ah yes my friends it is the lockon Nets podcast right here in the locked on podcast Network it’s your team the Brooklyn Nets every single day over there you’ll find Doug Nory I’m Adam arck we thank you as always for making us your first listen of the day we are
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Escape from Detroit Victorious and unfortunately for the Pistons hand them that record setting loss yeah man this was a a little bit of a nailbiter you don’t want to be the team on the wrong side of this one I mean obviously you don’t I mean step one you don’t want to
Be the Pistons but step two after that you do not want to be the team that um is able to sort of let them off the hook get them off the schneide and be the team that stops this historically INF infamously historic streak at this point
Um and the Nets this one felt a little closer because it was closer at times we probably knew it was going to be tougher Pistons clearly came out with a we don’t want this to happen sort of attitude and energy really throughout um so sort of
Like in some ways kudos to the nets for sort of staving that off this is not an easy task there’s a lot of pressure pressure on them going into this game I know folks aren’t going to want to hear that they’re going to want to say that
This is like should be an easy dub against the Pistons and in the end they get the W so it’s not you can’t complain but this is a this is like the it’s an unenviable spot for the Nets to go into for this game right like history is on
The line you don’t want to be the one that stops the streak it’s in Detroit they’re getting their you know their full starting five who they kind of imagin starting the season with back basically for the first time this year so it’s like a tough spot but that’s
Sort of you know kind of grit down and able to pull it off and you know a win’s a win and they’re not going to be the ones that go into the wrong side of the history books on this one yeah and now even going forward right whatever team
Maybe Detroit Pistons snap it against it’ll have a different vibe because history’s already been made here right you already are now the new holder of that record and you mentioned Detroit really I mean listen they they took care of the first quarter in a big way against the Nets we’ll get into the
Starting lineup at some point along the way here for these Brooklyn Nets but you did have to find a way you know there’s a gap in between here in these games but it is the Home in home and and that that does create a little bit of a different
Energy whether or not Detroit is obviously a bad team when you see a team for consecutive games I think it does at least give you some Avenues where you feel like we see some things on film we can try to maybe attack a little bit better we can do some things to start
The game to give ourselves a leg up but from a Brooklyn perspective excuse me after the 3125 quarter they explode in the second quarter after being down six for a 36 point second they get deleted to half it does get tight across the third and fourth Quarters here obviously
But I don’t want to be too you know generic with it but it seems like it plays back to law of averages by the end of this the Detroit Pistons aren’t a good team they miss a couple of shots they have a couple of turnovers the Nets
Get a few buckets to fall and you feel like yeah when you look at the talent on paper the Nets should get this win and they do just that yeah it had like sort of like a mini I don’t I hate to call playoff because it’s like hey you’re
Talking about team that just won a gajillion loss they just is what Detroit brought to it though right Detroit brought that energy to it and and I think the Nets did too I think there was an understanding here that no one wanted to be on the wrong side of this right
Like you this is a game that became sort of like National high-profile you have the big accounts like w like tweeting about it these are things that just wouldn’t really happen I mean who cares about the Pistons and really the Nets the either of these teams this year
Right like National National speak these are not teams that sort of register in the National conversation nor should they right like they’re not Championship caliber teams they sort of you know Pistons are here for the wrong reasons but no no one’s really talking about the
Nets unless it’s a unless it’s a like oh is Donovan Mitchell going to get traded there conversation right like those are the otherwise in terms of the actual games legit nobody cares in the NBA so when you have bigger accounts when you have National Buzz around the game it is
Going to give a totally different vibe and it was I think there was a lot more eyes there clearly were a lot more eyes tuned into this game than and a random December Pistons Nets game where you know the Pistons had not lost 25 straight games but because of the
Context around the game there is there are significantly more eyes on it and the players clearly know this because again as much as you want to go into this be like oh my gosh like don’t choke and because it would have me it would have been a classic choke job if the
Nets were had lost this one and I know there’s folks out there and you know look to look at yourself in the mirror here that were probably convinced the Nets were going to lose right like oh this is just what they do this is what happens
It’s this the of course of course right I just know all the all the the the tropes of of phandom but so and I think that like those those things all play into to The Narrative of this game and I think you could definitely feel it as
You were watching this game this game did not have a feel of two just sort of teams sitting around the bottom of the Eastern Conference playing no this felt like hey neither of us want to lose this game and that was the clear energy so I think from that perspective for the Nets
To hang in that I think that is I mean commen able is that the right word it’s thank goodness they didn’t lose and they you know they understood the assignment they got you they got the job done you can’t really complain about that part of
It at least and cam Thomas had said it after the first meeting a couple of days ago saying we know what’s at stake here we don’t want to be the team that’s on that ledger so we came out and we handled our business at home and then
Obviously they come out and handle it on the road as well just a little bit I’m going to parse a little bit of words here two teams at the bottom of the Eastern Conference Doug I’m sorry my Brooklyn Nets are in the eighth position right now the playoffs okay they have a
Death grip they have a death grip on these playoffs yet Doug is correct that neither one of these teams Gardener National narratives but tonight everybody was focused in on them so it’s good to see obviously the Nets get the job done and there were some very familiar themes for Brooklyn coming into
This game the bench needing to step up in a big way looking at those starters looking at the combinations looking at some jock Fon decisions as well so we’ll take a look at all those things and then pull back high level is it still concerning where the Nets currently
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500 at 15 and 15 here so Hey listen sometimes when you get games against the Detroit Pistons back to back you take advantage of that and feel like you get a little wind in your sales as well not often though it has been a theme for the
Brooklyn Nets do you skip over sometimes the starting rotation to start the conversation around what was the path to success here I know we’re going to hit all The Usual Suspects of Cam Thomas and bridges and Johnson and all these guys but this bench Doug when you talk about
This game the plus minus only two players in the starting unit Spencer dwy who had a terrible shooting night plus one male Bridges even other than that it’s negative when you look inside this bench plus 16 for Dorian finy Smith plus 14 for Royce O’Neal plus 15 for Dron
Sharp and then plus three for Dennis Smith Jr as well the the bench unit is the story of this game as it’s been all season if you come off the bench you are incredible for the Brooklyn Nets they needed every single one of those guys in
Order to get this win yeah I mean I mean of course it’s been the whole season along with this thing this is the theme for the whole season this the only reason the Nets are 15 and 15 legit is the only reason the only reason that
This team is 500 right now and not well below is because the bench has been amazing this year and you know they’ve lost a couple guys from injury Lonnie Walker’s not here but they’re starting to get healthier we saw what happened with the bench when these guys were
Injured they like Dennis Smith Jr they they they were getting trucked and it’s been the story all season for these guys to come in down the line plus 16 DFS plus 14 Royce plus 15 for Dr Ron and we got to talk about dayon here yeah I mean
They were they were the they were legit the reason the Nets won like that’s not even I I I I don’t even want to say oh they contributed to the Nets winner like oh you know they they they no they were the reason they stopped the bleeding when the starting lineup which we’ll
Talk about just can’t beat anybody at anything they bring these guys in all these different combinations with these guys work and each one of those dudes was just absolutely amazing Daron sharp was Daron sharp saved the game for them like came in grabbed every rebound finishing at The Rim five for seven from
The line he was the MVP of the game like give him the game ball I’m being serious no no and it was Dorian FY Smith who also hit the dagger three there to kind of him yes right no no no but and I’m I’m including I’m including drron in
This like I’m just saying it’s like by the way these are two bench players that late in the game are the ones who are doing the critical things for this team Dron got extended run here before Claxton came in around the 21 12ish Mark in the fourth quarter and he got the
Final run there but it’s all of these guys that have those big plays and on Dron because that’s what matters most here you mentioned it I mean not only does he go you know three or four from the field it sounds like nothing but it’s everything also went to the line
Seven times though and knocked down five of those in a game where this team was terrible at the free throw line 27 of 43 yes Dron sharp was a critical piece there as well 11 rebounds in 22 minutes three assists two steals four blocks
Like he put up a full game line by a lot of standards and did it just in 22 minutes in critical moments as well and you know one of the things I looked at coming into this game at the fiveman lineups it was a small sample size but I
Think you’re going to see a grow here obviously Dron sharp when he plays with Den Woody Dorian finy Smith Bridges and Johnson guess what they’re a 12690 split a plus 36 across 54 minutes and I I really only illustrate that to kind of remind everybody that Dron sharp has
Taken a next very big step in his young career this season he’s become relied upon as opposed to a high energy guy that gets you rebounds but also creates a little bit of chaos and clunkiness he now fits inside of this team and has really become one of the key players Off
The Bench best plus minus on the team for the whole season well okay I take it back Armani Brooks has a little bit if you just filter out for anyone who played actual minutes plus 3.4 for the season so he’s over Lonnie Walker who had led in that stat so far he’s been
Amazing like what a leap that sharp has taken this season the finishing around the rim is better the body control is better the key for him tonight was he stayed out of foul trouble thank goodness because they really needed they really needed him to actually just stay
In the game uh which has been sort of problematic for him at times this is just it was just a a total complete game from him like his 22 minutes were some of the best 22 minutes he’s played all season long they were near it was really nearly perfect honestly like you
Really can’t imagine him have done done any more here like protected at The Rim got absolutely after it on defense every single shot that didn’t go in he grabbed it as a rebound and some were like sort of high diffic high degree of difficulty rebounds body moving back the opposite
Way and and some didn’t even get counted because he got fouled because they were trying to keep him off they were trying to keep him off the boards and they just kind of had to hold him down he was amazing the rest of the bench was
Amazing just to go back to the top with that it’s been the whole story of the Season they’ve saved the fact that the starters have been so lackluster to the point of sort of like criminality they’ve been that bad and it’s really I mean I guess it’s marks it’s like hard
To know who to really give credit here they built out a deep roster I mean I guess you gotta give marks the credit um they built out a deep roster that’s able sort of consistently as long as they’re healthy basically bury some of these these second units because when it’s
Dayon sharp and DFS and Royce O’Neal and going the other way it’s Marcus Sasser and James wisman right and like guys like this and Kevin Knox like that’s a huge difference huge difference on a night to night basis that they’re able to just sort of bury these the other
Teams seventh eighth and Ninth guy often cannot hang with who the Nets have when they’re fully healthy and tonight was just another perfect example of it and the funny thing about it is too the other guys that are contributors there we mentioned Dorian finy Smith Royce O’Neal has been incredibly consistent
There listen there’s games when Royce O’Neal looks a little bit old and a little bit slow and then there’s games like tonight where he is just kind of bouncing around he has the Rhythm he’s knocking down a handful of critical shots as well and when you think about
That bench we’ve talked about trendon Watford before we know that Lonnie Walker is injured right now but you found a way where in a season that you and I talked about at length going back to last year saying these guys shouldn’t be on this roster it’s not about them as
Individuals it’s because they have value they should have been traded and now you’re here in this season and you’re looking at it and going well well thank goodness these guys are on the bench because what would we be talking about for this team this year right along with
Dron sharp as well that bench theme if you don’t have these guys if you’re to your point credit to Shawn marks we want to give some credit to the co coaching staff the development with some of these younger guys as well but if you don’t have the Deep team that you have we’re
Having a much different conversation about how the starters cannot hang with most other starting fiveman units around the league and they don’t have anybody to bring in to give a different look right so you know a game like tonight take away one of those three players that we just highlighted there the Nets
Are losing this game most likely and they’re losing a lot of other games throughout this season one of those key players right Lonnie Walker even Dennis Smith Jr sometimes not in the stat box all the time but there are critical plays made by this bench unit
It would and and not a lot of other teams in the league would see that type of volatility if you just took one or two players off their bench not at a starting five off their bench unit yeah and again like how fitting for it to go
This game right it’s a high leverage game it’s a high leverage game for like the Nar narrative street it’s not like it’s not really a leverage game for the Nets in terms of like it doesn’t count extra in the standings obviously like that right it’s not it’s not an
Island game it’s not a Christmas game like some of these other higher leverage just like National kind of games but there’s Le again just to go back to the top there’s there’s there’s stuff happening here right you don’t want to be you don’t want to be on the wrong
Side of this Ledger um because this is a ledger that gets kept weird so it’s so fitting for the Nets especially if people were tuning in for the first time for this team which maybe some people were because they’re watching you know sort of it go the other way for Detroit
For it for for you to see that this has sort of been the story of the season right like this has been the the the this has been the story for the Nets this year that this bench has gotten the job done do you think when you poke your
Eyes in on a game like this is just your point you watch the Nets for the first time do you think that people uh passingly observe oh their starting units bad but their bench is really good or is maybe end becoming oh they’re a deep team this is a deep team that
That’s hard to maybe win against and this is how they are 500 just as a I think like if you’re just stopping in I think if you’re stopping in the things your eyes will notice is like deon’s line right like Deon Sharp’s line because that’s just easy to it’s like
It’s we talk about it it’s like the numnom stuff it’s like o the rebounds and the blocks and and and and and the steals right right you know like that it’s like stuff you can really glum on to because it’s really easy to see right
It shows up in the Box Score it’s all the stuff that gets like literally counted uh the rate stats so I think those are the things you would end up noticing I don’t think and we’re going to talk about the starting lineup here in a second but I do not think you would
Notice that other part because that’s something you have to have been sort of watching for a while on this to kind of know that this is gone I mean completely and utterly sideways but no so I think you would I think you would just notice specifically like Dr Ron’s thing and
Like DFS isn’t sneak uping most people that are yeah yeah I think so I think they mostly know him come up come up here in a second we’ll talk about the starting unit the slow start from Mel Bridges rounded himself into a little bit of form there and then a rare
Occasion tip of the cap to a Detroit Piston known as Kade Cunningham who had one heck of a game even if it wasn’t a losing effort we’ll wrap that up in just one second all right before we get to that tell you about our friends over at game
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Living on every single game here for the Nets pretty much it feels like going forward before we talk about the starting lineup here I just do want to give a quick nod to Kade Cunningham for the Detroit Pistons 37 minutes you know we talked about him in that last game
Saying it’s hard to any player on a bad team to really examine whether or not they’re good or bad because of who they’re playing with because of who they’re being coached by and just being a miserable team 30 7 minutes 15 of 21 eight of 10 at the line three of four
From Deep 41 points overall and really just that late in this game in that fourth quarter it was Kate Cunningham it was get a rebound give it to Kate Cunningham he goes down and tries to get at the basket or knock down a three M made bucket give it to Kate Cunningham
Like there was clearly just this is it this is the team and I will say I did have like a little moment of of jealousy of oh yeah now that’s a bad team and I don’t want to be rooting for the Detroit Pistons but Kate Cunningham is the man
For the Detroit Pistons and you can see that in a game like this and you know that that’s what the identity of this team is going to be going forward yeah he was awesome I mean they staved it off he like thank goodness it kind of like
Got started late for him because it was mostly in the second half right I think it was like 34 of us the 41 were in the second half or something like that if he had been rolling like this or pressing the issue like this all game they would
Have lost almost for sure like they they just could they had no they had no answers at all for him he was so good um obviously like number one overall pick like it’s kind of come along slowly he’s mired in this losing streak it’s hard to
Totally blame him though he has not been amazing the team is really really the team’s team’s really really poorly constructed this was I mean again just to go back this is not an excuse but tonight I’m I’m pretty sure this was like the third minute that this act this
Was supposed to be their starting lineup from the beginning yeah Kade Ivy uhh bogdanovich Duren and Stewart and they’ve really because of injuries to Duran and bog specifically the team has really not played together very much this season now again that’s not an excuse for losing this many games in a row every
Team deals with injuries but you did see flashes that like there is something here with this team for sure and you get the sense that like this group had been even a little healthier especially with Duren that they would not have lost this many games in a row but yeah no Kade
What are you gonna say like he’s he’s he’s shown flash as a superstar she’s not consistent enough that that’s his biggest problem wonderful start to hear the free Kade chance right coming out of Detroit now also the sell the team the sell the team chance were sell the team
Chants are well underway and you will be hearing those in Detroit for weeks to come uh now on the net side of things though inside of the starting lineup a familiar theme one same starting lineup we we’ve talked about this at nsum here this fiveman lineup gets beat every time
That they play together and guess what they got beat again tonight as the starting unit they also started out incredibly slow Mel Bridges didn’t hit a single shot for a long stretch in this game finally got it going in the second half and if you want to look at that as
Being the positive that by the end of this one he goes six of 14 and gives you a 21 Point performance and got line a lot like that mattered as well here sometimes when you’re playing bad teams when you’re playing young teams you need to be willing to lean into the thing
That you think can be successful and that’s just you know bad fouls taking too many fouls and then also late game sequences here they’re doing that to extend this game male frankley missed back-to-back free throws that would have iced this thing at the minute and a half
Mark instead of actually dragging it out a little bit longer I don’t I don’t know what to say about the starting unit outside of the fact that that they’re struggling and they are not finding a consistency here and I’m surprised that jock vaugh I I thought that one of these
Detroit games was going to be the moment when you say okay Dorian finy Smith you’re back in there let’s get some good vibes and instead they go at the same lineup they get the wins so it’s you know you can’t knock the result but maybe they’re just going to live with
Our bench units will win these games for us while our starting unit tries to figure this thing out well I know what to say we can’t ever see it again this unit stinks like they stink there’s not there’s not even word for the players in the group do not stink yep the
Combination of those Five Guys stinks they we they cannot do this again it’s every game every single game they go out there the starting unit spots the other team five to 10 points they then they do the again of the second half where they Scot him five to 10 points it’s the
Worst I’ve said this many times it’s only gotten worse since I originally said never gets D says it’s the worst and then it only gets worse than that it’s only gotten worse they’re the worst starting F they’re the worst five not even starting five they’re the worst
Fiveman group in the NBA at more than 100 minutes it’s not even close um I mean depending on which net rating He Is We could look at minus 23.48% and so they’re sort of just stuck there’s no excuse they cannot start this unit again it’s like we’ve seen enough
They played the good teams with it and they played the bad teams with it everyone’s beating them like it doesn’t like but again Pistons are the worst of the group and they just crushed them again 3317 vaugh had the weirdest quote before this game he said I’m just gonna
Read this this is per Evan Barnes um which I believe is at New York Post uh no sorry Newsday um but he was this was supress row uh jacqu vongh on the starting lineup the numbers have can’t read this with a straight face the numbers have been have not been
Efficient or sufficient enough for us and so there probably will be a change at some point what that change is I’ll continue to see how the group um dot dot dot what would they need and what’s best for the group I mean they all know it
They know it they know it’s not good sure and there’s been no change it’s terrible it’s terrible I sorry to go long on this it’s no I’m almost we’ve been saying for F four games now yeah I’m not even I’m not even jumping in to cut you off
For any other reason then join the point home has to be said I’m only yep and I’m humming it because we’ve been it’s been said it’s been said now at nauseum they are and and to your point just around the jock Von take from this and listen
The Nets got the win Doug and I were talking before we started recording this episode I I had some different energy coming into this one they get the win they get to 500 they get backto backs against Detroit like that is the overall takeaway here and you still are a team
30 games in this season that’s 500 also jacqu vaugh it’s like yeah I don’t know man I’m curious to see what happens next too like that’s what that response sounds like so weird like you know what do you think is going to happen with the starting line he’s like you and me both
Hey guy like let’s let’s find out together and that is when you mentioned about is there a disconnect internally here it feels like has to be because remember Jack vaugh is a coach going back to last year he loves to give and we appreciate detailed responses about how rotations have been working plays
That they were looking for right like he actually went far deeper in to some of the X’s and O’s that a lot of head coaches have in the NBA maybe that was an offseason change coming from the organization of like hey buddy why don’t you stop talking about everything that
We’re going to plan on doing but I was really surprised by that from him and you come in with the same lineup tonight and while we would assume cannot see it again I guarantee you I guarantee you we see it against Milwaukee but why why wouldn’t we because there’s been lock
Step going back to the Denver game and games prior to that were you perfect opportunity to make the switch and they just haven’t done it so the win is the win the next 500 and also this is a big carryover theme that does not seem to be
Going away anytime soon okay that’s the one place I’m going to disagree you on and it’s not like a really big disagreement well well two things one is I I’ll hand this I do think there’s an internal disagreement about who should about the who should be play I think
That’s like pretty clear like whether it’s like coaching staff front office to coaching staff like whatever it is I think that I think that quote that he had before the game clearly signals to me like there the lack of definity around this is based on a disagreement
About what the change should be and so I didn’t didn’t it feel like a response to a Ben Simmons question in a lot of ways like the ambiguity felt just the same right which lets you know that they don’t know what they’re doing or that you know there’s a clear decision to
Communicate directly about I think it’s that they know it’s bad and they don’t they can’t agree on what the change is yes and I think that like that’s and I think that’s as big a problem as anything else and I think that because it’s so clear as day like these gu all
These guys are smart I know people want to like call people names like and and they and they want to look at sports figures and say and you know use pejoratives against them and say these guys are all smart that’s and and you’re smart okay here let me put this way
You’re smart enough to read stuff we can read like five man lineup net rating stuff right like we’re all they’re all they didn’t just like you know back into these jobs they can all read that stuff of course of course I don’t me have to
Say that so they all know I I think it’s just a disagreement but I do think and we’ll talk about this here in the bonus app uh coming up here in a second because we’re GNA close this out and get into everyone here that’s live over on
YouTube I I do think tonight’s game signaled a pretty clear change probably what’s going to happen here going forward um and I and I suspect next game even though I said this two games ago and I was wrong but this game this by the way when we when we had that
Discussion as well I you said well you said Denver game why aren’t they doing I said well you know look they got two games against Detroit nice soft landing spot to get things back on track they both came and went the changes weren’t made but something did happen in this
Game that could be indicative of what’s coming down the pike obviously we’ll dive into that as Doug said in the bonus episode in just a moment all right much appreciated everyone here that jumped into live YouTube where the Nets do not lose to the Pistons and that was the key
Here Pistons continue to lose Nets on the historic two game winning streak now that they’ve taken care of the Pistons much appreciate everyone here we’re going to jump into the YouTube live in a moment in the meantime make sure you subscribe wherever you listen to podcast make sure you subscribe over on YouTube
As well buddy you idiots these are not them you’ve captured their stunt doubles that is dark helmet from Space Balls oh one of the all-time great poets we’re back again in a moment talking more Brooklyn that’s basketball basketball basketball basketball basketball not in the record books basketball basketball basketball
Yeah oh when the postgame podcast ends the post podcast podcast begins and tonight has cam Thomas officially played himself out of the starting rotation we dive in on that question and all the fan reactions coming up next you are locked on Nets your daily Brooklyn Nets podcast part of the locked
On podcast Network your team every Dayo ah yes my friends it is the locked on Nets podcast right in the locked on podcast Network it’s your team the Brooklyn Nets every single day over there’s Doug Nory I’m Adam arre we thank thank you for making us your first listen of the day we are 100% free on
All those great platforms and Doug yes the Brooklyn Nets beat the Detroit Pistons two games in a row yes they helped set the single season 27 game losing streak and yet there still is this turmoil around the starting lineup and the question really does come down
To is Cam Thomas the problem in this starting five I don’t think he’s the problem I just think that’s what’s going to change and so I would like so at the beginning you said did he play his way out of I actually don’t think he’s done anything
To play his way out of the starting lab and that’s why I was hesitant even last when we talked about the the the starters hesitant to sort of say who the problem was because I actually don’t think there is any definitive who is the problem I just think it’s that fiveman
Combination is the problem it’s not that there’s one person in there that I think is definitively worse than the other the other four I think it’s more that that that that group just doesn’t have any juice and at so and this and I think this is at the heart of why it’s
Probably not been changed is because it’s not so obvious about who should change out of the group but well go ahead and then I’ll say the cam Thomas because on the one hand I agree with you because again isolated cam Thomas and His development really matters and we’ve
Seen him take big steps forward this year as well and that’s a great thing but it is it is at least a little bit hard to deny what the numbers tell you about a starting five that has Dorian finy Smith in it not cam Thomas and the
One that has it in it now that doesn’t mean that a more dramatic change not just cam Thomas but maybe multiple players right maybe need to mix this up in a much bigger way to create a different formula that works for them but that is the one variable and I I I
Think it’s unfortunate that it falls to cam Thomas because to your point these aren’t bad individual players but when you put these guys together it doesn’t seem to work yeah this group doesn’t work and and there there is a group where you put Dory and Vinnie Smith in
Instead of Cam Thomas and that group does seem to work like that’s the only reason to me it seems like that would be the move now I do think a couple things are unfair when it comes to Camp one all these other guys have played a lot more
Minutes and are just probably have just more Court time right so it’s gonna be easier like they just they have they’ve been able to develop like cam Thomas’s it’s been starts and stops with this guy because of how the Nets have sort of treated him over the last couple years
Leading into this year where the playing time was incredibly inconsistent there was no he never knew when he was playing on a a night toight basis and there was no like real clear linear development that’s not really that’s not his fault like that’s the that’s on the coaching
Staff they they they’ve done a bad job with this no but do you think beyond that now though like we’re beyond that now as far as like he now he is playing and he is getting consistent minutes yeah I’m just saying he’s playing catchup compared to the rest of the guys
Compared to the rest of the like compared to the rest of the guys in the starting lineup who like have just been on the court for years and years and years and oh by the way you could have played him all 27 games last year even
Though we know that was the fiveman L got the good sample size you could have done so much more with him a year ago to move this timeline ahead right and we said it last year total disaster they just like kind of they kind of benched them all throughout the second half of
The season when it was definitively the time to play them and they didn’t and now we’re just and now we’re in this again a weird spot with him now I think that whether at this point whether I think it’s right or wrong like I I can
Go either way I really could honestly go either way with this one I think what we saw tonight like closing that game where he didn’t even sniff the game like for Theo for for most of the I think the whole fourth quarter maybe and they closed and won that game with guys
That V clearly wants to play like Dory Andy Smith like right specifically um I think that we’re gonna see a change going into Milwaukee where they have some big guys in that lineup in Giannis and Brook Lopez and I think that like we saw and I think they’re just gonna make
It I think they’re going to make a change and maybe they’ll do it under the guys of hey we got to deal with Giannis right and we got put another big body in there and DFS has been good against him in the past and there’ll be stuff like
That and I think we’ll see and I think we’ll see the change like and I think that this fourth quarter sort of signal that to me what is what do you think it is then because we talked about jock Vaughn’s unwillingness to want to play
Young players or he wants to go with the veteran guys from a coaching perspective I can understand I want to go with the guys that have the experience and I can probably lean on a little bit more to say this is what we want to execute and
Trust that it’s going to get from A to B as effectively as possible I I don’t want to say that jock vaugh is against playing cam Thomas but I think that at a minimum he may have a different idea about how he would develop cam Thomas
Now that can’t come at the cost of him playing minutes right it can’t be like last year where he didn’t see the court but is that the disconnect is it that Shawn marks drafted him in the first round drafted Dron in the first round and he’s at the point now where he’s
Saying it is now their time because if that’s the case then the disconnect here is simply that Jack vongh feels like he’s coaching for his credibility whereas Shawn marks and the organization might be saying we’re Co we’re we’re planning for what this looks like Beyond this iteration of the team right I mean
That that’s The Simple Solution here why play two veterans andorian finy Smith and Royce O’Neal as much as you do if you feel like you have job security and the ability to say more cam Thomas closing cam Thomas cam Thomas at the point guard like let’s go in that
Direction I I I really do do just wonder what is being tasked to jock vaugh and is it maybe an impossible task develop cam Thomas but also win basketball games well sorry I can’t do both those things simultaneously yeah I just don’t know I it’s it’s the most confusing situation I
Don’t know what the deal is it probably is like that it’s like you’re supposed to they’re given two different sets of marching orders here and those marching orders for most teams don’t line up like this right which is like develop and and win at the same time I mean they should
Though like you should be able to do both in parallel but for whatever reason vaugh doesn’t seem to be able to like and they just there’s been no there’s been no signal that they want to and I don’t know if it’s like just a cam thing but they don’t play the young other
Young guys either like you know this wat show you something but he doesn’t come into come into games nearly as much as at least he should even on a small level DQ Whitehead and Noah Clowny played the least minutes of any first- round draft pick this year right like by the way go
Back to the except for Kobe buffkin except for Kobe buffkin who’s been hurt every single other every single other I I look this up specifically today every single other first round pick has played like at least 50 minutes this year and those two guys happen and it’s not
Shocking at all but it’s just like and they’re they’re the youngest of the group too so there’s like some other built-in stuff here all right we’ll get into there’s a bunch of other stuff here to talk about um that we we definitely want to hit um we’re gonna do that here
In a second first G tell you about our friends over at uh oh yeah talk about our friends over here at game time look we talked about this earlier but buying tickets right now if you are going to the sports event if you’re going to the comedy show if you’re going to the
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NBA for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price is guaranteed all right so as we continue our post pod pod episode and welcoming everybody over on the live stream we’ll get into your questions as well I do just want I’ll throw this one up on real
Quick because it’s it’s a little bit of a dig but also a lot of fun do you think Detroit will hang the banner now for most losses listen you celebrate whatever you can records are records that’s what I say if LeBron James and the Lakers are hanging up the inseason
Tournament why not you Detroit go for it the one note I will say on the young players and this is why I think it becomes even more confusing is if you are the organization you’re Shawn Mark so you draft a couple of very young players one with an injury history one
That’s going to need more time to develop okay fine and you think about them as being a little bit longer term but then you want to win games but you also want to play cam Thomas Dron sharp right like the I just it feels and we
Said this all all along the way that the Nets are constantly trying to do multiple things and they never line up together it just it never works this way either you’re playing young players maybe like Detroit and you’re losing a lot of games but you know what that
Leads to you think you hope you know what it leads to or you’re playing with the veterans and you want to win basketball games and you’re making tough decisions about trading some young players to make this team better instead the Nets are going to do this thing I
Think where it’s just we’re around 500 and we’re going to try to get a little bit above 500 and hopefully we’ll be in the playoffs and that’s that’s good enough for us and everything else is going to be frustrating including the trades they do or don’t make when it
Comes to the deadline yeah it’s just it’s a really frustrating situation I actually don’t know I and we’ve said it before it’s an impossible spot to be in if if you’re being asked to do two separate things the Nets have to win games but they really because they don’t
Have draft picks but they also need to like make sure they you know secure some long-term assets with whatever they have the only way to do that is to play these guys and let them go through the hard times and sometimes you have teams that
Are given a lot of rope with this stuff and sometimes you’re not like it’s just it it’s it’s tough but it doesn’t it’s always it’s never felt like with Cam too specifically that they’ve want he’s wanted to do it right like I like and and and that just doesn’t that’s that’s
Not even a hot take it’s just that the guy has barely played like and the if you’re the anti-am Thomas Camp can make a a sort of compelling case for why I suppose not really but like it’s just the weirdest situation I I just don’t I don’t know but I what do
Real quick do you think next game do you think he’s going back to going back to the bench I because it’s the Bucks and the matchup also dictates it I’ll say yes but but again Denver was a perfect opportunity to do it too and they didn’t do it right
So I I think it I think that is what’s going to happen I don’t know when it’s going to happen and I don’t know if it should be happening but but I will say one thing not in defense of but as we’ve also said this team is the byproduct of
The trades so this is not the perfect version of We’re putting together our team and constructing these rosters these rotations and we went out and plucked all the key pieces we took the best things that we could get trading Kevin Durant and trading Kyrie Irving
And in that there is also a facet this where it’s like well what would be the best backcourt mate for C Thomas right we don’t have them so and we can’t just get them and by the way when you go and look at those lineups we were talking
About earlier fiveman lineups well guess what as bad as it is when cam Thomas is in the current lineup right now with those five guys you go down to and there’s not a lot of big sample sizes for starters starting fan units for this
Nets team but if you go down and put oh guess what Ben Simmons into that starting lineup they played four games in 48 minutes together and it was a 124 101 and we talked about that a long time ago where Ben Simmons is a great guy to
Have in the back court with Cam Thomas those guys work really well together so there is a part of it too where I I don’t want to just make it about jock vaugh doesn’t want to play cam Thomas I think it it’s the both and he he wants
To develop him there’s a an issue in these lineup constructions and at a minimum putting veterans out to kind of go through the SLO that’s maybe not as bad as putting out your young player that you probably do want to get to that place where he could be one of the
Future core members Future Leaders of this team yeah I like I said we’ll get the some comments here we start a bunch of uh start a bunch of these from people that are hanging out on YouTube live so um this is a tough spot I I don’t really
Have a great answer here um I wish I did I know some people are Resolute with what they think the definitive right answer should be I that’s harder for me to see um as it being like clear as day like I I just don’t it’s just not clear
As day to me and so um and I yeah I don’t know this one this one’s a weird one okay yeah we’ll hit some of these we’ll hit some really appreciate everyone here tons of people here on YouTube um and much appreciated everyone that’s jumped in here following the W uh
Of Pistons if you just by the way real quick last one if you just jumped into YouTube here yeah uh we we’re we’re in like minute 45 of this so um make sure you go back and start from the beginning because we cover all the positives
Around like the win and all that other stuff now we’re going in a different direction which is from gar locked on Nets who comes out of the starting lineup either of the camps also who goes in DFS I I just I’m dovetailing this on because you said and I agree with you
It’s not so black and white or just so simple as one of the other now the Dorian finy Smith into the starting lineup makes sense I also think that cam Johnson out of the starting lineup as well is is is an acceptable possibility here I do wonder about not about what
They will do but what they could do of saying cam cam Johnson out doriann Smith in let him play still with Cam Thomas in the starting lineup and see if that looks different because Dorian finy Smith is a different type of player to have out there with with that lineup
Instead of even Cameron Johnson but that comes back to the key faces of that trade and maybe just not being able to or willing to do that from a a optic standpoint which would be the worst reason to not make a change like that yeah and by the way too like with with
Tonight’s game it’s even weirder because it’s like cam was like fine like he scored pretty efficiently right like he was not it wasn’t like he was having some kind of bad game he was seven for 13 from the field three or four for the line what’s that oh what I say seven
Seven for 13 for the field right so like 17 points in 23 minutes efficient scoring it wasn’t like he had the four fouls so maybe that was like an excuse to get him out of there just real quick 24 points for cam Johnson oh oh I’m sorry you’re doing cam Thomas I
Apologize I was doing cam cam Thomas but I was going to I was going to say cam I that’s I say it was weird that they benched him here then you go to cam Johnson because you’re like oh we’ll move him out of the starting lineup it’s
Like he was nine for 13 for 24 points tonight right so it’s like it’s it’s not like again this is where it always ends up being so weird with these guys it’s just the whole thing is weird it’s just so unclear what to do I
Don’t I still GNA go back to the cam Thomas not playing it all here is weird it’s just weird it’s I know that like they kind of took him out and maybe they were riding some hot hand stuff here but just to not go back to him at all is is
Off one other thing too about it and we’ve seen this the last few games like the offense for defense the use of timeouts getting guys in during free throw scenarios right like we’ve seen ja Von struggle in those moments too where there there are clear-cut opportunities
To use a timeout to adjust your lineup to use it whether you’ve had a foul and they have you know the opposition at the line and he hasn’t quite gotten there either we went back and talked about the box out going back to the Denver game against Murray where oh is Thomas too
Dedicated to trying to help on the Joker on the rebound that’s why a long one and it gets to Murray well okay yeah he needs to stay at home on that also he shouldn’t even have to be in there to get that you should have you should
Switch up the lineup there for the rebound utilize a timeout reset yourself offensively so it does seem like vaugh is maybe simplifying things to say there’s the closing lineup and we’re going with it at both ends as opposed to trying to go one for the other and there
Are samples there are games where you say you take out one for the other and you don’t get the chance to adjust back and then Thomas gets stuck out there defensively or vice versa you’re offensive lineup lacks the Firepower you need maybe to close a gap in a game as
Well let’s go to uh nater you you threw this one up here Doug uh in third 30 games in what tier would you put the Nets in potential for to six seed playing team if we’re picking between these two Doug I’m gonna say playing not
Rather than four to six um now I do like again I’ve said I think there’s worlds where they can sniff that six seat like that was my start of the year goal for them the recent run is it’s cooled me off a little bit here but I still think
They could like sniff the six seed potentially mostly because the East still has getable teams there but there’s no way you know out of the two they’re clearly a playing Team before they’re an entrenched five six seed oh they’re not they’re not a five six seed I don’t think they’re gonna I don’t
Think they’re even gonna sniff that this season I I think that they’re GNA fight here for the nine and 10 seed and hope that Atlanta like starts to call no hope here because like Cleveland’s going to keep trying they’ve pretty much signaled that and they’re they’ve been sort of
Like okayish even without some of these guys in the lineup Pacers um went through a little bit of a Down strrretch but they’re going to be okay bulls have played so much better without Zack LaVine and they won again tonight and there another one where it was like kind of
Looking like they were dead and then LaVine gets hurt and they’re was like oh we got some life like these guys are actually Kobe White’s been awesome so I think that Nets I mean Nets are never sniffing the four to six seed for sure I can bet a massive amount of money on
That one and then um I think they’re going to be fighting for this 910 spot most of the rest of the season I hate to like give them the slot that they have now because I think things change but this is hard to see this it’s hard to
Tell yourself a story where they get so much better than any team above them it’s also hard to tell a story where they get so much worse than the teams below them right so I think that I think this is just kind of where they belong
Like right here at nine and 10 yeah and I I like ever The Optimist I would push him like into the 8 and seven conversation just cuz Cleveland’s dealing with their injuries Etc but again another week from now another sample size and we’ll we’ll know I think
It’s only going to get clearer here kind of what this team is and whether or not some guys round into form uh Khan comes in with do you think uh that the Nets are all reading the same forums we are camt supporters versus non-believers um I think the Nets are
Reading the Forum I don’t understand the question did I think I start you start this one so yeah my bad okay so do I think the team reads into like what the media or whatever says about I guess you could say yeah I I know the
One that are this um the I think they’re aware of certain things I really think they probably don’t care it be is my very and I know that fans probably never want to hear that but I don’t think they care I they care you know care about did
You buy a ticket fantastic yeah I think they care I they clearly care about winning or losing and making decisions like that or if it gets so egregiously bad like what’s the Pistons stuff because you’re going to really start worrying about the bottom line do I think they care about like people that
Support player uh no and I and by when I think when I say how much do they care I would say Z Point oops I would say zero uh 0% so I by mistake brought this up here I don’t how to do that’s all right
Um I think they don’t care at all and I think that if you think they do then you are not it’s not a rational thought so yeah the fan the fans pushing the narrative or decision-making process of a team is unlikely to be to be it’s not
It’s not unlikely it’s not it’s not at all yeah yeah not not likely to be relevant to the organization uh Ley also here with what are the chances of looking at getting Donovan Mitchell uh because I know other teams are looking at a situation with Cleveland I don’t
Think that he’s I don’t think he’s going to go anywhere Doug was just mentioning they’re playing a little bit better they’re dealing with the injuries again for every time that you think another team is goingon to sell a guy off now things could change here but look at the
Again are they going to go win a championship this year no they’re 17 and 13 like they’re right there to go in towards the six seed and you have Donovan Mitchell you have one of the better players and we talk talked about this last week the the price point on
Donovan Mitchell alone would probably be too much and I know we also have another discussion coming up about making a particular type of move in a different direction but I you’d have to be all in on Donovan Mitchell and another player in my opinion to make it worth it to get
Him or somebody else because there the Nets are two players away from really making an impact on the standings yeah agreed I don’t think that I I just don’t think this is the route they’re going to end up going and I I do think too that like the Suns like this
Possible Suns implosion here um is going to make the way they maybe rethink about these picks I’m not sure exactly but like it’s going so bad for the Suns here that those picks just look better and better but it’s like sort of I mean it’s
Still so it’s so many years out too it’s like can’t really Bank on like them being bad now means the 2029 pick is like some sick sick number one pick so I don’t think you should do that math but it is it has gone worse quick it has
Gone way worse quicker than I think most people thought it was going to for sure for sure so I think that probably changes the equation yeah I was interesting to me about like it’s not like it’s not it’s not the first- round pick next year for you know say it goes
So bad this year for the Suns it’s not next year you still have to wait a couple of years and if you’re a desperate team like the like the suns are they’ll make another move they’ll make another decision the and I really do wonder man what’s going to happen
There with Kevin Durant and like the way that it’s being reported about him and Bradley Beal not being available and just everything else like it just Kevin Durant’s Journey has taken a lot of twist and turns and there is certainly a narrative to be built around the way
That he responds to how things are going or not going I mean what is he gonna be his fifth team if he doesn’t finish with the Suns He he’ll play on five teams by the time his career’s over it’s just insane it’s this is fourth oh oh he does
Go if he moves on again yeah like if this isn’t the final stop and he wins something here and they don’t you know make and they don’t make it happen but to hear narratives of like he’s not satisfied with the sporting cast it’s like well this is what and the Nets went
Through this too it’s not it’s not even on him necessarily but this is what happens you give up everything you go get Kevin Durant and then it’s on him in that starting lineup to get the job done and unfortunately you’re gonna have a very completed Ben unit he completely
Mailed it in on Christmas um okay got a couple more here it says was shv take cam Thomas out of the starting lineup so M and cam Johnson onedimensional one dimensional guys uh was gize that one yeah whoops can be the guys um I do think he’s gonna take cam Thomas out a
Starting lineup um and I think that he might have gotten saved that cam Johnson had his best game here from a narrative say not saying it’s correct but do think I would just very quickly say too there’s a world where Thomas gets taken out of the starting lineup Dorian finy
Smith goes in that lineup plays very well because the sample size is good and cam Thomas is also highly successful in the bench unit and while you may want him to be starting it can still work out in a very positive way like as long as cam Thomas ends up playing 30 plus
Minutes a night and getting real opportunities all that good stuff then like I’m not I’m not going to care as much as some are going to about him being in the starting lineup or being in the bench unit as long as the minutes are there as long as the opportunities
Are there for him then I think the development is you know is still going in the right direction at least in the short term uh Ian cart said did JB rest cam Thomas for tomorrow’s back Tob against the Bucks uh no he got back I like that I I like like optimism though
No he was he got conveniently taken out because vaugh probably was desperate to win and doesn’t think that cam Thomas like is an elevator I am not saying that’s the case I’m just saying that that is seems to be the case here that he does not want to play this he just
Doesn’t want to play him um and that is I don’t so no I don’t think there was any rest Factor uh here this is a good one this is getting off the camp Thomas thing again yeah is there ever a situation where you think sharp and Claxton can play to on the court
Together I do not but they both played so well that they both deserve to play I think that’s for sure but in terms of sharing the court no there’d be no spacing they neither of them can shoot so you can’t have two you can’t have two non-f floor spacers like
This that can’t do other things and so um no they cannot play together and this is why you never see Harry GS play play either it’s because these guys can’t ever play because they can’t play with each other anyway what you gonna say no no well I was just gonna say that like
There there’s there’s been a clamoring it depending on where you’re reading some people inside the chat yeah I’ve seen some people talk about it it’s like that that are clamoring for Dron sharp to continue to grow in his role and and impending maybe departure of Nicholas claxon it’s like they’re they’re ready
To see Dron sharp settle into a a number one role for the Brooklyn Nets inside of the starting unit potentially which I just find fascinating I will say that in the last like week or so I’ve also noticed that Nicholas claxon has done a lot more rebounding and then starting
The transition yeah and some of some of it’s been looked a little clunky there’s been times where he took took the ball tonight he went Coast to Coast settle down to the low post spin move up at the basket like those little things like that we I think we’ talked so much about
Dron and about cam Thomas but Claxton is still developing areas of his game and and on ball handling and just being able to move the ball up the court that that matters especially if you are primarily a non-shooter as he is uh Dwayne came in
With do you see a change in the way male Bridges shoots the ball I see a hitch in a shot that wasn’t there last year and it looks like it’s affected his shot in a negative way I haven’t noticed that but have you noticed that on his shot no
I haven’t notic it I I brought this up to say that I have not noticed this um I think he pauses the top he he he’s always paused at the top of his release but especially in the mid-range too when he’s like waiting for that Defender to
Come down a little bit and give him that open look yeah but um I I haven’t noticed like a no I have not noticed like a change in his shot now last looks everybody anybody got one last thing they want to get into obviously it is a
Backtack for the Nets so they’ll go against the Bucks always a good spot for Brooklyn to go from playing Detroit to getting over uh and taking on the Bucks we’ll see if there’s a lineup change there we’ll be back on the postgame for
That um but I and and by the way I do have an interesting we we said this last week but just as a reminder Doug had the only scenario where you would trade male Bridges which opens up a broader discussion about what to do with assets we’ mentioned the Suns picks and all
Those good things it’s been starting to get a little bit of traction around the internet so Doug and I need to hop on this one quickly because it is effectively Doug’s brainchild but people have been inside in between his ears and they’re stealing some of his Thunder yeah okay much appreciated everyone that
Jumped in here we’re going to get out of here get the podcast posted up um we will be back live following the Bucks game on Wednesday evening too so we’ll be back in here YouTube live win or loss no matter what seeing what happens after they face Giannis in the Bucks hopefully
A w see if we get a St lineup change I’m sure there’ll be tons of talk about no matter what about in that one actually make sure you subscribe wherever you listen to podcast make sure you subscribe over on YouTube as well there is no real ending it’s just the place
Where you stop the story Frank Herbert oh one of the from Dune uh he’s still Al too right yeah uh one of the alltime great poets we’ll be back again tomorrow talking more Brooklyn NS basketball basketball basketball basketball basketball basketball basketball basketball yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
The Nets are poised to to help the Pistons make history(in the worst way) or go down in history as the team Detroit broke their losing streak against.
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29 Comments
Woo!!! Talk about escaping with a necessary win…
Brooklyn started the day after Christmas slumping to a desperate Pistons team who got out to a blistering 14 point lead.
But again the rejuvenated bench lead by Dennis Smith Jr brought Brooklyn back into the game…
Royce O Neale whose been a valuable swiss army knife for Brooklyn made some important plays to get Brooklyn a lead.
In the second half Cam Johnson made some very important buckets and was efficient the whole night and finished with a solid 24 points 🔥. Mikal Bridges didn't have the best night but made important buckets when Brooklyn needed it and finished with a good 21 points…
Cam Thomas was in his offensive bag tonight with 17 points but Dorian Finney Smith played some important defense in the fourth quarter and had the game sealing the clutch three point bucket 🔥…
But Dayron Sharpe was super important tonight and has evolved this season where he contributed in a variety of ways tonight: 13 points 11 rebounds 3 assists 4 blocks and 2 steals 🔥 🔒….
Overall a good team win tonight but another test awaits Brooklyn against the Bucks. Let's go 😎🔥….
Cam Johnson's natural position should be small forward. By benching Thomas Johnson moves to small forward and Vinny Smith to power forward. You could also bench Bridges with similar results which is not going to happen.
Nets should prioritize development vs winning. This team isn't winning a championship anyways.
No way do bench our leading scorer, bench someone else.
Nic Claxton has had some important moments this season defensively and tonight he had another big block and played with aggression and focus tonight…
But Dayron Sharpe has really evolved this season and has started contributing in so many ways. His rebounding has been a huge strength and his confidence to get to the rim has been even more impressive…
But again Claxton is supposed to be the one setting the bar and one case could be Claxton hasn't played consistently at a high level against top level teams….
Claxton has earned a substantial pay raise next season due to his strong defensive skillset. But offensively he still hasn't gone to that next level with jump shots or three point scoring which he might need eventually in his arsenal and his free throw scoring could still be better…
Again Claxton is important to this team but financially Brooklyn management really has to weigh in just how much is he worth to keep on this team and is he a key piece to contending again in the future?
Spencer should be the guy who comes out !!
I really dont see much hope for this franchise. They're running around directionless with an owner who's prioritizing ticket sales over player development and a coach who has friendships with older vets that he prioritizes over maxmimizing young talent. There's just little excitment to a mediocre fringe play in team of 28-30 year olds. I dont get the excitement around it and it's hard to buy into it
Cam Thomas meanwhile had another good scoring outing and while it was only 17 points, Thomas felt more in his element tonight with his shot selection and did good.
But he didn't play one minute in the fourth quarter and again it goes back to the defensive flaws Brooklyn hss been trying to address.
For one Spencer Dinwiddie and Cam Thomas together on the floor has been a defensive problem for a while now. In some games not as much. But in important games it's been very obvious..
Thomas has made some improvements defensively this year but he still has a ways to go to becoming a complete player and not just a really good bucket scorer…
Plus Dorian Finney Smith's defense this year has been a big key and he had the biggest three point bucket shot to close out the game and seal the win…
Coach Vaughn said he's going to tweak the rotation soon and Dorian's defensive skillset is very important and if Thomas gets moved to the bench he shouldn't see it as a step back and see it as another opportunity to get better….
Cade Cunningham has a lot of potential to become a really good point guard in the future…
Tonight he really found his clutch scoring and gave Brooklyn a lot of fits tonight offensively and he finished with a solid 41 points 🔥…
Again I think one route Brooklyn could go is trying to make a trade offer to the Pistons for Cade Cunningham…
The Pistons don't have a direction, winning fundamentals or a culture….
Brooklyn could give them a trade package that allows them to keep building and help their young prospects grow:
Brooklyn Nets: Cade Cunningham
Detroit Pistons: Ben Simmons and three first round draft picks
The Ben Simmons experiment just hasn't worked out and unfortunately time is not on his side and he's a free agent after next season and it's very low expectations that Brooklyn management will keep him beyond next year…
Simmons could regain his level of play on a young rebuilding Pistons team and be a catalyst for coach Monty to use as his main point guard and help the young players in Ivey and Thompson grow more in their roles…
Meanwhile instead of going after another superstar, Brooklyn makes a big investment on a young skilled player with the belief he can grow into a star being apart of the Brooklyn culture…
Plus pairing Cade with Mikal Bridges Cam Johnson Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas would give Brooklyn a core that could grow into a contending squad and still have enough draft picks to add a future superstar to that core….
Something to definitely think about…
Somebody need to put a stop to Mikal Bridges blatant point shaving.
This was like a playoff game and Mikal Bridges did not show up
Dayron Sharpe saved our bacon tonight.
we definitely makin the playoffs but obviously we ain’t winnin a chip. We still gotta continue to gel as a team. Still 30 games in chemistry is still a thing they’re trying to figure out. I honestly think we should strive to get Donovan Mitchell man I don’t know
Going to nets vs bucks tonight let’s go nets 🔥🔥🔥🔥
You guys are so biased toward Cam Thomas
We need to change our starting five.
We need to make a sweet trade too. Somebody bringing the defensive goods because I believe when the nets are firing, offensively they’re as dangerous as any of the big teams.
I’d like to see the nets make it through to 2nd round. That would be a great story for this year.
Trading ben just as hes almost well enough to come back, and after his sparkin start to the season would be so foolish….give another team the benefits we hung in there to have
They need to fire sean marks and JV. Time to turn a clean sheet on this new era
We’ve capped our potential as the 9ish seed? What a clown take….no wonder your pre-season prediction was so terrible. We haven’t even seen our full rotation together yet (not been counting Simmons). We dropped when DSJ and Lonnie both went down for an extended stretch. If we break up this terrible starting backcourt of Spencer and Cam T this rotation absolutely has the potential for a top 6 seed.
Dayron needs to start!! Or get more minutes!!
I’m glad the suns are losing 😂 😈
With that said their next 4 games are pretty easy so they can get back on track (unfortunately) 19-15 by the end of the next 4 games (maybe)
People wonder why we Nets fans want the Suns to fail…well for one the picks lol and secondly KD left us to go there with 3 years left in his contract so why tf wouldn’t we want them to fail lol I mean come on.
With that out of the way
This Nets organization makes me sick bro 😂
I just want a clear direction of wtf we’re doing!!!
Are we trying to win now or are we developing players/trying to rebuild?!?
That alone is getting me super pissed off with this organization!! We’re literally in basketball purgatory right now!! In the middle is not where you want your team to be at.
Doug, you keep mentioning our bench is breating the other team’s second unit but that’s not true. They’re going up against the opposing starting lineup and winning. The best lineup the last 3 games after JV went to it for the first time has been cam thomas. DSJ, royce, DFS and sharpe.
When the starters go down double digits JV has pulled everyone except cam and the fit between those guys has been almost flawless
Coaches often have players they may not favor. Monty Williams and DeAndre Ayton, Thibodeau and Evan Fournier, and Jacque Vaughn with Cam Thomas exemplify such dynamics. The crucial distinction lies in the fact that Monty and Thibodeau have established themselves as successful coaches across multiple organizations, a feat that Jacque Vaughn cannot claim.
I highly recommend Cam Thomas to "separate from his current representation and explore signing with Klutch Sports." It served as a game-changer for Cam Reddish, who is now a starter for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Oh yeah, I forgot one. Sean Payton and Russell Wilson. 😅🤣😂
This was actually one of the most intense and exciting games of the year. Who would have thought? The Detroit Pistons- 27 in a row – arguably the WORST team in NBA history – with a superstar in Cade Cunningham + Bogdonovic. Nail-biter indeed!
If Dayron get a three point shot he’s going to be a problem
The starting lineup needs to be cam Thomas, finny Smith, Smith Junior, Royce O'Neal and Claxon.
I didn't intend dis when i said "cam t is about cam t" ….it's just that he was the main shooter in his hs and college teams around which the others functioned in those settings.
The nba is so different because so many have such varied abilities. The guys who can be total team players, chameleons in their purposes at any given moment, those are the ones that make an impact. I don't see cam t personality going that way. He could still play minutes but with which guys….it's an open question.