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  • 5 Sixers thoughts: What to make of Clippers scandal; does Cam Thomas taking qualifying offer set the stage for Quentin Grimes?

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    Happy Monday! We are inside of three weeks away from the Sixers beginning their 2025-26 season, a journey which will lead them to Abu Dhabi for two exhibitions in the first week of October before returning home for a few more preseason games and then an 82-game marathon.

    And then, the Sixers hope, will come a lengthy playoff run.

    As always, let’s begin the week with 5 Sixers thoughts, with the NBA’s newest potential scandal serving as the headliner.

    Also inside: Jared McCain providing an injury update, the first of Quentin Grimes’ restricted free agency cohorts to make a decision and more.

    Los Angeles Clippers cap circumvention story through a Sixers lens

    Last week, “Pablo Torre Finds Out” broke a potential scandal that could become a massive, league-altering one in the NBA: a potential case of salary cap circumvention involving superstar Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers. The entire story is fascinating and you can listen to/watch it in full here.

    The natural inclination when observing this story is to think of Joe Smith and the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000. The league found that the team and Smith were working in tandem to circumvent the cap, as Smith took multiple short-term deals below his market value with the promise of a lucrative long-term deal once the team attained his Full Bird rights. The penalty was massive: Smith’s rights were voided, the team was fined, owner Glen Taylor had to step away from basketball operations for a period and lead executive Kevin McHale was forced to take an unpaid leave of absence. And none of that compared to the five consecutive first-round picks the league office docked from the Timberwolves.

    Cap circumvention is a massive sin in any sport, and the prevailing expectation seems to be that if the NBA can definitively prove that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer directed payments to Leonard off the books, Ballmer and his organization will risk facing massive penalties. Speculation has already begun about how that would look, particularly in terms of draft-related penalties, because the Clippers do not have actual control of any first-round picks until 2030. They have two significant obligations to the Sixers from the James Harden trade:

    2028 2029
    Clippers owe Sixers unprotected first-round pick Clippers owe Sixers first-round pick swap rights (top-three protected)

    To be clear, the NBA would not strip Los Angeles of picks it has already traded and actually penalize other teams for the Clippers’ wrongdoing. If the NBA concluded that there was wrongdoing worth punishing in the form of docking three first-round picks, for example, they would take away picks that the Clippers actually own, even if that means waiting until the next decade.

    If there is any non-Sixers development that would benefit the long-term health of the franchise in the next five years, it would be the Clippers falling into a state of mediocrity or worse. As has been covered here extensively over the last year, there is a world in which the Harden trade of 2023 eventually nets the Sixers two premium draft picks that ease their transition into a post-Joel Embiid world.

    Are there any possible ramifications of Torre’s reporting that could lead to a worse outlook for the Clippers two years from now? Perhaps Leonard’s contract being voided is one, but that would actually gift the Clippers cap space to pursue a more reliable star.

    Ballmer has already flatly denied all accusations of salary cap circumvention, and it would take a mountain of evidence to give the NBA comfort going after the richest owner in the league by far. But if the hammer does come down on the Clippers, the Sixers could be beneficiaries.

    MORE: VJ Edgecombe discusses offseason work, season ahead with PhillyVoice

    Cam Thomas takes the qualifying offer. Will Quentin Grimes follow suit?

    Grimes’ restricted free agency is still ongoing, more than two months after he officially reached the open market for the first time in his NBA career. The same is true for two of the other three high-profile restricted free agents, as Chicago’s Josh Giddey and Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga remain without new deals. But Cam Thomas, always seen as the most likely of the foursome to take the qualifying offer, did just that last week. He has returned to the Brooklyn Nets on a one-year deal worth just under $6 million that comes with a no-trade clause and pathway to unrestricted free agency as a 24-year-old next summer.

    Thomas taking the qualifying offer was not shocking. In addition to being in a brutal, barren salary cap environment this summer with only one significant cap space player (Brooklyn), Thomas has perhaps the largest disconnect with the marketplace in terms of his optimal role on an NBA team. Thomas’ own team having all of the financial flexibility in the world and still declining to make him any long-term offer speaks volumes.

    With an Oct. 1 deadline to accept the qualifying offer, the clock is beginning to tick on Grimes, Giddey and Kuminga if they want to go with the nuclear option. For Grimes in particular, the qualifying offer feels like a lose-lose scenario. There is some theoretical upside for the player and none for the team, but that upside will be tremendously difficult to reach.

    When Grimes emerged as a dynamic three-level scorer in a two-month audition with the Sixers, he was the most important trade deadline acquisition on a team that would be remembered as an abject failure. His blossoming was a much-needed organizational win, and he received every chance to prove he was capable of surpassing expectations.

    But of the four talented young guards expected to suit up for the Sixers next year, Grimes is clearly fourth in terms of long-term importance. If Grimes prevents the Sixers from securing him on a long-term deal or making him a trade asset by taking the qualifying offer, it will be much easier for the Sixers to discard the goal of maximizing his talents in favor of providing Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe with as much runway as possible.

    Grimes has made about $11 million in four NBA seasons despite spending much of that time as a definitively good player. He has been traded three times; two of those deals came despite Grimes giving his team quality production. Someone so familiar with the situational volatility that comes with being an NBA player should have a strong understanding of the importance of long-term security. Grimes will not get a deal that is commensurate with his ability and room for improvement, but taking the qualifying offer backs him into a corner. He would be a bad break or two away from missing out on the three- or four-year deal every free agent hopes to sign.

    Jared McCain says he is ‘on pace’ for training camp

    It has been nearly nine months since Jared McCain underwent a season-ending meniscus surgery, cutting short an electric rookie campaign at 23 games. McCain was the clear favorite to win Rookie of the Year before the knee injury sidelined him; even without playing after the second week of December his torrid scoring run was the most exciting and encouraging aspect of the 2024-25 Sixers season. McCain, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, proved that he has legitimate star upside. His brilliant shooting touch was as advertised and he showed considerably better on-ball scoring chops than anyone would have guessed as an NBA rookie.

    McCain accompanied the Sixers for Summer League in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas and worked out with the team in a limited capacity, but did not play in games. At an event for the renaming of the Sixers’ arena – the Wells Fargo Center is now officially the Xfinity Mobile Arena, by the way – McCain spoke to the media and reportedly indicated he is optimistic about being fully prepared for training camp in just a matter of weeks.

    “Right now, I’m on pace,” McCain said, according to the Associated Press.

    The Sixers have no reason to rush McCain back, but this far removed from his surgery, it is not too challenging to imagine the 21-year-old being a full go. The team’s eventual depth at guard once Grimes’ free agency is resolved has been discussed frequently, but without McCain, this team does not have a viable backup point guard right now. They need McCain to handle the ball when Tyrese Maxey is off the floor.

    MORE: McCain’s case to be a starter

    A Delaware Blue Coats legend departs

    It is hard for any player to accumulate more experience and respect with an NBA G League affiliate than Jared Brownridge has with the Delaware Blue Coats. Dating back to their days as the 87ers, the 6-foot-3 guard has been firing threes in Delaware. Brownridge’s eight-year tenure with the organization has come to an end, as he was part of a trade near the end of August.

    Speaking of the Blue Coats, the Sixers named Vice President of Player Personnel Ariana Andonian as the first-ever female general manager of the Blue Coats on Friday.

    A possible Sixers target goes overseas

    As soon as Guerschon Yabusele departed Philadelphia after one strong year – leaving the Sixers to sign with the rival New York Knicks at the taxpayer’s mid-level exception – how the Sixers attempted to piece together a quality power forward rotation became of interest. One free agent whose fit seemed clear was Trey Lyles, who does and does not check a lot of the same boxes as Yabusele (even if it looks a whole lot different).

    Lyles, a 10-year NBA veteran, does not come with a ton of upside, but his stable skills would have come in handy for a Sixers team that could have even used an innings-eater at the four. Lyles, however, will not be joining the Sixers in the near future, as he has reportedly agreed to a contract with Real Madrid. He will be taking his talents overseas.

    Speaking of Yabusele, the 29-year-old had a dominant EuroBasket performance for Team France last week, posting 36 points against Poland:

    Yabusele and the Knicks will face the Sixers in a pair of preseason games on the aforementioned Abu Dhabi trip. New York’s front office is hoping he can be a critical component new head coach Mike Brown’s bench in their pursuit of a championship.

    MORE: Why Sixers declined to match Yabusele’s offer from Knicks

    Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
    Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice

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    Adam Aaronson

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  • Nets’ offense comes back down to earth as they fall to Steph Curry, Warriors

    Nets’ offense comes back down to earth as they fall to Steph Curry, Warriors

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    One night after hanging 136 points on the short-handed 76ers in Philadelphia, the Nets’ offense came spiraling back down to earth in Monday’s 109-98 loss to the Golden State Warriors, a game where Ben Simmons sat out for precautionary reasons.

    Buckets were hard to come by for both teams Monday night — especially from distance. The Nets held Golden State to 38.3% shooting in the first half and went into the locker room with a 49-43 advantage. But the Warriors, led by Jonathan Kuminga and Stephen Curry, quickly became the aggressors in the second half, outscoring Brooklyn 32-21 in the third quarter to take a five-point lead into the final frame.

    The Nets’ largest lead in the first half was nine points. Golden State made just two 3-pointers in the first half, both from Curry, and turned the ball over 10 times.

    Royce O’Neale did his best to keep the Nets in it down the stretch. He knocked down three 3-pointers in just over a minute to cut the Warriors’ lead to four with 7:37 left in regulation. But Curry responded with five straight points and suddenly Golden State was getting to the rim just about whenever it wanted. A Brandin Podziemski layup put the Warriors up 11 with 5:41 to play.

    The Nets’ frustration boiled over with 4:59 left, as Nic Claxton slammed Podziemski onto the hardwood while trying to prevent him from grabbing another offensive rebound. The play was reviewed. Referees found Claxton’s actions aggressive and unnecessary. He was ejected soon after, which spoiled a night where he tied a career-high with six blocks. Claxton was also Brooklyn’s most efficient scorer on Monday, converting on 7-of-9 attempts.

    The Warriors went 13-for-22 in the fourth quarter (59.1%) and outscored Brooklyn 34-28. Curry, who finished with a game-high 29 points, poured in 12 in the final frame. Golden State outrebounded them 60-38, including 10 on the offensive glass. The absences of Simmons, Day’Ron Sharpe and Dorian Finney-Smith were felt.

    Kumina added 28 points on 9-of-18 shooting for the Warriors. Cam Thomas led the Nets with 18 points but did it on a 4-of-21 clip (10-of-11 from the free throw line. Thomas, O’Neale, Mikal Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie shot a combined 17-for-60 from the field. It was ugly.

    The Nets (20-29) had won three of their last four games entering Monday night.

    Lonnie Walker IV left the game with 1:20 left in the first quarter and did not return. Left hamstring tightness was the initial diagnosis. He had missed 17 straight games earlier in the season because of a left hamstring strain.

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    C.J. Holmes

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  • Nets hold off Rockets 106-104 behind Cam Thomas, but it never should have been this close

    Nets hold off Rockets 106-104 behind Cam Thomas, but it never should have been this close

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    Saturday’s game at Barclays Center offered another glimpse at what this Nets team can be when engrossed at both ends of the court — at least through three quarters. While Jacque Vaughn’s team won 106-104 in a game where they never trailed, they are still struggling to close out opponents. Their matchup against the Houston Rockets had no business being as close as it was late.

    Cam Thomas, who received his first start since Dec. 27 in place of Cam Johnson, was the player who ignited the fuse for Brooklyn on offense. He started 5-for-6 from the field and finished with a game-high 37 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Twenty-two of those points came in the first half, his seventh half with at least 20 points this season.

    The 22-year-old’s buckets came mostly at the expense of Dillon Brooks, who was tasked with guarding him in certain stretches. And Thomas’ teammates fed off his energy early.

    The Nets started 7-of-7 from the field as a team and did not miss their first attempt until the 6:52 mark of the first quarter. At that point they led Houston 17-12 after racing out to an 11-2 lead. Brooklyn was up 35-15 after one quarter with 10 assists on 15 made field goals. The 15 points they allowed in the first quarter tied a season low. It was also the Nets’ second-largest lead after one quarter this season.

    The Rockets were playing in the second game of a back-to-back set and appeared to be worn out for most of the night. It was a 20-point game at halftime and an 18-point game through three quarters. However, finishing games has been a significant struggle for the Nets in recent weeks. Saturday was no different. A Cam Whitmore 3-pointer cut Brooklyn’s lead to six with 5:14 left in the fourth quarter.

    But the Nets avoided the embarrassment of letting another sizeable lead slip away. Following a timely steal by Dennis Smith Jr., Thomas made a crucial 3-pointer that stretched their lead back to eight points with 3:07 left. It was Brooklyn’s final made field goal of the night and gave it just enough breathing room to escape victorious.

    Up four with 10 second left, Royce O’Neale threw the ball away on a routine in-bounds toss. The Rockets took advantage and drilled a corner 3 to make it a one-point game with seven seconds left. Thomas went 2-of-2 at the free throw line on Brooklyn’s ensuing possession. Then Fred VanVleet intentionally missed a free throw and Nic Claxton wound up fouling Alperen Sengun on the rebound. Luckily for the Nets, Sengun missed the first free throw. Two Sengun makes would have tied the game at 105 with 2.4 seconds left.

    The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Nets (18-27), who led by as many as 28 points on Saturday. They split the season series with Houston 1-1.

    Mikal Bridges finished with 19 points and five rebounds. Nic Claxton registered his 17th double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

    Dorian Finney-Smith enjoyed his best offensive game since Dec. 26, adding 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting (4-of-8 from deep) with seven rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes. However, the forward left the court late in the third quarter after blocking a shot and landing awkwardly. He did not return to the game.

    Whitmore and Jalen Green scored 19 points each for Houston.

    The Nets will return to action on Monday against the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center, which is expected to be Ben Simmons’ first game since Nov. 6.

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    C.J. Holmes

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  • Nets lose 5th straight to Nuggets, but bench play deserves praise

    Nets lose 5th straight to Nuggets, but bench play deserves praise

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    The Nets‘ starting five came out flat against the Denver Nuggets on Friday at Barclays Center, as they did in Wednesday’s loss to the Knicks. Brooklyn was on pace for its third consecutive blowout loss as well, until head coach Jacque Vaughn made his first pair substitutions of the game with 6:17 left in the first quarter.

    Trailing Denver 18-7, Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton went out, Dorian Finney-Smith and Day’Ron Sharpe came in. The Nets immediately went on a 12-4 run and their energy and execution improved almost instantly. Dennis Smith Jr., back from a seven-game absence, and Royce O’Neale checked in about two minutes later and the vibes remained immaculate.

    Closing the first quarter with a lineup comprising mostly reserves, all of the sudden the game was tied at 28 entering the second.

    The tremendous impact of Finney-Smith, Sharpe, Smith and O’Neale off the bench in Friday’s 122-117 loss can be summed up to a single sequence. With 11:27 left in the first half, Smith drove to the basket, drew two defenders then dished it off to Claxton — who finished with a game-high 16 rebounds — for an easy dunk. Smith forced a turnover moments later and tossed it up the floor to O’Neale, who then found Finney-Smith in the left corner for a 3-pointer that gave the Nets a 33-28 lead.

    While it still was not enough to avoid a fifth straight loss — and second to the defending NBA champions in nine days — the effort of Brooklyn’s reserves will give Vaughn plenty to think about tonight ahead of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Pistons.

    Finney-Smith, Sharpe, Smith and O’Neale combined for 47 points on 16-of-30 shooting with 13 assists and two turnovers in the loss. All four reserves who played finished positive in plus/minus while all five starters were negative. Finney-Smith, who went 4-of-5 from deep, was a team-best plus-13 in 30 minutes.

    Sharpe, a plus-2 in 19 minutes off the bench, recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Smith was plus-9 in 19 minutes and O’Neale was plus-7 in 22 minutes.

    The Nets’ reserves outscored Denver’s 47-23. And as Vaughn continues to chew over how he wants minutes distributed, while taking the team’s recent slow starts into account, perhaps more opportunities will be given to the guys who play with great energy from the opening tap going forward. Because tonight it was the reserves who set the tone.

    Brooklyn will face the struggling Detroit Pistons twice in the next four days.

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    CJ Holmes

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  • Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie stepping up as distributor in Ben Simmons’ absence

    Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie stepping up as distributor in Ben Simmons’ absence

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    For much of the season, Spencer Dinwiddie’s role with the Nets was undefined.

    The veteran began the 2023-24 campaign as Brooklyn’s starting shooting guard, ceding the point guard position he primarily played last spring to a healthy Ben Simmons.

    When Cam Thomas kicked off the season with successive offensive outbursts, the 22-year-old quickly emerged as the Nets’ top backcourt scoring option, further clouding Dinwiddie’s situation.

    But in the three weeks since Simmons re-injured his surgically-repaired back, there’s been no question where Dinwiddie fits. Dinwiddie stepped right back in as Brooklyn’s ball-distributing point guard — a role he continues to thrive in.

    Dinwiddie recorded a game-high 11 assists to go with 14 points in Saturday night’s win over the Heat, giving him his second consecutive double-double. Saturday marked his eighth straight start at point guard in place of Simmons and his fourth time in five games tallying at least seven assists.

    “We had talked about Spencer finding his niche with the group, and we’re still not whole yet, so they’re still going to have to get to a different place once we are whole,” coach Jacque Vaughn said after Saturday’s game.

    “Right now, he’s taken advantage of really commanding the basketball, getting us in our spots, calling the right plays, seeing who’s touched the ball, who hasn’t touched the ball, a lot of things that you need to do, responsibility-wise, as a point guard.”

    Dinwiddie is no stranger to being the floor general. He excelled as a passer after returning to Brooklyn in the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Dallas last February, averaging 9.1 assists in 26 games. Simmons only appeared in four of those games before a nerve impingement in the right side of his back ended his season after 42 games.

    Dinwiddie led the NBA with 146 assists last March, averaging 9.7 per game for the month. He was even better in April, averaging 12.0 over four regular-season games.

    “It’s a natural position for him to be able to go in there and create plays from the point guard spot,” Nets forward Cam Johnson said Saturday. “He does a good job of it. He does a good job no matter where he’s put.”

    The Nets offense looks much different with Dinwiddie at point guard compared to Simmons. With the tempo-pushing Simmons, the Nets are among the NBA’s best transition teams, scoring at least 20 fast-break points in each of his six starts.

    With Dinwiddie, the Nets run less frequently and operate more out of their halfcourt offense. Four of Dinwiddie’s assists Saturday led to buckets at the basket for center Nic Claxton, including two alley-oops. On four of his other assists, Dinwiddie found teammates for three-pointers.

    “Assists are a thing that happen when your teammates make shots, so [I’m] very thankful for them,” Dinwiddie said.

    Now in his seventh season with the Nets, Dinwiddie moved into fifth place on the team’s all-time assists list last week. His 1,784 assists with Brooklyn entering Sunday trailed only the totals compiled by Jason Kidd, Kenny Anderson, Deron Williams and Darwin Cook.

    Dinwiddie is one of three Nets ever to record at least 1,500 assists and make at least 500 three-pointers, along with Kidd and Vince Carter.

    “It just means I’m old,” said Dinwiddie, who, at 30, is the oldest player on the Nets’ roster by a few weeks.

    Simmons, who is now dealing with a nerve impingement in the left side of his lower back, only recently resumed light individual court work, meaning Dinwiddie should remain the Nets’ point guard for at least the foreseeable future.

    The Nets have also been without Thomas, their leading scorer, since Nov. 8 due to a sprained ankle, though he’s expected to be integrated back into team activities this week.

    “I can’t replace Ben,” Dinwiddie said Saturday.

    “I try to fit into whatever role happens. Tonight we were making shots, so just trying to find people. It’s pretty much that simple. When those guys come back, we’ll see what happens.”

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    Peter Sblendorio

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  • Trae Young and Mikal Bridges’ epic overtime battle ends with Hawks’ 147-145 win over Nets

    Trae Young and Mikal Bridges’ epic overtime battle ends with Hawks’ 147-145 win over Nets

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    On the eve of Thanksgiving, the Nets’ Mikal Bridges and the Hawks’ Trae Young both feasted in an instant-classic, back-and-forth overtime battle.

    In the end, Young emerged as the holiday hero.

    The 6-1 Young’s stepback jumper over 6-10 Nets center Nic Claxton with 18 seconds remaining in the extra period proved to be the game-winner in the Hawks’ 147-145 victory in Atlanta.

    Young’s 19-foot shot put the Hawks up, 144-143, marking the biggest basket in a 43-point explosion by the two-time All-Star. It was enough to spoil a similarly dominant outing by Bridges, who tied his career-high with 45 points – including 25 after the third quarter.

    Bridges scored 11 points in overtime. Young had 14. An exhilarating four-possession stretch during the final 1:11 saw one of them score each time down the floor, with the lead changing every time. There were 27 lead changes in the game.

    “In basketball, there’s one winner and one loser,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said afterward. “That’s just part of it every night.”

    The Nets had multiple chances to tie or win the game in overtime. With eight seconds remaining and Brooklyn down one point, Atlanta’s Onyeka Okongwu blocked Bridges’ driving lay-up attempt. Then, with 2.2 seconds to go and the Nets down two, a busted play led to an inbound pass to Lonnie Walker IV, who was far away from the basket and ultimately failed to get a shot off in time.

    “Last possession was for Mikal,” Vaughn said. “Pretty good look. They switched the last screen that we had, which brought Lonnie to the basketball.”

    Both teams, meanwhile, could have iced the game in regulation. Cam Johnson put the Nets ahead, 131-130, with 3.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter when he tipped in a missed lay-up by Bridges.

    Young responded by drawing a foul on Spencer Dinwiddie, giving the Hawks star a chance to clinch the game with two free throws. But Young, an 89.7% free-throw shooter, missed the first before making the second, tying the score, 131-131. Atlanta began the game 20-for-20 from the free-throw line before Young’s miss.

    Bridges led a balanced Brooklyn attack in which four starters finished with more than 20 points. Dinwiddie scored 26 to go with 12 assists, while Claxton added a season-best 22 points along with 11 rebounds.

    Johnson, who missed seven games with a calf strain, scored a season-high 23 points and made a season-best five three-pointers. He did not play in overtime, however, with Vaughn saying afterward the sharpshooting forward began cramping at the end of regulation.

    “He should be OK,” Vaughn said.

    Bridges scored 14 fourth-quarter points. It was the fourth 40-point game of his career, with each coming after he was traded to the Nets in the February deal that sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix.

    “We just had to keep fighting,” Bridges said. “That was everybody in the huddle. Coaches, players. We just got to keep going. There’s no quit. We just kept fighting, fighting, and almost had it.”

    A night removed from a 157-152 loss to Indiana, the Hawks didn’t look like a team playing the second game of back-to-back. Young got off to a torrid start, beginning the game 6-of-6 from three-point range during a 19-point first quarter.

    The Hawks scored 45 points in that opening period, marking the most points the Nets have surrendered in a first quarter this season. That included a 13-0 run by the Hawks, who scored 11 fastbreak points in the quarter.

    Atlanta finished with 18 fastbreak points to the Nets’ nine. Both teams entered Wednesday ranked top five in transition scoring, though the Nets’ production in that category has dipped considerably without tempo-pushing point guard Ben Simmons (lower-back nerve impingement) in the lineup the last two weeks.

    The Hawks entered Wednesday third in the NBA in scoring, averaging 122.4 points per game, but ranked 25th in allowing 120.9 points to opponents. The Nets – whose leading scorer, Cam Thomas (ankle sprain), missed his sixth straight game – took advantage of the Hawks’ porous defense, exceeding the 133 points they put up in Charlotte last month to set a new season-high.

    It wasn’t enough to overcome Young, who caught fire for the second night in a row. He scored 38 points on 13-of-17 shooting in Tuesday’s game against the Pacers, which marked the seventh time in NBA history both teams scored at least 150 points in regulation.

    Wednesday extended the Nets’ season-worst losing streak to three games. They fell to 6-8 and are now 3-1 against teams who entered with a losing record. The Hawks improved to 7-7.

    “We’ve got a good little chemistry,” Bridges said. “We’ve just got to figure out, defensively, what team we’re trying to be and figure out what we can do to not give up 147 points.”

    Next up for the Nets is a five-game homestand, which begins Saturday night when they host the Heat at Barclays Center.

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    Peter Sblendorio

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  • Mike Lupica: In a brutal New York sports season, the Nets might end up being the most interesting team in town

    Mike Lupica: In a brutal New York sports season, the Nets might end up being the most interesting team in town

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    You know how the sports year has gone around here since the basketball season ended last spring. The Yankees and Mets didn’t make the playoffs, Buck Showalter barely made it to the Mets’ last game, the Yankees didn’t actually get interesting again until the other day, when Brian Cashman didn’t just play the part of a profane and professional victim, and made you think, for the first time, that he doesn’t have a job for life if the Yankees aren’t a real contender again in 2004.

    The Giants? They’re in the midst of one of the great freefalls in their history, like it’s the ’70s all over again, to the point where you wonder if they might win another game before next season. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong for just about everybody involved, the general manager, the coach, the quarterback, the shine coming off all of them at record speed.

    The Jets? They still have a shot, though it looks like more of a longshot every time they try to move the chains, to make the playoffs. But if the Raiders do to them on Sunday night what they did to the Giants last Sunday afternoon, then you can stick a great big fork in the Jets, too, as Jets fans start pondering what kind of future they really have if it’s built around a 40-something quarterback coming off an Achilles injury.

    We no longer care that the Jets are going to win the Jersey state football championship. But now that it is basketball season again, it is very much worth talking about whether it’s going to be the Knicks or the Nets winning the city basketball title.

    That is good basketball talk right there, even about whether the Nets could end up being better than the Knicks this season if they can ever stay healthy. That means even after trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and everybody, seemingly, except Julius Erving last season; whether the Nets might turn into the most interesting team in town. Nobody would have thought that could be possible this close to the immediate rebuild after Durant and Irving were gone, and Sean Marks, who runs the show at Barclays Center, had to admit in front of his own fans and in front of the world that the big shot he took with not just Durant and Irving but James Harden, as well, had gone bust.

    But guess what? The Nets are suddenly young and deep, with talent at all of their rotation spots. On top of that, they are fun to watch again now that they are no longer the drama kings of the National Basketball Association. You want to start someplace, start here:

    Raise a hand, at least if you’re not a Nets fan, if you know that the leading scorer in basketball New York right now, either side of the river, is a 22-year old kid from LSU named Cam Thomas. That is, however, exactly what Thomas was through the first eight games his team has played, 26.9 a game, until he rolled his ankle the other night and it was announced that he was going to have to miss two weeks just when he was running this hot.

    The Nets’ record sat at a modest 4-5 after getting boxed around by the Celtics in Boston Friday night. Nobody is saying that they are going to end up with a higher seed than the Knicks come playoff time, or that they could be the city team even getting one of the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference. Still: When you watch them play, when they are pushing the ball and Thomas and Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson and Spencer Dinwiddie and Nic Claxton (when healthy) are sharing it, it’s hard not to see the possibilities, especially as well coached as they are by Jacque Vaughn.

    Even Ben Simmons has shown signs of life this season, managing to score five baskets in a game twice and being in double figures in rebounds (high of 15) in five of his team’s first eight games.

    Think back to what we all thought had become of the Nets when Durant was on his way to Phoenix and Irving was on his way to Dallas and that experiment has ultimately failed the way Durant-Irving-Harden had failed in the end after it felt like the three of them had been together for about three games total. Then look at where they are right now, with all these young guys getting after it the way they are. It sometimes seems that it has taken Marks about half-a-season to do what it has taken Leon Rose years to do at the Garden.

    The Nets are never going to be the big game in New York, just because the Knicks are always going to be that. The Knicks are coming off a season during which Jalen Brunson became a star, and Knick fans will always wonder how Knicks vs. Heat would have played out in the end of Brunson had any help at all in Game 6, when he scored 41 points, which was more than Julius Randle and RJ Barrett and Josh Hart combined.

    You see how good they can look when Randle still looks like an All-Star. We are told now that Randle started the season hurt, and there is no reason to think that he wasn’t, just off the numbers he was putting up early. But there is also no reason at this time, and this far into his Knicks career, to believe Randle will ever stop being this consistently inconsistent.

    And Barrett? There is still no way of knowing just exactly where his ceiling is, no matter how many times we want to give him the game ball when he looks as great as he did against the Spurs the other night at the Garden.

    Somehow, after everything that happened to the Nets and with the Nets a year ago, it is the Nets who seem like the deeper team of the two right now. Marks tried it the modern NBA way, you bet, with big stars, and the Nets came up short, even if it happened the way it did one Game 7 night against the Bucks because Durant’s sneaker was about a couple of inches too long. Now Marks tries things differently on his side of the river.

    We don’t get the first Knicks vs. Nets game of the season until Dec. 20, at Barclays. If both our teams stay reasonably healthy, and remain where they are in the middle of the pack in the conference, that will be something else to talk about, a game to watch in what we very much need to be season to watch in basketball New York.

    If not, we might need the Rangers carrying us all the way to baseball this time.

    BELICHICK AND BRADY BY THE NUMBERS, CASHMAN OWES AN APOLOGY & JETS DIDN’T HAVE A BACK-UP PLAN …

    OK, here are your fun football facts for today from my pal John Labombarda of the Elias Sports Bureau (they know everything):

    Bill Belichick’s won-loss record when Tom Brady has been his quarterback in regular season games — 219-64.

    Belichick’s record without Brady, first in Cleveland and now New England — 81-95.

    Brady’s regular season record without Belichick — 32-18.

    Belichick’s postseason record with Brady — 30-11.

    His postseason record, Cleveland and New England, without Brady — 1-2.

    Brady’s postseason record in Tampa Bay after he left the Patriots — 5-2.

    Now obviously they needed each other over all those years with the Patriots, they were as formidable a coach/quarterback team as their sport has ever seen.

    And, to be fair, it was Belichick who saw enough in Brady to give him the ball, and a chance, in the first place.

    But you have to say, all in, that Touchdown Tom doesn’t miss the hoodie guy nearly as much as the hoodie guy misses him.

    Right?

    My friend Barry Stanton points out that the Texans sure have done better taking C.J. Stroud with the second overall pick than the Jets did with Mrs. Wilson’s son, Zach.

    Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti was in a rock-and-hard place with Jim Harbaugh — and his merry prankster of a sign stealer — even before Petitti suspended Harbaugh from coaching Michigan’s last three regular season games.

    But in the end, and no matter how many high-powered lawyers Michigan sends after him, Petitti had the high ground here.

    And, I’m sorry, if you believe that Harbaugh had no idea what this guy Connor Stalions was doing on his tour of Big Ten stadiums, you believe that Brian Cashman’s Yankees really were victims of life’s circumstances, as opposed to a series of wrong-headed decisions.

    Speaking of which?

    Cashman did a significant disservice to himself, and to the Yankees, with that hour-long meltdown in front of the media in Arizona the other day.

    And if he couldn’t see his way to apologizing afterward, the owner of the team should have done it for him.

    In the end, Cashman performed about as well as his baseball team did last season.

    By the way?

    If it wasn’t analytics that got Cashman to give Aaron Hicks a 7-year contract, what was it — he thought Hicks looked really good in pinstripes?

    You want some analytics?

    The Yankees have won one World Series in the last 23 years.

    It is worth asking, and not for the first time, how the Jets didn’t have a real quarterback in place behind Zach Wilson when this season started.

    They had a back-up to Rodgers, no question.

    Just no back-up plan.

    How’s that working out for Joe Douglas?

    Seriously: Did they really think that nothing could ever possibly happen to Aaron Rodgers, who turns 40 in December?

    The news isn’t really getting much better for the mayor or New York City, is it?

    Maybe even Angel Reese was impressed with Caitlin Clark putting 44 on Virginia Tech the other night.

    The world was a much simpler place when it didn’t seem as if we had a tracking device on a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.

    Chris Kreider continues to prove that you really can never go wrong with a Boston College man.

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    Mike Lupica

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  • Nets to face the ultimate litmus test against undefeated Boston Celtics

    Nets to face the ultimate litmus test against undefeated Boston Celtics

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    The circumstances surrounding Saturday’s game against the Celtics couldn’t be tougher for the Nets.

    Fresh off a four-game road trip ending Friday in Chicago, the Nets will be playing on the second night of their first back-to-back of the season. Boston, meanwhile, comes to Barclays Center fresh, having last suited up Wednesday.

    The Nets are still nursing key injuries, with the calf strain Cam Johnson suffered in the first game of the season set to be re-evaluated next week. Nic Claxton, who sprained an ankle in the season opener, also hasn’t played since.

    That’s not to mention the reloaded Celtics are really, really good. They’re a legit 4-0 with their margin of victory increasing in every win — most recently with a 51-point blowout of the Indiana Pacers.

    It all adds up to Saturday being the ultimate early-season stress test for the new-look Nets.

    Now 10 months removed from the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving era, the superstar-less Nets have largely lived up to their manta of competing with effort and depth. They hung close in losses to the playoff-contending Cavaliers and Mavericks; cruised to a convincing win over the less-talented Hornets; and had unlikely heroes emerge in a comeback victory over the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Miami Heat.

    Boston is a different animal, boasting superstar talent at the top and enviable depth to supplement it.

    Jayson Tatum is off to another stellar start, averaging 29.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Fellow well-rounded wing Jaylen Brown is also playing at an All-Star pace, averaging 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and a team-leading 1.5 steals. Both are plus defenders, as is battle-tested point guard Jrue Holiday, the five-time All-Defensive Team selection whom Boston acquired right before the season.

    The Celtics’ other All-Star addition over the offseason, Kristaps Porzingis, has also made an immediate impact. The matchup-nightmare center is averaging 18.8 points and sank a game-winning three-pointer against his original team, the Knicks, in Boston’s season opener.

    How the rebuilt Nets, even in their undermanned state, hold up against the juggernaut Celtics will say much about their work-in-progress identity and how they measure up against the East’s elite.

    Kristaps Porzingis was one of the Boston Celtics’ big additions over the offseason. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

    Can they make life difficult for standout scorers like Tatum and Brown, who excel at getting to the basket and are both shooting above 40% from three? Throughout the preseason, the Nets preached their potential as a lockdown defense, with the lanky Mikal Bridges, Ben Simmons and Dorian Finney-Smith among those capable of guarding multiple positions.

    They’ve struggled thus far against opposing All-Stars, however, with Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scoring 27 points on 11-of-21 shooting and Dallas’ Luka Doncic exploding for 49 points on 16-of-25. Both dominated down the stretches of their games and finished off victories with go-ahead three-pointers. Brooklyn fared better against Miami’s Jimmy Butler, who put up 20 points on 7-of-16 shooting and was held scoreless over the final four minutes.

    Can Cam Thomas deliver another offensive outburst? The 22-year-old sensation scored at least 30 points in each of the Nets’ first three games but came back to Earth against defensive-minded Miami, struggling to find any rhythm in an ugly 13-point effort on 4-of-19 shooting. It only gets harder against Holiday and company.

    The 6-3 Thomas’ defense could also prove a liability against capable backcourt scorers in Holiday and Derrick White.

    Will the Nets have an answer for Porzingis? They certainly didn’t against another uniquely talented — albeit very different — All-Star center in Miami’s uber-athletic Bam Adebayo, who scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds. The Nets repeatedly rolled out a small starting lineup without the 6-10 Claxton, with the 6-7 Finney-Smith suiting up as the de facto center. That won’t cut it against the 7-3 Porzingis, who is shooting 45% from three.

    Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum plays against the Brooklyn Nets during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, March 3, 2023, in Boston. (Michael Dwyer/AP)
    Jayson Tatum, pictured here in the Boston Celtics’ March 3 game against the Nets last season, is off to another strong start. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

    And can Bridges rise to the occasion and keep up with Boston’s stars? Bridges, who last season averaged 26.1 points in the 27 games after the Nets acquired him in the Durant trade, saw that mark drop to 20.8 through the first four games of this season.

    Bridges has spoken about his desire to emerge as the Nets’ go-to guy. After being held scoreless in the fourth quarter of the Dallas loss, Bridges stepped up as Brooklyn’s closer in the win over Miami, scoring nine of the Nets’ final 11 points and assisting on the other two.

    The schedule-makers did the Nets no favors to start the season, between the early four-game road trip and a downright brutal upcoming stretch in which they host the Celtics on Saturday, the Bucks on Monday and the Clippers on Wednesday before traveling to Boston for another bout with the Celtics next Friday.

    “I want us to embrace that,” Nets coach Jacque Vaugn said last month of the tough schedule. “It’s extremely important for us to be ready to play at the beginning of this year to kind of set an avenue, a tone, for us going forward.”

    Saturday marks his team’s greatest litmus test yet.

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    Peter Sblendorio

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