3 Takeaways from Brooklyn Nets near upset of Cleveland Cavaliers

Back-to-back yes. The opponent on a historic winning streak, but Brooklyn kept things real, as they did vs. the Lakers. But this time, the good guys lost.

Reunion games are only fun for so long. In what was the fourth and final meeting between the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight, the hugs and hellos exchanged among ex-teammates and coaches couldn’t have been as tight and vibrant as they had been earlier in the year.

Calling all that a charade implies ingenuity, which isn’t something I’d say was a factor here. When you see their interactions, either in person during pregame warmups or in the montages YES plays while phasing in and out of commercial breaks, you can tell many of these guys are as thick as thieves.

But with just over a month to go until the playoffs, these teams know who they are and that they’re both simply playing a waiting game at this point, even if the prizes are remarkably different. With one focused on the postseason and the other eager to reap their reward for being a bottom-feeder all year, they know this final month of the 2024-25 campaign can only offer them so much.

So tonight’s objective? Just get through it. But in doing so, the Nets nearly went through the Cavaliers. It would’ve been the second time in as many days Brooklyn took down a top team, but likely for the betterment of both parties, it wasn’t. Here’s what went down.

Secondary Defense is Improving

Brooklyn’s ball pressure has been a double-edged sword this year, and a sharp one at that. On some occasions, their defense looks stronger than a brick wall at the point of attack, yet also as flexible as one made from spandex. Then on others, it’s pulled too much attention away from the post, leaving the paint vulnerable from multiple directions.

We’ve unfortunately seen more of the latter than the former lately with Brooklyn’s defense falling back to Earth after the All-Star break. The Nets have consistently thrown two at the ball even with skilled ancillary facilitators there to operate in the high post, putting them on the burner vs Oklahoma City, Golden State, Portland, and even Los Angeles on a handful of sequences yesterday.

They were there again tonight, doubling Darius Garland early and often, but somehow didn’t get completely singed. The difference, or their fire extinguisher if I’m to keep this metaphor alive, was their secondary line of defense taking a more strategic approach to their backend defense.

Cam Johnson and Ziaire Williams especially did well to force awkward pickups that rendered the size of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley almost useless once receiving the pass out of the trap. On the floor, it was only a matter of one or two feet, but it made a world of difference in terms of shot difficulty.

As a result, Cleveland shot slightly under their season average for field goal percentage in the paint. It likely would have been even lower had the Nets not fallen apart on the defensive glass in the second half, surrendering 12 second chance points, many being easy put-backs to boost the percentage back up.

This positioning wasn’t some Houdini game plan from Jordi Fernández but it’s a nice adjustment from him and his players after a handful of games where their critically acclaimed pressure looked a bit more like a negative than a positive. It was also the reason Cleveland failed to generate significant inside-out action, leading to a subpar 3-point shooting night. Don’t be surprised to see Boston or New York practice it vs Cleveland come playoff time either.

Cam Thomas is Bouncing Back

I don’t think the “Cam Thomas is cooked” narrative that recently unfolded on social media was ever that serious. It was one of those things where you’re concerned, but you cover it up by turning the whole thing into a bit by overreacting. Call it a new genre of sarcasm, if you will.

But with that said, the way Thomas closed out the game vs the Hornets was about as rough of an ending as he’s endured all season. CT having to wait three days to redeem himself didn’t make things any better either.

So on Tuesday, Thomas came to Cleveland brush in hand, eager to paint over that stain with a masterpiece. While his 27-point game wasn’t exactly on par with Picasso, we’ll call what he did tonight a Matisse.

In getting to his highest point total in a game since late November, Thomas shot 10-22 from the field and 4-11 from three. The step-back jumper was falling from all spots on the floor and everything else opened up from there.

Thomas also dished three assists, and while that won’t be enough to please those still throwing shot-chucker allegations his way (fair or not), the offense was humming with him out there nonetheless. The Nets recorded assists on all of their made baskets in the first, where Thomas played all but three minutes and eighteen seconds.

The competition is weak but it was still his best game since returning from his hamstring injury. We can now officially declare him “back.”

This Isn’t a Team You can Rest Against

If you subscribe to the LeBron James March rejuvenation theory, this was the second straight game where a title-contending squad left some of their biggest weapons on the bench — supposedly due to injuries — but probably to save energy for the rapidly approaching playoffs.

This time of year, teams are understandably more focused on April, May, and June rather than putting out their best unit every night. It’s why the Nets used to let Tyler Johnson, Bruce Brown, and Landry Shamet start the occasional game against some of their less intimidating opponents down the stretch of the 2020-21 season. It’s also why the Utah Jazz are starting guys you’ve never heard of every third night this year, but that’s another story.

Nonetheless, this was also the second straight game where the Brooklyn Nets proved themselves as a team that won’t let you get away with that easily.

Just like they did against LA, the Nets gave their opponent a run with depth tonight as Cleveland came in undermanned. Brooklyn outscored off the bench 36-19, fueled largely by Noah Clowney (12 PTS), Day’Ron Sharpe (8) and Jalen Wilson (9). Against the Lakers, their reserves won by a 48-26 margin.

This is more of a takeaway for other teams like the Celtics, Pacers, and especially the Knicks, who play Brooklyn in their final game of the year, which is one everyone likes to put their best guys on the bench for. It’s not like there hasn’t been evidence of this all year, but with us now at the beginning of the end, talented teams should know they can’t just skip by Brooklyn.