Welcome to the San Francisco Show. Steph, Draymond and Jimmy are on a roll. The Nets are now.
This is always a tough time for rebuilding teams: the final 20 games of the season can be an ugly mess. Post-season is near impossible and attention turns from the players to what techies might call “vaporware,” aka draft picks. To make matters worse this time around, there’s a group of fans actively rooting for their Brooklyn Nets to lose every game. That way the team’s chances at Cooper Flagg et all will skyrocket from the 9.5% currently all the way up to 14.5%!
The Nets won’t get to 14.5%. Indeed it’s unlikely they’ll get better odds than 10%, the odds for the team with the fifth worst record. After a five-game losing streak, each loss worse than the one before by some different metric, the Brooklyn Nets are careening towards the end of the tank … and the Draft Lottery on May 12.
On the other side of the court tonight will be the Golden State Warriors who are the second hottest team in the NBA, going 9-1 since Jimmy Butler joined them at the deadline. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers who’ve won 12 straight for the third time this season are doing better. Expect a big crowd at Barclays Center. No team other than (possibly) the Lakers have the star power that Golden State possesses with Steph Curry, Draymond Green and now Butler.
Where to Watch
Catch the game at 7:30 p.m. ET on the YES Network.
Injuries
As close to a clean slate as we’ve seen all season. Only Noah Clowney (ankle) and DeAnthony Melton (torn ACL and not with the team) are out. We may also see Dariq Whitehead, Tosan Evbuomwan and new two-way Tyson Etienne on the bench tonight. Long Island is off till next Tuesday when they go back to Montreal.
Jonathan Kuminga (ankle) remains out although he’s expected back when the Warriors return to San Francisco after their East Coast road trip ends tonight. Gary Payton II (nose) is probable.
The Game
The big positive for Brooklyn, other than that (nearly) clean injury report, is that Cam Thomas and D’Angelo Russell will be back as the starting backcourt for the second straight game.
They had a bit of a slow start vs. the San Antonio Spurs. In the first quarter, Brooklyn was -7 with them on the floor before going +1 after both came off. Then in the second, with them on the floor, they propelled Brooklyn on a 10-0 run. Both played a little more than 25 minutes but had tough shooting nights, combining for 12-of-30 overall, 6-of-21 from deep. . Expect a little more than that tonight. Progress.
Meanwhile, the Warriors don’t have to worry about draft position or backcourt rust. They are looking like contenders after they traded for an unhappy Butler. ICYMI, Golden State sent Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a protected first-round pick to Miami. Not quite Luka to the Lakers but Golden State has a better record. As our sister site, Golden State of Mind, wrote of tonight’s game:
For Golden State, this matchup presents an opportunity to complete a spectacular 4-1 road trip and cement their transformation from play-in participants to playoff locks. The Warriors are now 9-1 with Butler in the lineup, and the Curry-Butler pairing has evolved from theoretical “what if” to devastating reality.
(Daniel Hardee of Golden State of Mind also refers to Thomas and Russell as the Nets “version of a Splash Brothers tribute band.” Not bad.)
As far as match-ups, expect to see Butler and Green taking turns on said tribute band.
Player to Watch
It’s not news to note that Butler would have had interest in the Nets in free agency if he hadn’t been traded and signed to a two-year, $121 million deal with Golden State. It’s also not news that the Nets said thanks but no thanks. Butler turns 36 before next season. Definitely not on their timeline. Of there was the money, too … although Butler had said before he signed with Golden State that money wasn’t necessarily an issue. (Spoiler alert: it always is.)
Should anyone be surprised by the Jimmy Butler Effect? Nope. It’s what Jimmy Buckets does for a living: win basketball games by giving his all. His numbers haven’t changed that much since his unhappy time in Miami, but put the five-time all-NBA player next like-minded stars like Curry and Green, and teams in the doldrums suddenly become contenders.
This Warriors video posted yesterday gives you a sense of how, numbers aside, he affects a game.
Should we expect to hear from Butler on how he viewed the Nets? Hope so.
From the Vault
One of the highlights of the All-Star Game just played in the City by the Bay was the NBA’s decision to adopt Tony Bennett’s anthem to San Francisco, which never gets old. So for all the displaced fans of that fair and too often slandered city who’ll be at Barclays Center tonight … and for anyone who appreciates great interpretation of a song, here’s Anthony Dominick Benedetto, singer, painter, war hero, pacifist and civil rights activist.
More reading: Golden State of Mind, SBNation NBA.
- Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
- Golden State Warriors Game Notes – Golden State Warriors
- Jimmy Butler, Warriors take on slumping Nets – NBA
- Brooklyn plays Golden State on 3-game home skid – AP