The best in the west comes into Barclays Center as healthy as they’ve been all year. The Nets not so much. In addition to their walking wounded, Nic Claxton is suspended.
Well… I was wrong in the last preview. It was not winnable. From what Coach Jordi Fernandez described as a game where the Nets just didn’t defend and come out with the intensity that they usually do, Brooklyn ended up falling to the Wizards 107-99.
Now, with that being said, I was not totally wrong. With the Brooklyn Nets now being pushed back to the 11th seed in the East, the loss can push hopes in the other direction, to where the Nets will fall in the lottery. I had to make this point since I am writing this after reading Jonathan Wasserman’s NBA Mock Draft on Bleacher Report. But let’s get back to Wednesday’s matchup.
Tonight, the Nets will be taking on the Western Conference powerhouse in the Oklahoma City Thunder. Luckily for Brooklyn, the Thunder are coming off a hard fought back-to-back against Minnesota. Both games were high scoring affairs, a win at home and a loss on the road. On the Nets side of things, they are even more undermanned than usual. So, their energy will be critical to any good outcome.
Where To Watch
Check out the action at 7:30 p.m. ET on the YES Network and NBA League Pass.
Injury Report
New two-way signee Kendall Brown will serve time in Long Island while Cam Thomas (hamstring), D’Angelo Russell (ankle), Noah Clowney (ankle), and DeAnthony Melton (out for the season) remain out. Nic Claxton will be serving his one game suspension for getting his sixth flagrant foul point late in the Wizards game. And if that wasn’t enough, Cam Johnson is questionable with a lower back contusion.
Dariq Whitehead will be unavailable as well as well after suffering a tough injury in Long Island’s contest last night. We’re still waiting word on the severity but he spent the second half of the Nets vs. Knicks G League game on crutches.
One positive: Tosan Evbuomwan, who the Nets dispatched to Long Island to preserve his two-way minutes, returns to Brooklyn tonight.
For OKC, Nikola Topic (knee) and Ajay Mitchell (G-League) will be out.
The Game
Despite the fear of potentially suffering back to back losses for the second time this season, OKC still sits in a comfortable position for this game. They are healthy other than rookie point guard Nikola Topic who’s out for the season but even he’s been seen putting up shots recently prior to games.
In the first game between the two teams on January 19, OKC destroyed Brooklyn, shooting 61.9% from the field and 61.1% from 3-point range (11 of 18) in the first half as they built a 69-49 lead. The Thunder continued to dominate in the second half, expanding its lead to 29 points in the closing minutes before winning by a final tally of 127-101.
Stretched thin up front used their prodigious 3-point shooting, hitting 9-of-13 from deep in the first quarter. Isaiah Joe finished with eight threes. It’s basically a team without any offensive flaws and a first rate coach,
The Nets were a bit undermanned in that one too missing Ben Simmons and Cam Thomas (who has now played only two games since Thanksgiving) but they basically had a complete roster otherwise. Tonight, not so much.
Indeed, the Nets will have to bring another level of intensity to compete with the Thunder’s electric offense. Eyes will be on Day’Ron Sharpe, as he will have to take on the duties of being the man in the middle on both ends of the floor.
Ziare Williams hopefully can provided some valuable minutes. He led the way for the Nets against the Wizards with 19 points but has been inconsistent.
Player to Watch
No surprise but it’s hard to imagine Shai Gilgeous Alexander not winning the MVP. Alexander has been nothing short of spectacular this season. Other than launching his signature shoe (to go with his sweet outfits,) SGA is averaging a league-leading 32.4 points on 52% shooting.
Rather than recite his recent statistics, just take a look at what he did Monday night, even in a loss to the T’Wolves…
Represent The Canadians
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | vs. Minnesota
39 POINTS
3 THREE POINTERS
10 REBOUNDS
8 ASSISTS pic.twitter.com/gJRoLHCkEY— NBA Canada (@NBACanada) February 25, 2025
Expect some hugs between him and Jordi Fernandez, his Team Canada coach, but nothing more than that.
More reading: Loud City and SBNation NBA
- Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
- Oklahoma City Thunder Game Notes – Oklahoma City Thunder
- Thunder hope to learn from collapse, move on to face Nets – NBA
- Nets to host Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder – AP
- Nets’ Nic Claxton gets one-game suspension for sixth flagrant foul point – Dan Martin – New York Post
- The curious case of Cam Thomas – John Torenli – Brooklyn Eagle