The Brooklyn Nets gained ground on the tenth-seeded Hawks by winning the two matchups between the teams last week. Unfortunately, the Nets lost two games against the league’s worst teams, erasing their hard work from a week before.
The Nets are under pressure to win as many games as possible to keep up with the Hawks, who now have a 3.5-game lead. It has led star center Nic Claxton to adopt a new mindset for the rest of the season.
“I feel like every game is a must-win with us trying to make the Playoffs. We need to win, we came out kinda flat tonight. That’s gotta be our challenge, especially not just getting behind. We did that in the past couple of games, it’s always hard playing from behind. Every game is a must-win from here on out,” Clax said after the game in his interview.
Claxton needs support on the boards
The Nets were out-rebounded 50 to 28 by the Detroit Pistons. That happened despite Nic’s strong performance, as he grabbed ten rebounds. No one on the Brooklyn roster grabbed more than four rebounds, encapsulating the Nets’ rebounding troubles.
Day’Ron Sharpe did not play against the Pistons due to a wrist injury. He could’ve been a difference-maker for the Nets, considering he’s one of the best rebounders off the bench. Sadly, Detroit grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, which led to 23 second-chance points.
The rest of the Brooklyn roster must step up and help Claxton with rebounding. Every player must box out to end opponents’ possessions and have a better chance to score on the other end.
The Nets have a tough road ahead
Even though Brooklyn has one of the easiest schedules left in the NBA, the two losses to Memphis and Detroit show that this team must not be complacent. Claxton’s mindset of every game being a must-win is something the rest of the team should adopt.
Coach Kevin Ollie loves having “hunters” on his team, and a must-win mentality is just like that. Brooklyn is a good team that just needs to find their stride and build momentum to reach their goal of making it into the Play-In Tournament.
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