The Brooklyn Nets continue the new year with their tanking season even after acquiring D’Angelo Russell in a recent trade. Though Russell was supposed to be an offensive aid to Cam Thomas, Russell suffered an injury that has him sidelined for some time. Despite a win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nets had a continuous losing streak afterwards and have lost three of their last four games in this past week. This set of losses puts the Nets at 12th place in the Eastern Conference with a 13-20 record.
Nets Lose Out Up North
The Nets had no answers for Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors in a 130 to 113 blowout loss to start out the new year. The Raptors are having a bad season as well, losing 11 in a row but started off the new year strong with the win over Brooklyn. The Nets are dealing with another plague of injuries as Noah Clowney was taken out after the third quarter because of a hard fall late in the third. Newly acquired Maxwell Lewis was taken out as well after a knee injury in the fourth quarter. Cam Johnson did the heavy lifting offensively for the Nets with 24 points, with Keon Johnson scoring 17 points, and Nicolas Claxton scoring 16 points. Russell played well off the bench as he put up 22 points but it was not enough to get the Nets over their hump.
"THE CROSS…THE SAUCE!"
DLO HAS 16 POINTS IN THE FIRST HALF 🔥 pic.twitter.com/s2cGjwG9Ne
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 2, 2025
The Nets could not stop Barnes with his double-double scoring 33 points and getting 13 rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley extended the lead late in the fourth after scoring four straight baskets adding up to his 21 points for the night as well as 15 assists for the double-double. Gradey Dick had 22 points, with Ochai Agbaji behind with 14 points, and Jakob Poetl with 12 points. Off the bench, Ja’Kobe Walter had 11 points.
Nets Hang on to Beat Milwaukee
No lead is safe with Brooklyn after barely hanging on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 113 to 110 thanks to misses by Damian Lillard in the final seconds. The Nets led for the majority of the game and were up by as much as 25 points in the third, but the Bucks slowly cut down on the lead in the fourth quarter but could not take the win over Brooklyn. Despite the win, the Nets suffered another injury bug after D’Angelo Russell was taken out in the final minute of the game due to cramps. The Bucks had both their stars out against Brooklyn with Giannis Antetokounmpo putting up a double-double with 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Damian Lillard scoring 23 points. Off the bench, Bobby Portis had 15 points, and Gary Trent Jr. had 10.
little things added up to big things in the road dub 🫡 pic.twitter.com/psyhg4sFIs
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 3, 2025
The star-studded Bucks team could not take down the Nets as Johnson’s 26 points, Claxton’s double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Russell’s double-double with 11 points and 12 assists, and Thomas’ 24 points off the bench helped take down Milwaukee to snap a small losing streak.
76ers Dominate Against Injury-Riddled Nets
The Philadelphia 76ers took a strong 123 to 94 win over the Brooklyn Nets as the Nets were without many of their primary players. Cam Johnson, Cam Thomas, and Ben Simmons were ruled out for the game against Philadelphia due to injuries suffered after the game against Milwaukee. The Nets thought they had a chance early on with a 11 to 0 run to open up the game. However, this victory was short lived as the 76ers went on to a 29 to 8 run and did not look back. The Nets had no answers as D’Angelo Russell was the only offensive weapon they had and even he suffered an injury against Philadelphia. Russell was taken out early in the game after going down with a right shin contusion. This made Joel Embiid impossible to stop moving forward as he had a dominant 28 points and 12 rebound performance for a double-double.
quick 8️⃣ points for number 8️⃣@Ziaire | #NetsWorld pic.twitter.com/0Sg9JF0esg
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 4, 2025
Caleb Martin and Paul George matched with 17 points each, and Justin Edwards had 11 points off the bench. For the Nets, Ziaire Williams had 19 points, Keon Johnson had 15 points, Jalen Wilson had 11 points, and Tyrese Martin had 15 points off the bench. Russell put up five points before suffering a shin contusion in the game.
Nets Continue to Struggle with a Loss Over Indiana
The Indiana Pacers took a smooth 113 to 99 win over the Nets thanks to a great offensive performance by Tyrese Haliburton. The Nets were outnumbered offensively, scoring only 39 points in the first half, and were within ten points from tying the game in the fourth, but could not stop an offensive spurt by the Pacers that sealed the win. Due to the multitude of injuries for Brooklyn, the Nets were left with their big men to take up the offensive load. Martin had 15 points, Clowney had 14 points, Keon Johnson had 12 points, and Williams had 10 points. Off the bench, Day’Ron Sharpe had 16 points.
LET THE BIG FELLAS WORK! 💪
12-0 run to end the quarter 👀 pic.twitter.com/ArF0koaTRb
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 7, 2025
For the Pacers, Haliburton had 23 points, with Benedict Mathurin backing him up with 20 points, Pascal Siakam had 19 points, and Myles Turner had 10 points. Off the bench, Obi Toppin had 11 points.
What’s Next for the Nets
The Nets may have an easier time taking losses as the majority of their offensive weapons are out because of injuries. Fortunately, this is a throwaway season for Brooklyn and that these injuries will have no major impact over this current season. Hopefully, these injuries won’t linger on throughout later seasons so that a guy like Cam Thomas would be wasted potential. There have been trade rumors of Cam Johnson being sent over for multiple first-round picks. It seems that the Nets are trying to hoard as many draft picks as possible, and it may work out for them as they get to build up a whole roster through draft picks. The issue may lie in the Nets potentially wasting some of these picks on players who won’t fit into the Nets and bring them to a dynasty. Only time will tell if acquiring an abundance of draft picks can pay off for Brooklyn in the next few years.
