Instead of battling for the worst record in the NBA, the Nets have a chance to head into the All-Star break fighting for a berth in the play-in round.
Thanks to five wins in their past six games, including two straight, the Nets host Philadelphia on Wednesday night at Barclays Center with a chance to get to within a half-game of the wildly disappointing 76ers.
And as of Tuesday, the Nets sat just three games back of the Bulls for 10th place in the Eastern Conference, with six of their next 10 games coming against teams currently outside the playoffs.
While the Nets lack depth even more than they did before buying out Ben Simmons, some of the teams in front of them in the East are in disarray.
First-year head coach Jordi Fernandez has somehow gotten his team within striking distance of the postseason despite preseason projections that the Nets would be the worst team in the league — and that was before jettisoning Simmons, and trading Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith.
“What we care about here is the next game and if we’re accomplishing certain things about our development,” Fernandez said. “As you pointed out, we’re three games out of the play-in. It’s important, but we cannot get lost. I want the guys to be competitive. We are all competitive here, and finding new ways to be competitive is important.”
That hasn’t been an issue of late.
“We’re pretty close right now, and the only thing we have to do is stay the course,” Fernandez said. “We just went [on] a seven-game losing streak and nobody here thought that we were not good enough. We kept working, kept working, kept working. Some wins came our way, and that’s the mentality that I want the guys to have.”
Among the players the Nets kept around are Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe.
“Three games back,” Claxton said. “So we’ve still got a lot of work to do. But if we keep chopping, we know we can get it.”
Claxton, listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game because of a right ankle sprain, has sparked the turnaround — going from 9.7 points and 1.1 blocks per game in his first 40 games to 12.7 points and 2.8 blocks in his past six.
Sharpe has seen his production rise, as well. He’s averaged 10 points and 1.2 blocks the past six games, after averaging 7.8 points and 0.5 blocks in his first 25 games.
More importantly, Sharpe and Claxton have anchored what’s been a stellar defense of late.
“I feel like, with all the trades and everything that’s happening, we still found a way to come together,” Sharpe said of how the team has responded in spite of the low expectations and roster moves. “Like, [D’Angelo Russell] has probably only been here for [just] more than a month, but it feels like he’s been here the whole year. … Just the type of guy he is, I feel we’ve got a whole bunch of guys that guard and know how to get along with people, and I feel like it’s helping us.”
Russell has averaged 5.9 assists in 15 games since arriving from the Lakers. He averaged 4.7 assists in 29 games prior to the deal that sent Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to Los Angeles late last month.
This turnaround came after the Nets lost seven straight games and 12 out of 13, leaving them 14-33 on Jan. 27, only seven games better than NBA-worst Washington.
Now they are 10 games ahead of the Wizards, and any hope of the Nets getting the No. 1 pick in the draft — likely to be used on Duke star Cooper Flagg — will require some serious good fortune.
With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the Nets can’t ship out anyone else. Sharpe, Claxton and Cam Johnson were among those whose futures were in doubt in Brooklyn. Instead, they’ll remain solid players for the Nets.
“Go out there and try to win every single game,” Fernandez saidof the team’s mentality. “And then once we get there, that’s going to be a big accomplishment. Right now we’re thinking about the next game.”
Dariq Whitehead was recalled from G-League Long Island after scoring 20 points on Tuesday. The 2023 first-round pick has appeared in eight games for the Nets this season.
— Additional reporting by Brian Lewis.
