A win over the Knicks? Check. Wins over several of the Western Conference’s elite teams such as the Clippers and Thunder? Check. A win over the Heat? Cue the chirping crickets.
The 27-18 Nets, entering tonight’s final regular season meeting against the Heat, are 0-2 against Miami this season. They lost both games in Miami, 103-73 on Nov. 7 and 102-89 on Dec 1. The Nets know to be an elite team, you have to beat the elite teams.
“They’re the NBA champions, and they’ve been to the finals a couple of times,” interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said yesterday. “If you are going to beat them, you’re going to need to throw out a pretty complete game. It’d be nice to see if we are capable of doing that, especially in our own building,”
Winning the championship also earns you a trip to the White House to meet the President, which the Heat (28-13) did on Monday, and it’s definitely something some Nets players think about doing themselves one day.
“I would love the chance to get to do that,” Joe Johnson said. “Especially here in Brooklyn. Bringing a championship back here, that would be great. But we have so much room for improvement before we get to that point. Trying to position ourselves to where we can maybe someday make it to the White House.”
The Nets have dropped 12 in a row to Miami, their last win coming in March 2009. But they are playing some of their best basketball right now, and have won eight in a row at home. The Nets haven’t lost at the Barclays Center since Christmas against the Celtics.
“It’s definitely a good challenge for us,” Brook Lopez said. “It’s a good test. It’ll be a fun contest. The first [game] was earlier in the season, and the second one, we were there with them for three quarters before it got away. I think we can give them a really good game [tonight].”
In order for the Nets to have a chance for the upset, they definitely can’t afford another 20-turnover game like they endured in Monday’s 97-77 win over the Magic. Because the Heat are one of the top defensive teams in the NBA, protecting the ball will be paramount.
In their two lopsided losses to the Heat, the Nets had 37 combined turnovers.
“We have to really take conscious effort of protecting the ball,” Johnson said. “Those guys play the passing lanes, and they are great defensive players so we’re going to have to be precise with our passes and be on point.”
Carlesimo also said avoiding turnovers will be key against the defending champions.
“They are the champions for a reason,” he said. “You have to take care of the ball first. They are very good at creating turnovers. They’re in my opinion the best in the league when you do turn it over, what they do with it.”
Miami, which has a 10-10 road record, is coming off a 100-98 double-overtime loss to the Celtics this weekend. They will be hungry for a win, and the Nets have to match their intensity.
“We understand that we can be a pretty good team,” Johnson said. “It just depends on [tonight] if we come out with a good sense of urgency. We just have to be focused from start to finish.
“We want to keep playing well at home. We want to come out and try to protect our home court.”