They deserve time for a pat on the back or at the very least share a collective handshake and hug. The Nets have clinched a playoff berth after beating the Rockets without Dwight Howard 106-95 Tuesday night at Barclays Center.
It’s no small feat considering their 10-21 start and the trouble their counterparts in the neighboring borough are having securing their own postseason berth.
“It’s been a long road,” said guard Deron Williams. “It’s been a lot of ups and downs and we went through a lot at the beginning of the season with injuries. But [making the playoffs] is something we expected. Now we just want to move up as high as we can.”
It’s admirable the Nets are vowing not to take their foot off the gas. But don’t blame them if they exhale a bit. The Knicks aren’t as fortunate, which is why their meeting with the Nets on Wednesday night at the Garden carries more importance for the Knicks than the Nets.
At 32-43, the Knicks are fighting to catch Atlanta for the eighth spot, and can’t afford an off night. Every game carries an extreme measure of importance. The Nets no longer have to carry that weight even though there are still games to win.
“We’re both fighting,” said Nets guard Joe Johnson, who scored 32 against the Rockets. “They’re fighting to get in and we’re fighting to move up. It’s definitely a valuable game for both teams and it will be playoff intensity.”
The reality is the Nets could reach for cruise control, if they like. The Knicks can’t. How they got to this ending is a matter of what went right for the Nets and why the Knicks have struggled. Here’s what went right for the Nets:
• Jason Kidd fired assistant coach Lawrence Frank. Whatever the reasoning, Kidd’s dismal of Frank showed he was in charge and got his players’ attention. This week the rookie coach won his second Coach of the Month award.
• They weathered injuries to Williams, Brook Lopez, Kevin Garnett and Andrei Kirilenko by getting surprise production from Shaun Livingston and Mason Plumlee. Marcus Thornton proved to be a valuable acquisition.
• Moving Paul Pierce to the four has opened up the offense and made the Nets difficult to defend.
“We found an identity at that point,” Kidd said.
• They established home court. The Nets set a franchise record with their 14th straight home win by beating the Rockets. They are 26-11 overall at Barclays Center, and 20-2 since Jan. 1.
The Knicks are 16-21 at the Garden.
The result is, the Nets, a team that was 11 games under .500 on Dec. 31, is now in the playoffs.
“It says a lot about this team, our coaches, the whole organization and especially us as players,” Johnson said. “We took it upon ourselves to change things around in the new year with a little more grit and grind and we’ve had that in 2014. It took time for things to come together. We’ve had some tragic injuries with key guys to go down. But we found a way to will ourselves back in the hunt of things. We just have to continue to keep working hard each and every day.”
The Knicks, meanwhile, have struggled all season to find an identity. They were slow to overcome injuries to Tyson Chandler, J.R. Smith and Amar’e Stoudemire and they haven’t found anyone to consistently help Carmelo Anthony. Coach Mike Woodson’s leadership has been in question and finding a productive rotation has been a season-long chore.
And while the Nets eventually got production even in spots from newcomers like Pierce, Garnett and Kirilenko, the Knicks have gotten little from Andrea Bargnani and Kenyon Martin. Veterans Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih never worked out and were released in February.
“We’ve still got a lot of work left to do,” Johnson said. “Every game from here on out is going to be pretty significant.”
Not as significant as they are to the Knicks.