Here are my three thoughts on the Nets’ 102-93 win over the Clippers in Brooklyn on Thursday night:
1. What a difference a week makes.
This was the phrase running through my mind on repeat on the way home from Barclays Center after the Nets handily beat one of the NBA’s better teams Thursday night on national television. Just a week earlier, the Nets were run off that same floor on national television by the Knicks, the crosstown rivals who had come in as losers of nine straight. The Nets also were in the middle of the turmoil surrounding the re-assignment of assistant coach Lawrence Frank.
Just one week later, how much different do things look? Well, the Nets are on a three-game winning streak (their first winning streak of the season), have Deron Williams and Paul Pierce back healthy and playing well and head into a stretch of six out of seven games against teams with sub-.500 records.
If the Nets can reel off a few more wins, all of a sudden they could be back on top of the pathetic Atlantic Division and closer to meeting the lofty expectations for their season. What a difference a week makes.
2. It wasn’t long ago there was a steady drumbeat of, “Who needs Deron Williams?” talk. Shaun Livingston was playing well, the Nets were losing and Williams was once again sidelined with an ankle injury.
But if the last two games have proven anything, it’s just how big of a difference Williams can make for this team. Pierce was accurate when he said after the game that Williams raises the level of this team. When Williams is playing the way he did against the Clippers, when he was at least the equal of Chris Paul, the Nets suddenly begin to look like they have a $100 million roster.
The question is whether Williams can stay healthy and productive, after spending virtually his entire tenure with the Nets battling one ailment after another. If he’s able to, it’s hard to see another team better than Brooklyn in the East outside of the two favorites.
3. For all of the good feelings, the biggest story to come out of the game was the health of Brook Lopez, who aggravated his sprained left ankle in the third quarter of the Nets’ win.
Lopez tried to play through it, but was still noticeably limping, then spent the rest of the game – minus a brief return to the bench – back in the locker room. Afterwards he didn’t have any kind of extra brace on the ankle, and said he would “absolutely” be traveling to Detroit for Friday night’s game against the Pistons. The Nets listed him as questionable, an indication he will not miss extended time.
The Nets were just starting to get on a roll. If Williams and Lopez are both on the floor playing well, the Nets can compete with anyone. If Lopez’s absence lingers? It won’t be surprising to see them return to their previous struggles.