NBA
The next day of the nets is full of questions
The Nets’ league dream turned into a nightmare when Brooklyn was eliminated by a first-round win over the Celtics. Sportish presents the next day of the Nets, which is full of questions.
A year of dreams turned into a towing fiasco for the Nets, who were eliminated – and even with a sweep – by the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
Brooklyn went on vacation earlier than any other team that entered this year’s playoffs and was the only team not to even get a win. The Celtics generally proved better prepared, more read, better. The Nets, on the other hand, played more or less like they did all year: Moderately, with less good than bad intervals.
There were people who believed Kevin Durand and Kyrie Irving’s talent would be enough to create the upset – because it would be an upset – and overtake the Celtics. Game 1 showed that… romantics who believe individual talent conquers everything as if it were a Hollywood film or Japanese anime might have been right as Brooklyn pushed its limits in Boston before it took on Tatum’s buzzer-beater lost. And then the descent started and came to 4:0.
Now the Nets are gearing up for their next day, which came (much) sooner than expected.
What was your goal?
The Nets started the 2021/22 season with just one goal: the championship. Anything else would be a failure.
Coming from a 2020-21 season in which they were eliminated by the — eventual champions — Bucks in Game 7 of Round 2 because Kevin Durand wears the number 55 rather than 54, the Nets were considered favorites. And in their opinion, they had reason to believe that.
Brooklyn expected to finally have the trio of Duand, Harden and Irving on the floor. He framed her with several role players. The team seemed full. They only thought about when they would face the Bucks.
What went wrong
It’s hard to stand on one thing in a season that will go down in history as one of the strangest things a club has seen in the NBA, or rather all American sports.
It all started with New York’s decision to ban the unvaccinated from indoors. This normally wouldn’t matter. However, he turned out to be of great importance to the Nets as Irving decided not to get vaccinated and was thus ineligible to play for home games, so he was dropped from the team until January.
Irving was the only problem. The other turned out to be James Harden, appearing as an (overweight) shadow of himself. “Mousias” appeared in the preparation of the nets without motivation, without training and without overcoming his injury (fracture) in the biceps of his foot, which he carried from last season’s playoffs. And that irritated Durand first of all.
The Nets’ Big-3 had essentially become… Big-1.5. At one point during the season, Joe Harris was injured. Blake Griffin left the rotation. The corona virus appeared – as in all groups. This led to the decision to return Irving for the away games. When Irving returned, Durand was injured. When Durand was injured, the Nets fell from 3rd to 9th. Harden then lost whatever motivation he had. The Nets sent him to the Sixers because of Ben Simmons. Simmons has never played this year. New York changed the law in anticipation of the start of the baseball season and Irving took to the stage at home games as well. Durand is back. But nothing saved these nets.
The expiring contracts
The Nets have loaned out Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons, Joe Harris, Seth Curry, Cam Thomas and DiAron Sharp. They have a team option on Kessler Edwards’ contract, while Nick Claxton and David Duke are restricted free agents. And from there the problems start.
Kyrie Irving and Patti Mills have options in their contracts. The former stated that he wanted to stay – apparently with a multi-year contract. The second did not mention his plans. Also free agents are Bruce Brown, Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Goran Dragic.
The networks have several dilemmas. Irving’s stay shouldn’t be a cause for concern, but after what’s happened over the last two years it will definitely be a matter of burning coals. Of course they can’t replace him if they lose him. Additionally, keeping Brown and Drummond is logically a priority for Brooklyn as they both played important roles on the team. Everything else follows.
your future
The Nets have a difficult summer ahead of them. The…dough of Durand, Simmons, Harris, Curry is indeed a good start that gets even better with the possible whereabouts of Irving. However, there is almost nothing behind it and the nets have minimal space in the lettuce cap to fill the remaining seats. That makes Brown’s stay necessary.
Brooklyn could have a pick of the Sixers in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft (they have up to 1. However, don’t expect any more deep spikes. They have three trade exceptions available ($11.3 million, $6.3 million US dollars and $3.3 million) that cannot be used together In other words, Brooklyn can’t make a big exception of $20.9 million to get a player, but they can to be used separately to get players, each player that comes will of course increase the salary cap even further.
The Nets need to hit the market in the summer and look for peripherals that can play defense. To look for – at least – a center, something that will also depend on the cases of Dramond and Claxton. Above all, they want size periphery, which was clearly seen in the series with the Celtics.
Ultimately, of course, how good Brooklyn will be depends on the situation of Durand, Irving and Simmons. With the exception of the first, who is now 34 years old, the other two have not shown the necessary consistency on and off the floor in the last two years. The Nets have it tough. The pressure after this year’s failed season is even greater. This summer could be the most critical in the team’s history.
Source: sport 24
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.
NBA
Denver announces Jokic’s recovery from knee injury
Denver Nuggets announced Nikola Jokic He will miss at least four weeks due to a left knee injury.
Star center was diagnosed with left knee hyperextension. At the same time, tests confirmed that the three-time NBA MVP’s knee ligaments remained intact.
Jokic was injured in the final seconds of the first half of the 123-147 loss to the Miami Heat and limped heavily on his way to the locker room. He did not return to the site after a long time.
Before his injury, Nikola managed to produce 21 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in just 19 minutes on the field.
Losing Jokic could be a big blow for Denver, as starters Christian Braun (ankle injury), Aaron Gordon (hip issue) and Cam Johnson (knee injury) remain sidelined.
Jokic averaged 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game this season.
Injury Update: Nikola Jokić suffered a Hyperextension injury in his Left Knee in last night’s match against Miami Heat. Nikola will be re-evaluated in four weeks. pic.twitter.com/NIDmlKAN81
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 30, 2025
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
NBA
NBA: Miami beat Denver, Cleveland beat San Antonio, Toronto won
11 games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 29-30.
Miami hosted Denver and earned a landslide victory.
The home team was ahead by 12 points with 41:29 to play in the first quarter, but the Nuggets were able to slowly win back in the second quarter. The teams entered a long break with the score tied at 63:63. The decisive factor in the match was the third quarter, when the Heat made an 11:0 move and led by 15 points at 84:69. After that the home team completely controlled the course of the game and only increased their advantage, achieving a crushing victory – 147:123.
The most productive player of the match was Powell, who brought 25 points to Miami, while Jaques (20 points + 11 assists) and Adebayo had double-doubles with 13 points + 10 rebounds.
San Antonio hosted Cleveland and suffered a sensational defeat.
Three-quarters of the meeting was fought evenly, with the teams responding to each other’s pushes with their own pushes and often staying within a shot or two of each other. That changed in the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers went on a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead, 94-84. They then maintained their advantage and won with a score of 113:101.
Cleveland’s main hero in this game was Allen, who had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Garland can achieve the same success with 15 points and 11 assists.
Toronto beat Orlando at home.
Magic started the match better and made a 14:2 move at the start. Afterwards, they took control of the course of the game and increased the advantage completely to +21 – 51:30 in the second 12 minutes. After that, the home team slowly started to close the gap and entered the long break with a score of 11-11 at 54:65. The third quarter was tied, so Orlando still had a double-digit advantage ahead of the final: 94:84. At the beginning of the match the play followed the same scenario but in the middle Toronto made a move with 15:0 and not only won it back but also took the lead with 105:102. The fate of the game was decided by Barnes’ free throws, which set the score at 107:106 with 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the quarter.
Barnes could not make a triple-double this time, but he did a double-double and got 13 points and 11 rebounds, while the most productive name in the victory was Shead with 19 points.
NBA. Regular season, December 30
Miami – Denver – 147:123 (41:29, 22:34, 47:36, 37:24)
Miami: Powell (25), Weir (19 + 9 rebounds), Wiggins (19 + 6 assists), Adebayo (13 + 10 rebounds), Mitchell (10 + 9 assists) – start; Jovic (22), Jaques (20 + 11 assists), Smith (11), Larsson (3), Fontecchio (3), Johnson (2), Yakucionis (0), Gardner (0).
Denver: Jokic (21 + 8 assists), J. Murray (20 + 11 assists), Hardaway (16), Jones (16), Watson (11) – start; B. Brown (15), Valanciunas (6), Holmes (4), Strother (4), Nnaji (4), Pickett (2), Jones (2), Tyson (2).
San Antonio – Cleveland – 101:113 (26:25, 29:24, 23:27, 23:37)
San Antonio: Vembanyama (26 + 14 rebounds), Castle (15 + 8 assists + 5 losses), Fox (14), Vassell (7), Barnes (3) – start; Harper (11), Cornet (10 + 9 rebounds), K. Johnson (8), Shempeni (7), Brian (0).
cleveland: Allen (27 + 10 rebounds), E. Mobley (16 + 7 rebounds), Garland (15 + 11 assists), Mitchell (10 + 7 assists), Wade (10) – start; Hunter (11 + 9 rebounds), Tyson (11), Tomlin (6), Merrill (5), Porter (2).
Toronto – Orlando – 107:106 (18:29, 36:36, 30:29, 23:12)
toronto: Ingram (17 + 9 rebounds), Barnes (13 + 11 rebounds), Mamukelashvili (13), Agbadzhi (10), Quickley (4) – start; Shed (19), Dick (15), Walter (10 + 7 rebounds), Murray-Boyles (4 + 12 rebounds), Bettle (2), Bamba (0).
Orlando’s: Black (27), Banchero (23 + 15 rebounds + 10 assists), Bane (18), Jones (10), Carter (9) – start; Richardson (7), da Silva (6), Kane (3), Bitadze (2), Penda (1), Isaac (0).
Washington – Phoenix – 101:115 (23:22, 31:39, 25:26, 22:28)
washington: Johnson (24), McCollum (17), Coulibaly (13 + 7 rebounds), Watkins (3), Sarr (2) – start; Shempeny (11), Carrington (10), Riley (10), Bagley (7+7 rebounds), Brenham (4), Johnson (0), Hill (0).
Phoenix: Brooks (26), Gillespie (25 + 6 assists), Booker (22), O’Neal (15), Igodaro (6 + 10 rebounds) – starter; Goodwin (14 + 7 rebounds), Livers (3), Buey (2), Richards (2 + 9 rebounds), Hayes-Davis (0), Fleming (0), Maluach (0).
Charlotte-Milwaukee-113:123 (26:25, 40:38, 23:32, 24:28)
Charlotte: Miller (31 + 8 rebounds), Ball (26 + 7 assists + 6 losses), Diabate (14 + 9 rebounds), Bridges (3), James (0) – start; Sexton (16 + 8 assists), Green (10), McNeely (7), Hall (3), Hall (3 + 11 rebounds), Mann (0).
Milwaukee: Y. Antetokounmpo (24 + 7 assists), Turner (23 + 4 blocked shots), Porter (15 + 11 assists), Rollins (13), Green (5) – start; Portis (25), Trent (9), Kuzma (6), G. Harris (3), Sims (0).
Brooklyn – Golden State – 107:120 (30:28, 27:31, 28:30, 22:31)
Brooklyn: Porter (27 + 9 rebounds), Demin (23), Claxton (15 + 9 rebounds), Clowney (11), Mann (4) – start; Thomas (13), Traore (9), Sharpe (3), Powell (2), Wolfe (0).
Golden State: Curry (27), Butler (21), Dr. Green (7), Moody (4), Post (3) – start; Jackson-Davis (11), Payton II (10), Melton (10 + 8 rebounds), Richard (10), Podziemski (7), Hield (6), Spencer (4), Santos (0).
New Orleans – New York – 125:130 (41:37, 34:35, 28:24, 22:34)
New Orleans: Williamson (32), Bay (26 + 6 assists), Murphy (21), Quinn (7 + 9 rebounds + 6 assists), Fiers (4) – start; Poole (26), Peavey (3), Hawkins (2), Missy (2), Looney (2 + 9 rebounds).
new York: Brunson (28 + 10 assists), Anunoby (23 + 11 rebounds), Diawara (18), Towns (12 + 12 rebounds), Bridges (6 + 10 assists) – start; McBride (14), Yabusele (9), Clarkson (9), Kolek (7), McCullar (2), Jamison (2), Hookporty (0).
Oklahoma – Atlanta – 140:129 (35:38, 35:36, 43:29, 27:26)
Oklahoma: Gilgeous-Alexander (39 + 6 assists), Holmgren (24 + 9 rebounds), Jaylen Williams (20 + 9 rebounds + 7 assists), Wallace (17 + 7 rebounds), Dort (6) – start; Caruso (16 + 9 rebounds), Mitchell (10), Carlson (6), Wiggins (2), Joe (0), K. Williams (0).
of Atlanta: Alexander-Walker (30), Okongwu (26 + 14 rebounds + 6 assists), Krejci (18), Daniels (13 + 7 assists), Risache (12) – start; Kennard (12), Wallace (9), Newell (9), Gueye (0).
Houston – Indiana – 126:119 (30:25, 36:23, 39:30, 21:41)
Houston: Durant (30), Smith (21 + 10 rebounds), Thompson (20 + 8 rebounds + 7 assists), Eason (13 + 8 rebounds), Adams (8) – start; Sheppard (13), Finney-Smith (6), Capela (6+7 rebounds), Okogie (3), Davison (2), Tate (2), Green (2), A. Holiday (0).
indiana: Siakam (23), Maturin (14), Nembhard (11), Furphy (9), Huff (8) – start; Nesmith (14), Walker (12), Jackson (7), McConnell (6), Peter (6), Jones (4), Potter (3 + 6 assists), Thompson (2), Bradley (0).
Chicago – Minnesota – 101:136 (23:21, 27:34, 28:40, 23:41)
Chicago: Vucevic (23), Buzelis (13), Giddy (11), Okoro (4), White (0) – start; Smith (12), Jones (11), Dosunmu (10 + 7 assists), Herter (8), Williams (7), Phillips (2), Carter (0), Terry (0).
Minnesota: Edwards (23), Randle (17 + 14 assists), DiVincenzo (12), Gobert (9 + 10 rebounds + 4 blocks), McDaniels (7) – start; Reed (33 + 7 rebounds), Hyland (12), Clark (11), Dillingham (5), Miller (3), Juzeng (2), Conley (2), Beranger (0).
Portland – Dallas – 125:122 (42:29, 33:34, 22:30, 28:29)
Portland: Avdija (27 + 9 rebounds + 11 assists + 8 losses), Sharpe (24), Klingin (18 + 11 rebounds), Kamara (9), Sissoko (6) – start; Love (24), Ruper (9), R. Williams (8 + 8 rebounds), Yang Hansen (0).
dallas: Christie (25), Gafford (17 + 10 rebounds), Flagg (15 + 7 assists + 5 turnovers), Washington (8), Nembhard (0 + 6 assists) – start; Williams (22), Marshall (17), Thompson (14), Powell (2), Caleb Martin (2).
tournament tables
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
NBA
ADETOKUMBO: “Disrespectful. Don’t ask me this question”
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo He gave a harsh response to the question about a possible trade to another NBA club:
“I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. It’s disrespectful to me and my teammates. I wear this jersey every day.
To say I don’t want to be here is disrespectful to the organization, the coaching staff, myself and everyone who worked hard to get me on the field. Don’t ask me this question. I am her. I’m going out in this uniform. And as long as I’m here, I’ll give it my all until the last second of the match.”
On the night of December 27-28, Antetokounmpo returned to the field after his calf muscle injury and became the most productive player of the game with the Chicago Bulls – 112:103.
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
-
Ligue 13 years agoRenato Sanchez signed in Paris for five years
-
Europa League4 years agoIn transfer alert at Olympiakos for additions and concessions
-
Europa League4 years agoFenerbahce – Eintracht 1: 1: The Germans took 1st place in the Olympiacos group
-
Europa League4 years agoWithout Nainggolan and Samata, the 11th team from Antwerp
-
Europa League4 years agoEuropa League
-
Europa League4 years agoAtalanta announced the acquisition of Boga
-
Europa League4 years agoFears that Zapata will be out for 4 months
-
Premier League4 years agoExcept for the rest of January, Sean was injured
