The Brooklyn Nets have four games left this season, all in NYC – three at home, and Wednesday night at MSG against the Knicks – and Saturday’s loss to the Hawks was a two-fold whammy: it ensured that Brooklyn will be part of the four-team play-in tournament for the final two Eastern playoff spots, and also kept them in 10th place, meaning that as of now, they would need to win two games to earn a true playoff spot.
Speaking to the media about that at Monday’s shoot-around, Kevin Durant had a simple synopsis of the Nets’ focus over the final week of the regular season.
“Whatever situation we’re in, what should get us up and make us enjoy this time is that we love playing basketball,” KD said. “We got guys that love to play basketball, so regardless of where we’re seeded, getting up every day and playing basketball is enough for us. Sometimes that masks a lot of things.”
Entering Monday, the 40-38 Nets are tied with the Hornets for the ninth and tenth spots, one Charlotte holds the tiebreaker for by virtue of winning the season series, and both are one game behind the surging 41-37 Hawks, who have won five straight after beating Brooklyn Saturday.
While Brooklyn’s schedule includes two teams below them in the East (Knicks and Pacers), a Rockets squad tied for the worst record in the NBA, and the currently seventh-seeded Cavs – ideally, one where the Nets could make a 4-0 run to move up the standings – they are, as of right now, needing to win two games in the play-in to qualify.
Whether it’s that, or they get two chances to win one game as the seven or eight seed, matters not to Durant, because the mission is the same no matter what: win.
“Who cares?” KD asked bluntly. “Whoever we play we play, and I don’t care who we play. Just tip the ball up and see what happens, that’s all you can control. It’s too stressful to think about lining up, just play the games and see what happens.”
It’s quite disappointing to many that the Nets will top out at 44 wins and no better than the play-in spots in the regular season, but once again, KD thinks it’s less underproduction and more lack of chemistry from roster flux that has snake-bitten Brooklyn this season.
“I feel like our season was derailed by my injury. I’m not looking at it like we’re not a good basketball team, we just didn’t get good continuity with me and Kyrie out of the lineup,” KD said. “That is what it is, but when we’re all on the floor together, I like what we’ve got.”
And what the Nets have, KD says, is a championship mentality.
“We just focus on the next game in front of us, because each day matters. You can talk about expectations, but if you want to be a champion, every second that you step on the floor matters,” he said. “Being a champion is in the habits and the work ethic, the care that you have for the game. There’s a lot of champions out here that never won a ring, but they approached their work that way. Guys here have done that, but some stuff out of individuals’ control is why we’re in certain positions.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
