Erik Slater Articles - Page 31

One of the lead stories around the NBA this week has been: How will the Brooklyn Nets look without Kevin Durant? The league got its first look Thursday as the Nets dropped their opening game of the Durantless stretch 109-98 to the league-leading Boston Celtics. Brooklyn didn’t play a poor game by any stretch of […]

Kyrie Irving has been among the NBA’s top guards since returning from an early-season suspension. Most importantly for a Nets team bracing for an extended period without Kevin Durant, he is playing under a full-time status, unlike this time last season. Irving has been a non-stop source of offense during a historic hot stretch for […]

Flashback to January 2022 and the Brooklyn Nets found themselves scrambling to prevent a freefall in the standings amid a Kevin Durant knee injury. A year later, Durant is down with a similar injury, but new faces decorate Brooklyn’s roster as the team looks for new means of production with their top player sidelined. Unlike last […]

After a 5-9 start to the season that saw Steve Nash fired and Kyrie Irving suspended, the Brooklyn Nets have risen from the depths of the NBA to legitimate contender status. The Nets have won 18 of their last 20 games, the best stretch in franchise history, and now hold the league’s second-best record. However, […]

The Brooklyn Nets’ dream hot stretch nearly turned into a nightmare when Jimmy Butler fell into Kevin Durant’s knee during the third quarter of Sunday’s win over the Miami Heat. Durant attempted to stay in the game but ultimately asked to exit and was later ruled out due to the injury. Brooklyn announced Monday that […]

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have set the league on fire during a recent hot streak with Brooklyn. The Nets have won 17 of their last 19 with Durant and Irving averaging a combined 57.5 points per game during that span. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about the Nets duo’s offensive brilliance […]

The Brooklyn Nets escaped Miami Sunday with a 102-101 last-second victory over the Heat, but it wasn’t without casualty as Kevin Durant suffered an injury that forced him out of the game. Nets forward Royce O’Neale scored on a putback off a Kyrie Irving miss before Jimmy Butler missed a layup at the buzzer to give […]

Kyrie Irving has been one of the NBA’s top guards during an extended hot streak for the Brooklyn Nets, much to head coach Jacque Vaughn’s delight. Irving’s fourth-quarter brilliance in particular has jumped off the page during Brooklyn’s resurgence. The seven-time All-Star is leading the league in fourth-quarter scoring at 8.9 points per game. Irving […]

The Brooklyn Nets have reportedly made decisions on three role players for the rest of the season, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The Nets will guarantee the contracts of three minimum signings from this offseason: Yuta Watanabe, Edmond Sumner and Markieff Morris. Watanabe has been among the breakout stories of the NBA season, leading […]

Kevin Durant’s trade request dominated the NBA offseason. Fast forward four months and Durant has led the red-hot Brooklyn Nets to the league’s second-best record. After a dysfunctional 2-6 start to the season that saw Steve Nash fired and Kyrie Irving suspended, Brooklyn was left for dead. Since then, the Nets have posted a 23-7 […]

The Brooklyn Nets have skyrocketed up the NBA standings after an extended hot streak. After winning 19 of their last 23, Brooklyn holds the league’s second-best record despite a 5-9 start. And several Nets received recognition for their stellar play in the first returns of the All-Star fan vote, including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and […]

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been other-worldly throughout a historic stretch for the Nets. Brooklyn had won 19 of their last 22 and 12-straight heading into Wednesday’s matchup with the Chicago Bulls. Despite their star duo’s brilliance, high-level contributions from the supporting cast had put the team over the top during the hot stretch. […]

Gregg Popovich has coached a long list of legendary players during his 34-year NBA coaching career. Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard headline the list. That group grew tenfold after Popovich took over for Mike Krzyzewski as head coach of the U.S. men’s national team in 2015. However, despite the […]

The Brooklyn Nets’ Monday night matchup with the tanking San Antonio Spurs was not at the top of the list of games to watch this season. Despite this, there was a noticeable buzz at Barclays Center as the Nets claimed their 12th straight win, a 139-103 blowout of San Antonio. A sellout Brooklyn crowd remained […]

Jacque Vaughn spent seven seasons on the Brooklyn Nets’ coaching staff before landing the head coaching job. During that time, Vaughn quietly became a significant voice behind the scenes, cultivating relationships with players and providing a high-IQ, defensive mind on the bench. The longtime assistant now finds himself leading one of the most dramatic turnarounds […]

Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris is expected to return to the lineup Monday against the San Antonio Spurs. The Nets listed Harris as probable after he missed the team’s last four games with left knee soreness. The sharpshooter’s return should provide a boost to a Brooklyn team that has posted the league’s best offensive rating […]

The Brooklyn Nets announced guard Joe Harris will miss his fourth straight game when the team travels to face the Charlotte Hornets Saturday. Harris has not appeared since reporting soreness in his left knee before Brooklyn’s win over Milwaukee last Friday. Prior to the four-game absence, Harris had not missed a game due to injury […]

Just two weeks into the NBA season, the Brooklyn Nets were left for dead. Fresh off a trade request from their franchise cornerstone in Kevin Durant, a 2-6 start had already seen head coach Steve Nash fired and All-Star guard Kyrie Irving suspended indefinitely. Despite a roster stacked with talent, the conversation had quickly shifted […]

Kyrie Irving is no stranger to fourth-quarter heroics during his 11-year NBA career. Irving is one of the top shot-makers the league has ever seen and hit one of the most clutch shots in NBA history during game seven of the 2016 finals. However, the seven-time All-Star’s late-game brilliance has reached new levels during a […]

The Brooklyn Nets have been among the NBA’s most efficient teams during a league-best nine-game winning streak. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have set the NBA on fire during that time, combining for 60.4 points per game, the most in the league among a pair of teammates. Ben Simmons, the final member of the Nets’ […]

T.J. Warren’s effect on the Brooklyn Nets heading into this season was a bit of an unknown. Having missed the last two years due to a stress fracture in his left foot, it was unclear whether Warren’s microwave scoring ability would return at the same level after joining Brooklyn for the minimum. Ten games into […]

The Brooklyn Nets came into a two-game stretch against Milwaukee and Cleveland on a seven-game win streak. However, with a favorable schedule throughout the hot stretch, the matchups against two of the league’s best teams had the feel of a litmus test for Brooklyn. The red-hot Nets lived up to the billing and then some. […]

The Brooklyn Nets ruled out guard Joe Harris for the second consecutive game ahead of Monday’s matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Harris missed Friday’s 118-100 Nets win over Milwaukee after reporting soreness in his left knee. The game marked Harris’ first injury-related absence since Oct. 27 vs. Dallas. The sharpshooter underwent a pair of reconstructive […]

Jacque Vaughn has done many things differently during his six weeks as Brooklyn Nets head coach. At the top of the list is his direct approach to holding his team accountable for mental lapses or lack of hustle. The most glaring example of this is Vaughn’s frequent quick timeouts after defensive miscues. Whether Brooklyn is […]

The Brooklyn Nets came into Friday night on a league-best seven-game winning streak and winners of 14 of their last 17. Despite that, the Nets had still not been mentioned in the inner circle of contenders. That had largely been due to a dysfunctional start to the season and a soft schedule during the recent […]

Jacque Vaughn was tasked with leading what seemed like an improbable turnaround when he was hired as Brooklyn Nets head coach in early November. Six weeks later, the Nets are on a seven-game winning streak and have posted the league’s best record (14-3) over their last 17 games. During that span, Vaughn has displayed a […]

Steve Kerr watched Kevin Durant win consecutive finals MVPs with the Golden State Warriors from 2016-2018. There were widespread doubts about Durant’s ability to return to that form following his Achilles tear and departure from the Bay Area after the 2018-19 season. Three years later, the former MVP is at the top of his game […]

The Brooklyn Nets’ last two starts could be summed up using two words: uninspired and unfocused. Brooklyn fell behind by 18 and 19 points early in wins over the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons. The team emphasized the importance of opening with greater urgency heading into Wednesday’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors. “(There) definitely […]

Nets guard Kyrie Irving was ruled out with calf tightness ahead of Wednesday’s matchup with Golden State. Irving was not on the injury report during two days off leading up to the game. Head coach Jacque Vaughn said the guard approached him with discomfort after shooting around Wednesday ahead of tip-off. “It just came after […]

A recent hot streak has the Brooklyn Nets approaching legitimate contender status for the first time this season. After a 2-7 start, the Nets have posted the league’s best record (13-3) over their last 16 games. While Brooklyn has the feel of a rejuvenated team on both ends, there’s something to be said about their […]

It has been a rough go of it for New York City basketball for the better part of the last two decades. The New York Knicks hold the NBA’s worst record since 2000 and have finished above .500 just five times in the last 22 seasons. New York has won one playoff series during that […]

At several points in recent months, it was highly questionable whether Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving would ever put on Brooklyn Nets uniforms again. Durant’s trade request and the team’s refusal to offer Irving a fully guaranteed contract this summer, as well as their suspension of the guard early this season, were legitimate signals of […]

Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton is in the midst of a breakout season. Claxton has started all 27 games for Brooklyn, posting career-highs across the board with 11.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. The 23-year-old leads the league in field goal percentage at 74.0 percent. Claxton’s high-level perimeter defense and rim protection […]

Kyrie Irving was not eligible to play in Toronto last season. This year, two of the seven-time All-Star’s best performances have come north of the border. Irving drilled a step-back three as time expired Friday night to lift the Nets to a 119-116 victory over the Toronto Raptors. Incredibly, the shot was the first game-winning […]

The biggest “what if” in NBA history. That’s how the Brooklyn Nets’ Big 3 of Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant will be remembered. The historically-efficient offensive trio lasted not even one full season before falling apart when Harden forced his way to the Philadelphia 76ers at last year’s trade deadline. The trade marked […]

The Brooklyn Nets are on a tear, posting the NBA’s best record (11-3) over their last 14 games. After a 1-5 start that saw head coach Steve Nash fired, Brooklyn now sits just a half-game back of Cleveland for third place in the Eastern Conference. With that, we took some questions from Brooklyn fans in […]

The Brooklyn Nets are expected to post their first clean injury report of the season heading into a matchup with Toronto Friday. Royce O’Neale was the only player on the injury report for Monday’s Nets win over Washington, missing the Nets’ last two games due to personal reasons. Head coach Jacque Vaughn said Wednesday that […]

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has made an immediate impact in two games since returning from a calf injury. Simmons posted 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists on 5 of 9 shooting during Brooklyn’s 112-100 win over Washington Monday. The three-time All-Star missed four games with a left calf strain the week prior. Defense […]

The Brooklyn Nets have been the team of “ifs” over the last two seasons. With one of the more talented rosters in the NBA, Brooklyn has long been seen as a title contender on paper. But those expectations have rarely moved past hypothetical talking points. The Nets appeared to be heading for more of the […]