Erik Slater Articles - Page 39

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 […]

The Brooklyn Nets have surged to fourth place in the Eastern Conference after winning 10 of their last 13 games. The recent hot stretch has the Nets positioned as a potential buyer ahead of Dec. 15, when 74 players who signed new contracts this offseason become trade-eligible. Brooklyn has reportedly already begun its search to […]

The Brooklyn Nets ruffled feathers around the NBA world when they announced they would rest their top eight rotation players Saturday against the Indiana Pacers. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, Joe Harris, Royce O’Neale, Seth Curry, and T.J. Warren all sat with Brooklyn on the back end of a back-to-back. Many viewed […]

The Brooklyn Nets are resting nearly their entire rotation Saturday against Indiana on the back end of a back-to-back. Eight Nets were ruled out for the matchup with the Pacers: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, Joe Harris, Royce O’Neale, Seth Curry, and T.J. Warren. The game comes as a much-needed rest night […]

The Brooklyn Nets were dealt a tough injury blow on Friday as the team ruled out starting center Nic Claxton against the Atlanta Hawks due to right hamstring tightness. The big man is in the midst of a career year, starting 25 of 26 games while anchoring Brooklyn’s defense. Claxton ranks fourth in the league […]

Before the Brooklyn Nets’ matchup with Charlotte Wednesday, Hornets head coach Steve Clifford was asked about facing Kevin Durant. Clifford developed a relationship with Durant while working with Brooklyn as a coaching consultant last season. The ninth-year head coach held the Nets forward in high regard when offering a player comparison. ”He’s a lot like […]

The old saying in sports goes, “A win is a win is a win. The Brooklyn Nets picked up another Wednesday, their eighth in their last 11 games, 122-116 over the Charlotte Hornets. The Nets led by as many as 23 points before Charlotte cut the lead to two down the stretch. Three takeaways from […]

Through the never-ending turmoil surrounding the Brooklyn Nets over the last three seasons, Kevin Durant has been the main constant in the team’s success night to night. Entering the latter stage of his career while coming off a torn Achilles, Durant’s workload has only increased throughout his time in Brooklyn. That trend has continued this […]

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons plans to return to the lineup Friday vs. Atlanta after missing the team’s last three games with a calf strain. The three-time All-Star exited with the injury during the second quarter of the Nets’ win over Orlando last week. Brooklyn later announced that Simmons would miss a minimum of three […]

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has missed the last three games after leaving last week’s win over Orlando with a calf strain. The team announced Wednesday that Simmons would miss a minimum of three games with the injury. Head coach Jacque Vaughn provided an update on Simmons Sunday following Brooklyn’s 103-92 loss to the Boston […]

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving received support from numerous NBA players during his eight-game suspension early this season, but none were more vocal than Jaylen Brown. The Celtics star backed Irving numerous times after Brooklyn suspended the guard for his repeated refusal to apologize for posts linking to an antisemitic film, saying he did not […]

The Boston Celtics have put the league on notice early this season. Boston stood atop the league at 18-5 heading into Sunday’s matchup with the streaking Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn came into the game winners of 7 of their last 9 and four straight. However, with the majority of those wins coming against lesser competition, the […]

It was a long and winding road back to the hardwood for Brooklyn Nets forward TJ Warren. After his breakout bubble performance drew league-wide praise, Warren was sidelined for two seasons by a stress fracture in his left foot. After 703 days of rehab, the newly-signed Net made his way to the scorer’s table to […]

The Brooklyn Nets came into Friday’s matchup against Toronto winners of six of their last eight and three straight. After a 1-5 start, Brooklyn had posted the league’s third-best record (10-5) over their last 15 games heading into the contest. The Nets continued their hot streak Friday, running wild on the Raptors out of the […]

Nets forward T.J. Warren is officially set to make his season debut Friday vs. the Toronto Raptors. Warren played just four games over the last two seasons while undergoing several surgeries to repair a navicular stress fracture in his left foot, last appearing on Dec. 29, 2020. The 29-year-old signed with Brooklyn on a minimum […]

Several problems arise when building an argument for the Brooklyn Nets as title contenders. At the forefront of those is the team’s reliance on Kevin Durant. The 34-year-old has played every game for Brooklyn this season and is leading the league in minutes by a wide margin. While Durant is having one of the best […]

For the first time this season, Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets can call themselves a winning basketball team. Brooklyn clawed over .500 Wednesday with a 113-107 win over the Washington Wizards. The Nets have won six of their last eight since an embarrassing 153-121 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 15. And if […]

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons will miss the team’s next three games after being diagnosed with an upper calf strain. Simmons exited during the second quarter of Brooklyn’s win over the Orlando Magic on Monday and was ruled out with what was called left knee soreness. Head coach Jacque Vaughn said Wednesday that Simmons was […]

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has gathered a long list of accolades during his 14-year NBA career. Those include 12 All-Star appearances, 10 All-NBA selections, four scoring titles, two Finals MVPs, Rookie of the Year, and a spot on the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. However, despite his growing status as the greatest scorer of all […]

Kevin Durant is no stranger to putting the Brooklyn Nets on his back. With his team marred by internal dysfunction and injuries over the last season-plus, Durant’s brilliance has remained the one constant in Brooklyn’s hopes of contending. Monday was another one of those nights for Durant. The former MVP dropped 45 points on 19-of-24 […]

Ben Simmons exited during the second quarter of the Brooklyn Nets’ game against the Orlando Magic on Monday and was quickly ruled out with left knee soreness. Simmons missed four games with soreness and swelling in the same knee earlier this season. The three-time All-Star had resembled his old self in recent weeks, averaging 13.6 […]

Nets forward Yuta Watanabe will remain out for Wednesday’s game against Washington with hamstring tightness, according to head coach Jacque Vaughn. “He’s still having some awareness in that hamstring,” Vaughn said Monday of Watanabe’s injury. The forward has missed Brooklyn’s last four games with the injury. Vaughn said Watanabe underwent further imaging on the hamstring […]

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn was fired up prior to his team’s matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday. “Can I lace them up today! I’m ready to pick up full court!” Vaughn yelled on his way to Brooklyn’s locker room. The energy was a stark contrast to his team’s apathetic defensive effort in […]

Brooklyn Nets forward T.J. Warren plans to make his season debut on Dec. 2 against the Toronto Raptors, according to Shams Charania. Warren signed with Brooklyn on a minimum contract this summer. The 29-year-old played just four games over the last two seasons while undergoing several surgeries to repair a navicular stress fracture in his left […]

The Brooklyn Nets blew a 12-point lead Friday in Indiana to drop to 9-11 on the season. After an offensive explosion that allowed the Nets to gain control early, Brooklyn’s defense faltered down the stretch, allowing 71 points on 21 of 40 (52.5 percent) shooting in the second half. The Nets now rank 20th in […]

Ben Simmons continued his hot streak Wednesday as the Brooklyn Nets took down the Toronto Raptors in a 112-98 victory. Simmons filled the stat sheet with 14 points, three rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks on 7-of-9 shooting. The three-time All-Star has resembled his old self after returning from a knee ailment, playing […]

The Brooklyn Nets stepped into a hostile environment when they traveled down the New Jersey Turnpike to Philadelphia Tuesday. Sixers fans have had the date circled on their calendars since Ben Simmons missed Brooklyn’s 129-100 blowout win at Wells Fargo Center last march. The crowd lived up the hype, mercilessly booing Simmons every time he […]