Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks shook the organization at the All-Star break, firing Jacque Vaughn and promoting Kevin Ollie to interim head coach. For a team hoping to attract marquee players in coming seasons, he did so with a playoff push in mind.
“With 28 games to go and 55 days before the playoffs start, it’s time for us to get some movement from this group. The expectation for Kevin as the new head coach is to come in and get that movement,” Marks said.
The early results under Ollie have been less than encouraging. Brooklyn is averaging 89.5 points over his first two games at the helm, both double-digit losses. Those offensive struggles have been accentuated by putrid transition defense, with Ollie's squad being outscored 71-13 in fastbreak points.
The Nets have posted a minus-93 point differential over their last three games, the worst in franchise history. They are 1-7 over their last eight games, posting the NBA's worst net rating (minus 16.5). Brooklyn is 8-25 since Dec. 14. Only four teams have a worse record during that span: the Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards.
Yet, despite all their struggles, the Nets still have an outside shot to qualify for the Eastern Conference Play-In tournament, trailing the Atlanta Hawks by 3.5 games with 26 left to play. Those prospects received a significant boost Sunday with the news that Hawks star guard Trae Young would undergo surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left hand and be re-evaluated in four weeks.
An @emoryhealthcare injury update:
During Friday’s game, Trae Young suffered a left-hand injury. He underwent an MRI yesterday, which revealed a tear of the radial collateral ligament (RCL) in the fifth finger of his left hand. He will undergo surgery to repair the RCL on… pic.twitter.com/V0OXvUGCBv
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 25, 2024
With Young sidelined for the foreseeable future, Brooklyn has the NBA's second-easiest remaining strength of schedule, facing a combined winning percentage of .456 among remaining opponents, per Tankathon.
The Nets will look to gain some momentum when they close out a four-game road trip against the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic on Monday and Tuesday. They'll then return home for a pair of potential season-defining matchups against Atlanta on Thursday and Saturday.
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