The Nets have shown promise during their 11 game losing streak, but they’ll hope to turn that into a positive result on Monday night when the Sacramento Kings come to Brooklyn (7:30 p.m.). A win would be the valentines day gift that Nets fans would happily accept.
The shorthanded Nets will get some reinforcements into their lineup on Monday in LaMarcus Aldridge and Nic Claxton, who both did not appear on the team’s status report on Sunday. Aldridge and Claxton have both missed a number of games during the losing streak, the former missing seven and the latter missing four.
Both absences came at a time when the Nets were already reeling from an injury to Kevin Durant and the drama with James Harden.
The Nets are hoping to have two of their trade deadline acquisitions in Seth Curry and Andre Drummond on the court as well on Monday. Both had been hoping to make their Nets debut on Saturday in Miami, but that was held up by Harden’s delayed arrival and physical in Philadelphia.
Curry should help the Nets offense with his positive shooting and ability to knock down the three-ball. That will undoubtedly take a lot of pressure off of Patty Mills as well. Drummond’s debut would come at a much-needed time having been down several big men.
“I’m excited about both of those guys, veterans in the game who understand how to play and can mix well,” Kevin Durant said over the weekend, according to the New York Post. “We’ve got a lot of younger guys that can learn from Drummond and Seth and see how they work and see how they move as veterans in this league.
“(They’ve) been in winning environments and played in big games before, so they understand what’s at stake here for us.”
The Nets enter the game off a close loss to the Miami Heat. A 29 point performance from Kyrie Irving gave Brooklyn some hope late in the game, but fell just short in the final moments of the game.
Irving won’t available on Monday due to his vaccination status nor will be able to play again until Feb. 24 following the NBA All-Star break. Over the next eight games, Irving is eligible to play in just one.
Monday’s Valentine’s Day meeting with the Kings comes as Sacramento has won two straight games and hopes to go on its first three-game winning streak since December. The Kings defeated Minnesota last Wednesday and followed it with a win over Washington on Saturday night.
Harrison Barnes played a big role in wins putting up 30 points against Minnesota and 27 in Washington.
This will be the second time the Kings and Nets have met this season. They played one another back on Feb. 2 when Sacramento surprisingly defeated the Nets 121-101.
Nets Notables
Blake Griffin is first in the league with 24 charges drawn (Kyle Lowry trails him with 22). He tied for the league lead last season with 22. … Patty Mills is one of six players to shoot .400 or better on 200+ catch-and-shoot 3FG in each of the last three seasons (2018-21), joining Bogdan Bogdanovic, Davis Bertans, Karl-Anthony Towns, Paul George and Joe Harris. … LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 13.4 ppg (.555 FG), 5.6 rpg and 1.1 bpg in 22.9 mpg. Brooklyn is 18-7 when LA scores in double digits (6-1 when he scores 20+ points). … Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis is 9-6 in his career against the Nets. He has averaged 16 PPG, 8 RPG, 4 APG, 1 SPG/BPG on 55% from the field.
Nets Injury Report
- James Johnson (right knee contusion) — Questionable
- Kevin Durant (left knee MCL sprain) — Out
- Joe Harris (left ankle surgery) — Out
- Kyrie Irving (ineligible to play) — Out
- Ben Simmons (return to competition reconditioning) — Out
Kings Injury Report
- Terence Davis (right wrist ECU tendon sprain) — Out
- Jeremy Lamb (left ankle soreness) — Out
How To Watch
Ian Eagle, Sarah Kustok and Michael Grady will have the call of Monday’s game on YES Network. Chris Carrino and Tim Capstraw will be on WFAN 101.9 FM / 660 AM calling the action.
