The Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors are separated by two matches in the NBA’s second most important position race for the best lottery leadership leading to the preparation of Duke star Cooper flag.
While their players are trying to prove themselves in the NBA, both teams’ leadership may prefer to increase their lottery. These rivals in the Atlantic Division will meet twice during the last three weeks of the regular season, as of Wednesday when Brooklyn hosts Toronto.
Nets (23-49) is on the verge of their fifth 50-loss season since moving from New Jersey 2012. On three previous occasions (2024, 2017, 2016), Brooklyn did not own his first rounds. This season, Net’s first four rounders, including elections from Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks, have as part of separate deals for Kevin Durant and Mikal Bridges.
Brooklyn is 3-15 in the last 18 matches and enters on Wednesday with the league’s sixth worst record, which corresponds to 9.7 percent chance of winning the lottery. Nets won seven of nine matches before their current ski, which continued in Monday’s 120-101 home loss to Dallas Mavericks.
Nets took its first two-digit loss since a 14-point setback March 4 in San Antonio. Their previous eight losses were with individual numbers. Nets were held at 17 points below the opening quarter and never recovered.
Nic Claxtton scored 19 points while Cameron Johnson added 17 when Nets played without d’Angelo Russell (Sprained Right Ankle), which can miss his third straight game Wednesday.
“The approach is the same,” said Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez. “It gets a percent better and goes out to fight for the game, regardless of who’s out there.”
Toronto (25-47) held an 8-31 record after losing 16 in a 17 game distance. But then a nine-point loss to Detroit Pistons on January 11, Raptors is 17-16 in the last 33.
Toronto, who comes with a 7.5 percent chance at the top election, plays the second of four straight matches against opponents with similar records when it is facing Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers after Wednesday.
Raptors stopped a four-game ski Monday when they got a victory of 112-104 over the league-worth Washington Wizards, and made it one night after taking a 123-89 home loss to San Antonio Spurs.
Jakob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley each got 21 points when Raptors won despite shooting 40.6 percent and played without RJ Barrett, which was rested. Barrett got 18 points on Sunday, but has missed five of Toronto’s last seven games.
“It was an important game for us,” said Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic. “We played with low energy (Sunday) night at home in Toronto. It was important for us to get back to playing to our identity.”
Poeltl has not played consecutive matches since he played four straight February 26 to March 4, but he shoots 70.1 percent (61 out of 87) during the last nine performances. His latest effective game occurred as Raptors continued to look at the young people Jonathan Mogbo, AJ Lawson and Jamison Battle.
Battle was in the starting lineup Monday and played 27 minutes in his fifth career start. Mogbo, another beginner, took a career -high 11 returns in 24 minutes while Lawson produced eight points in 23 minutes.
-Field level media
