The Brooklyn Nets made it to the Orlando bubble severely undermanned but it reached an all-time low when they were forced to face the 1st-seeded Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday afternoon.
The Nets entered this game missing 7 players, including Joe Harris and Caris LeVert, which obviously didn’t favor their odds vs. the team with the best record in the league.
Contrary to what you’d think, the Nets fought with all they had and ended up upsetting the Bucks on what could be a preview of their matchup in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
And, apparently, it wasn’t just the Nets’ grit and effort the reason why they were able to get past Giannis Antetokounpmo and company. It seems like the Houston Rockets gave them some pointers on how to neutralize Mike Budenholzer’s team, according to The Athletic’s Alex Schiffer:
“Garrett Temple said the Nets saw the Rockets over by the pool yesterday. Told them they had the Bucks and apparently gave them some tips on how to beat the Bucks,” Schiffer reported.
Garrett Temple said the Nets saw the Rockets over by the pool yesterday. Told them they had the Bucks and apparently gave them some tips on how to beat the Bucks.
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) August 4, 2020
The Rockets had recently beat the Bucks in their second game of the restart of the season and, even though they trailed for most of the game, they were still able to make a huge statement with that win, so perhaps they do know the secret to beat the Greek Freak.
Even so, it’s also worth noting that the Bucks didn’t have much of an incentive to compete as high as they could for this game, as they’re pretty much locked in as the 1st seed in the East and only have the playoffs in mind right now.
