The Brooklyn Nets continued their slide down the Eastern Conference without Kevin Durant after falling to their fourth consecutive loss, this time against the Phoenix Suns without Devin Booker and Chris Paul. Despite falling behind to a big lead, the Nets made it close at the end and were down 3 with Nicolas Claxton at the free throw line.
Claxton isn’t a good shooter from the line, currently at 46.8% from the charity stripe this season. He was expected to miss the shot by hitting the rim, grabbing a rebound, and kicking it out for a final 3-point attempt. We’ve seen Luka Doncic execute multiple intentional free throw misses perfectly this season, but Claxton is not Doncic.
As Claxton failed to execute the missed free throw, completely missing the rim and getting a violation, Reggie Miller roasted Claxton’s free throw shooting ability.
"Shoot regular because you're gonna miss anyways."
Reggie Miller on this Nic Claxton intentional FT miss 💀 https://t.co/AFLLQ5YKls
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 20, 2023
“He didn’t need to do it! Shoot regular because you’re gonna miss it anyway! If he would’ve shot it regular, he would’ve missed it, and they would have had a better opportunity to tip it back.”
The Nets weren’t supposed to be in the position they managed to come back anyway, and Claxton executing that play and getting a 3-point shooter to make a shot was unlikely, but they never got a chance to find out. The KD-less Nets need a reversal in form ASAP.
Can The Nets Compete Without Kevin Durant?
The situation with Kevin Durant inextricably being linked to all the success Brooklyn has is not a good one. KD has been injury-prone in recent years, and the Nets always struggle mightily when he’s not available. When he’s in form, the Nets look unstoppable.
Kyrie Irving‘s failure to thrive as a No. 1 option is glaring. The Nets need to hope that they can see out the next few weeks with a stronghold on a top-4 seed in the East because the Nets need to show to their franchise star that their roster is capable of competing even when he might not be available. Otherwise, it’s the same hole to climb out of in the second half of the season every year.
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