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Brooklyn Nets go out with a whimper, lose to Philadelphia 76ers 107-86

It was the perfect way to cap a whimper of a season

By Lucas Kaplan
/ new
Brooklyn Nets v Philadelphia 76ers Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

The Brooklyn Nets closed their Sunday matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers with a lineup of Jacob Gilyard, Keon Johnson, Jalen Wilson, Noah Clowney, and Trendon Watford. The Sixers did have something to play for on the last day of the regular season, but all their standings contemporaries on their way to notching wins by the 3:00 p.m., so they let off the gas too.

The Brooklyn Nets’ 2023-24 campaign ended without a bang, without the frustration, heartbreak, or anger that Nets fans had become accustomed to over the team’s five-year playoff streak, or even the hope that streak started with in 2019.

What followed Brooklyn’s five-game series defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019 was at first the best-case scenario for a scrappy team getting their first taste of postseason experience: getting completely remodeled into a ready-made contender with superstar power. We all know what happened to that contender, a tragicomedy with enough mini-eras and inflection points in it that reducing Brooklyn’s last half-decade to a “five-year playoff streak” is plain wrong, even if it’s right.

The only constant during that stretch, is that the Nets never went out like this. Remember this?

It’s sort of relaxing, saying goodbye to your team for six months without much more than a shrug. And it’s far less painful than all the losing that precedes it, the weight of unmet expectation growing more burdensome with each turnover and opponent’s offensive rebound, the type of basketball so miserable that it causes you to lash out at, say, Mikal Bridges going on a podcast with his college friends.

Sean Marks & co. can’t say the obvious part out loud, I know. Did he expect his squad to finish with 50 losses and a fired coach? No.

But he’s a smart guy. He knows that a team with Spencer Dinwiddie as its only reliable shot-creator isn’t going places, unless you count the Play-In as a destination. Even if Bridges and Cam Thomas make strides in that department, which they did. Even if Lonnie Walker IV can piece together two months of bench-carrying scoring, which he did. Not bad for a minimum guy.

Brooklyn decided that waiting around for star talent, re-grouping but not rebuilding, was the way to go in the wake of last year’s trade deadline. Fine. This is a results-based business, of course, and the results haven’t come in yet.

But that waiting around? It sucks. Maybe it wasn’t supposed to be this bad, vibes-wise, but a 32-50 season isn’t a shocking development for these Brooklyn Nets. Who really had such a surprisingly terrible season that took this team from a feisty playoff opponent to what we ended up getting?

Year One of the waiting period is in the books, and the worst thing about it is we might get a Year Two. It should be a little more tolerable, if it comes to fruition. Clowney and, to a lesser extent, Wilson have proven themselves as unassailably deserving of rotation minutes, and their game-by-game progress made these final two weeks worth tuning in to...

Dennis Schröder probably won’t repeat Spencer Dinwiddie’s winter hibernation, and even if the Nets don’t make The Big Move this summer, their offensive weaponry won’t reach the extreme valleys it did this season. AND A SUMMER OF REST FOR MIKAL BRIDGES TOO (so now we can stop talking about it).

While that’s all nice — and a new head coach is always good for intrigue — is that exciting? Does it wash away the taste this season left?

The Brooklyn Nets’ season ended the only way it could have, in complete anonymity. With wild standings races coming down to the last hours of the season, the greater NBA world had no reason to mention the Nets, other than as a road-bump in Philadelphia’s big win.

So now, we wait. Just as we have been.

Final Score: Philadelphia 76ers 107, Brooklyn Nets 86

Final Record: 32-50 (20th DRTG, 23rd ORTG, 22nd Net)

Next Up

ZacharyMWeiss | X

The Brooklyn Nets have announced they will be holding exit interviews on Monday morning. it’s unclear who will be made available, but we will have coverage of their final media appearances of the season. (After Sunday’s contest, Noah Clowney confirmed he’ll be playing Summer League in Las Vegas.)

Beyond that, we will cover Brooklyn’s coaching search and any free agent moves the black-and-white may make. Nic Claxton is the team’s biggest impending free agent, but joins Dennis Smith Jr., Lonnie Walker IV, and Trendon Watford in that bucket.

Additionally, our New York Liberty coverage will heat up starting with the WNBA Draft, also on Monday.

Finally, thanks to all involved that made my first year on the beat so memorable. Net Income works harder than you know to keep this site not just running, but a special haven for Nets fans and one of the most well-read sites in the SB Nation network. Anthony Puccio stepped in seamlessly this season with a Dennis Rodman impersonation, doing all the dirty work while looking fly as usual.

Collin Helwig and Jordan Greene made it so there was no piece of Nets news or analysis that went uncovered, whether it was down in Long Island or the progress of the 15th man on Brooklyn’s bench.

And of course, thank you for making this site so well-read, doing more for me than you could imagine simply by logging on.

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