Losers of 14 of their last 16 games, the Brooklyn Nets appear to be playing out the string on this massive Downtown rebuilding project.
Just don’t tell second-year coach Jordi Fernández to take his team’s remaining 14 regular-season games as if they hardly matter.
“These games are not wasted,” Fernández insisted moments after Brooklyn’s fourth consecutive defeat, a 114-95 blowout at the hands of the postseason-hungry Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night in front of 17,030 fans on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.
Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija had 18 points apiece to lead seven Portland players in double figures in scoring as the Trail Blazers (33-36) remained in the thick of the hunt for a play-in tournament spot in the Western Conference.
The Nets (17-51) have already been eliminated from playoff contention for a third straight year, leaving them to collect as many lottery balls as possible before the NBA Draft in June.
That doesn’t mean the Brooklyn hierarchy, including general manager Sean Marks, isn’t using this final stretch to evaluate which players will be back in the fold in 2026-27.
“These games are for us to see, you know, how these guys take advantage of their minutes, how much better they can get, and also for us to, you know, go into the summer and understand, make decisions, understand what we have,” added Fernández.
There was hardly anything to see after the Blazers jumped out to a 10-0 lead following the opening tip, a 15-point advantage after the first quarter and a 31-point cushion before the Nets went on a 16-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to pretty things up.
Yet, Fernández and the coaching staff kept on coaching and encouraging a team made up mostly of rookies and G-League call-ups.
“So that was good to see,” Fernández said of Brooklyn’s late burst. “But we need to be better and to be better with those things, understanding who we play against, a team that comes with urgency and we just didn’t have (it) from the jump.”
Nets leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. missed his fourth straight game with an ankle injury and Noah Clowney got a rest ahead of Wednesday’s visit to Barclays by the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Nic Claxton was the only veteran starter with a presentable stat line, putting up 12 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in 20 minutes before the “Bench Mob” took over.
Chaney Johnson, a 23-year-old forward from the Long Island Nets, had career highs with 17 points and nine rebounds in a reserve role and fellow back-ups Ben Saraf and Tyson Etienne added 15 points each.
Saraf, the 19-year-old rookie point guard from Israel, went 5-of-10 from the floor, 5-of-6 at the line and handed out four assists while picking up four steals.
He also had four of the Nets’ 17 turnovers, resulting in 20 points for Portland, which will host Brooklyn on March 23 in search of another easy win toward its postseason goal.
“Sometimes he falls asleep, but, you know, you see the line, 15 points,” Fernández said of Saraf, the last of Brooklyn’s historic haul of five first-round picks last June. “For us, the worst part is the four turnovers.”
Johnson, playing in just his fifth NBA game since joining the Nets earlier this month, went 6-of-8 from the field, buried a pair of 3-pointers and hauled down nine rebounds, including five off the offensive glass.
“He plays bigger than what he is, his length … he may get overlooked as though I know him very well, but he can guard almost everybody as super active, super athletic,” said Fernández of the 23-year-old Auburn alum.
“He can shoot the three. Like, he does everything well. And he doesn’t try to do too much, and I think that always helps you see that every time he’s been on the court, it’s positive.”
Tip-off vs. the Thunder on Wednesday is slated for 7:30 p.m.
The game will air locally on the YES Network.
NOTHING BUT NET: Brooklyn shot 38% overall and a dismal 26% (9-of-34) from 3-point range vs. Portland. … While the Nets are close to packing it in for the offseason and the New York Liberty are still waiting for a collective bargaining agreement, Downtown does have a postseason representative. The Long Island University men’s basketball team grabbed a spot in the NCAA Tournament with last Tuesday’s 79-70 victory over visiting Mercyhurst in the Northeast Conference Final at the Steinberg Wellness Center. The No. 16 seed Sharks (24-10, 15-3 NEC) will meet top-seeded Arizona on Friday at 1:35 p.m. in San Diego. Read tomorrow’s Eagle for a preview of the matchup. … After hosting the Thunder, the Nets will head across the East River to visit the New York Knicks on Friday night.