This week will likely go a long way toward determining the Nets’ playoff seed.
And so far, it’s not going well.
The Nets — currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference — have lost three straight, including falling to Western leaders Denver and Sacramento in the first two of this rough four-game homestand.
Now come tilts Tuesday and again Thursday against Cleveland, in fourth place in the East.
The Cavs are reportedly hoping to face the Nets in the playoffs.
“[We have to come together] quick,” Cam Thomas said. “The season is almost coming to an end, and everybody is trying to make their push for the final playoff spots, so we’ve got to figure it out real quick, figure it out early, because we had time early in the year to mess around, figure out stuff. Now we don’t, because there’s only like 11 games left so we’ve got to hurry up and figure it out.”
Brooklyn (39-32) came into Monday 2 ½ games behind the fifth-seeded Knicks — who faced Minnesota — and have tumbled to just a single game ahead of Miami for the final spot in the playoffs proper.
After the pair of games against the Cavaliers, the Nets travel Saturday to face the Heat.
They have won both Miami meetings this season, the latter on Mikal Bridges’ career-high 45 points.
Meanwhile, Cleveland.com reported the Cavaliers are “privately hoping for a Brooklyn matchup” in the first round.
It implies Cleveland views the Nets — 6-10 since the Kevin Durant trade became official — as more vulnerable and beatable than the Knicks.
Still, bulletin board material aside, coach Jacque Vaughn doesn’t want his players looking at the standings or big-picture difficulty of this homestand.
“I’m trying to really keep our guys honed in almost silo-ish in taking care of that day’s game,” Vaughn said. “Now we get another test. I don’t want our guys looking beyond [those] next four hours, really, of taking care of business against [that] team. Our hands will be full enough. So really trying to get our guys to not look ahead and just take care of [that] day’s work.”
Dorian Finney-Smith — who took a hard fall against Denver — is questionable for Tuesday’s game with a right wrist contusion.
Ben Simmons (left knee/back soreness), David Duke Jr. and Dru Smith also are out.
Cleveland All-Star Jarrett Allen is close to returning to the court for the first time since sustaining a right eye contusion on March 10 against Miami.
The former Nets center, who practiced on Monday and traveled with the Cavaliers, is listed as questionable.
Sam Merrill, two-way Isaiah Mobley and Dylan Windler are all out.
