Nets center Nic Claxton certainly didn’t mince words. Neither did interim coach Kevin Ollie.
They have revenge on their minds.
The Nets’ dwindling postseason ambition likely requires it, too.
After a brief return to Brooklyn in the middle of a five-game road trip, the Nets travel to Orlando to face the Magic on Wednesday.
Just two weeks ago, the Nets were shellacked by the Magic 108-81 in one of their most noncompetitive and embarrassing games of the season.
It was Ollie’s fourth game in charge after taking over for Jacque Vaughn.
“Last game we kind of got punked,” Claxton said Tuesday afternoon after practice. “They just played with a lot more energy than us. If you’re not playing with energy in the NBA, you’re not gonna win games, so we definitely gotta come out and have our energy right, focus on the game plan. … Just being here [multiple seasons], and seeing how it is when you consistently win games, and then you come out and you lose and the other team is smiling, you hate to see that as a competitor. So you definitely take it personally.”
That lack of energy and effort has become a recurring issue for much of the season, and was called out immediately after that Feb. 27 loss to the Magic by both Ollie and players as well.
But that loss also served as a wake-up call, as the Nets subsequently rattled off two impressive wins over the Hawks that brought them within striking distance of the No. 10 seed and final play-in spot.
It didn’t last, however, as the Nets then dropped three out of their next four games to NBA bottom-feeders in the Grizzlies, Pistons and Hornets (with a win over the 76ers).
Their spark re-emerged Sunday as the Nets routed the shorthanded Cavaliers 120-101, though, and will be required on Wednesday.
And entering Tuesday 3 ¹/₂ games out of the play-in, it really can’t go missing again.
“[The Magic] did punch us,” Ollie said on Tuesday. “And we didn’t counterpunch that game. But I think our guys are resilient. They’ll bounce back, they did bounce back, but now we have to be more consistent with our effort. And that can’t be wavering from game-to-game. … Now the big challenge is carrying it over.
“And I think we’ll have the mindset of carrying it over. We’ll see, but I really believe in this group having that mindset of getting better every day and we’ll bring that on the road trip.”
Beyond just effort and energy, Claxton will be pivotal to the Nets finding that revenge.
The Magic possess one of the league’s best and most-promising frontcourts in Pablo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr. They average 22.8, 20.1 and 11.6 points per game, respectively.
As the Nets’ defensive anchor and one of the best rim protectors in the league, how Claxton fares against them will go a long way in determining the Nets’ success.
“They’ve got a lot of young players,” Claxton said. “They’re well-coached. A top-five defense [in defensive rating]. They really do a good job putting a lot of pressure on the rim. You really gotta guard your yard, and they got a lot of different dudes that can go out and score 20-plus points.”
On top of slowing them down on defense, the Nets will need Claxton to punish them on the offensive end of the ball, too.
A free agent after the season, Claxton has started to break out offensively in recent games.
He’s averaged 16.6 points per game the last five games, up from his 12.3 points per game mark for the season.
“I want [Claxton] to be unlocked, I don’t want him to be in a box offensively,” Ollie said. “I want him to do all kinds of things on the court because he’s doing everything on the defensive end for us — blocking shots, rebounding. We need to throw him the ball, but he needs to demand the ball as well. I’m telling our guards, ‘We gotta reward the big fella, because he’s doing a lot of cleaning up for us on the defensive end.’ When he does have two feet in the paint and he’s established, he should be getting the ball.”
