With backs against the proverbial wall, it’s win or go home for the Brooklyn Nets tonight as they host the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series at Barclays Center.
After a loss in Saturday’s triple-overtime thriller in Chicago, the Nets are down 3-1 in the series, needing to win to force a Game 6 back in the Windy City on Thursday.
“This is one you don’t pretend about, it’s as simple as it gets: you lose and you put the uniforms away, you win and you get to play again,” Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “In this case, we have the potential to have two of the three games here, and having home court is what you work for all year, but it’s clearly about somehow, some way, whatever you have to do, you find a way to win.”
Game 4 truly was one for the books, with seven Nets playoff franchise records being tied or broken, but the tough loss left the Nets one game away from elimination. With Carlesimo’s future still up in the air, this could be his final game as head coach, but he downplayed that thought, saying that any thoughts about anything but Game 5 are “a waste of time.”
“When the games come as quickly as they come, it’s very easy now to be tunneled in; our message walking off the floor Saturday was ‘Monday night’,” Carlesimo said. “By the time we got back, we had time to see most of the tape on the plane and get focused for tonight. Hopefully, if we win and keep getting some wins, it will be more of the same…if you’re thinking about anything else other than the next game right now, you’re wasting time.”
With that said, Carlesimo was asked if any players had stepped up to address the situation, and he admitted that while he hadn’t personally, he wouldn’t be surprised if someone had taken that role.
“We have a number of veterans, so guys don’t hesitate to say things. Usually it’s before or after a practice or a game; some guys are more comfortable doing that than others,” Carlesimo said. “I haven’t seen anything lately, but I’d be surprised if there hadn’t been (a meeting).”
Heading into Game 5, the Bulls will be without starting point guard Kirk Hinrich, who played 60 of a possible 63 minutes Saturday but will miss tonight’s game with a severely bruised left calf. Even an hour before game time, Thibodeau said he was unsure who would start at point guard – but earlier in the day, Carlesimo said that Hinrich’s absence changes things dramatically no matter who replaces him.
“It’s a major factor because he’s one of their best players,” Carlesimo said at the shoot-around. “Now again we’ve played them all year with guys missing and other guys have stepped up. And the one guy who’s obviously going to see more minutes is the one guy we don’t want to get more minutes.”
That player is Nate Robinson, who outside of the scuffle with Watson had a phenomenal Game 4; he finished with 34 points, but had a near-franchise playoff record 23 of those in the fourth quarter, including an individual 12-0 run that got the Bulls back in it, and both that finish – and Robinson’s known ability to do things like that – will greatly change Brooklyn’s game plan in stopping “Krypto-Nate.”
“We had been fortunate…not that we had him locked up, but we had been relatively fortunate that he hadn’t done what he’s capable of. He’s one of those guys who can just get it going and get in the zone,” Carlesimo said. “Good shots, bad shots, bank shots…whatever he’s doing he can hit them. Early on in the fourth he got it going and it wasn’t as much of a concern because we were sitting on a big lead – but tonight, we’ll be looking to him a little quicker and trying to throw water on him if he gets on fire.”
Hinrich’s absence, however, could mean a bigger game for Deron Williams, as Thibodeau noted that guarding Williams is hard enough with his starting point guard, let alone without him.
“With or without (Hinrich), Williams is always difficult to defend. You can’t guard him individually, you have to try to guard him with your whole team and make him work,” Thibodeau said. “He’s a great player.”
One other note: at the end of his press conference, Carlesimo was asked about the NBA’s announcement Monday that the 12 owners on the relocation and finance advisory committee voted unanimously to reject the Maloof family's proposed sale of the Sacramento Kings to hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who planned to move the team to Seattle.
Carlesimo coached the SuperSonics in 2007-08, their final season before relocating to Oklahoma City and the Thunder, and in speaking about the current situation, he specifically praised Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson – the former NBA All-Star who also served as a co-color analyst with Carlesimo on NBA on NBC broadcasts years ago – for helping keep basketball in Sacramento as long as he has.
“There’s going to be a lot of extremely disappointed people in Seattle, but a lot of extremely excited people in Sacramento. I feel good for KJ, because he’s worked so hard…I don’t know where the situation is at, but (if the team stays in Sacramento and gets a new arena), there’s no question who deserves the credit,” Carlesimo said. “Kevin made this happen; he could’ve rolled over a long time ago. I’m sure they were excited to get basketball back in Seattle, but Sacramento’s a great town; I’m glad I’m not on that committee and don’t have to make that decision, because Sacramento has been supportive, but Seattle supported us for many years too.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroYES
