Ben Simmons' jab at Nets' tanking strategy highlights absurdity of Jazz game

01/13/2025 09:40 AM

The Brooklyn Nets’ 112-111 overtime loss to the Utah Jazz on Sunday felt like a win, at least to the fans. With Utah directly ahead of Brooklyn for fifth place in the draft lottery standings, the matchup was less of a basketball game and more of a physics experiment: what would happen if two tanks collided at full speed?

The Nets, losers of seven of their last eight, entered the matchup with another lengthy injury report. Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson and D’Angelo Russell were all sidelined. The Jazz countered with a more extensive list, with Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, Johnson Collins, Keyonte George and Walker Kessler missing the matchup.

Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks made his first pro-tanking admission of the season before the Utah matchup.

"We're building this, and we're building this for hopefully sustainable success," Marks told The New York Post’s Brian Lewis. "That's what we want. We want to get to that… We're going to have to be systematic with some of the decisions we make. And they may not always be in line with winning the next game or putting the most talent out there."

While Brooklyn’s sights are set on ping-pong balls rather than wins, the losses still eat at its players, especially the remaining veterans.

"I know this is kind of like a rebuild situation, but we've got to go in there like we want to win regardless of what the front office is expecting," Ben Simmons said.

Despite their best efforts, the Jazz came away victorious during Sunday’s tank-fest, allowing the Nets to gain more ground in the lottery standings.

Nets out-tank Jazz in draft positioning matchup

Leading by 13 with seven minutes remaining, Will Hardy’s squad went over four minutes without scoring as Brooklyn clawed back to tie the game. The Jazz secured a rebound for a chance at the last shot with 26 seconds remaining. However, rookie Isaiah Collier walked the ball up the court and committed an eight-second violation despite zero defensive pressure.

The bewildering sequence earned Collier an earful from Collin Sexton, who did not attempt a shot on the final four possessions of regulation.

"Give me the f***ing ball!"

In a tie game with 20 seconds left, Collin Sexton calls for the ball but is waved off demonstrably by Isaiah Collier who ends up getting an 8 second violation. This leads to a HEATED exchange on the bench pic.twitter.com/oRheAWDLpf

— Hot Hand Theory (@HotHandTheory) January 13, 2025

However, Nic Claxton would fail to convert an alley-oop from Tyrese Martin on the ensuing possession, sending the game to overtime. Collier earned redemption during the extra period.

After Nets two-way Tosan Evbuomwan (team-high 22 points) drained two free-throws to give Brooklyn the lead with 6.4 seconds remaining, Collier split a double team and laid the ball in to put Utah up one. The Nets would fail to get a shot off on the game’s final possession, sealing a loss in the absurd tank-off between the two teams.

Isaiah Collier somehow splits this gap and lays it in to give the Jazz the lead with 2.4 seconds remaining. pic.twitter.com/Fl6vCVIewR

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 13, 2025

Final: Jazz 112, Nets 111

Utah somehow escapes with the win in a game where it felt like they did everything they could to lose. pic.twitter.com/JJa6va8qaN

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 13, 2025

The pro-tank segment of Brooklyn’s fanbase breathed a sigh of relief when the buzzer sounded. After a hot start to the season, the loss marked the Nets’ fifth straight and eighth in their last nine games. The cold stretch, which comes amid a pair of trades and a slew of injuries, elevated the team to sixth place in the lottery standings, 2.5 games back of Utah for fifth and 3.5 back of the Charlotte Hornets for fourth.

Following Sunday’s loss, the Nets enter another matchup where they should have a clear tanking agenda. On Tuesday, they’ll travel to face the Portland Trail Blazers, who sit a half-game behind them in the lottery standings.

Brooklyn spent much of the last several weeks behind Portland in the lottery’s No. 7 spot, which holds a 32.0 percent chance at a top-4 pick and a 7.5 percent chance at the No. 1 pick. The Nets’ efforts will remain focused on climbing into the top four over the final 43 games of the season. In fourth, their odds would increase to 48.1 percent and 12.5 percent.

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