Brooklyn Nets beaten again by Raptors in absence of the star players

The Nets lose to the Raptors in back to back games and desperately need their stars back.

The Brooklyn Nets lost in back-to-back games to the 16 points, Raptors and are in danger of losing their spot to play in the Play-in games. The Nets are depleted due to injuries and the vaccine mandate not allowing Kyrie Irving to play in home games and Toronto. Kevin Durant is rumoured to be back in action very soon while Ben Simmons has back issues and needs more conditioning.

The Nets were blown out at Brooklyn yesterday by the Raptors, 133-97. The game today was much better and the Nets played extremely hard. It was the Nets that led most of the game and even led as late as the end of the 3rd quarter. But in the 4th they took their foot off the gas and ended up losing the game by just 1 point. It was apparent how much the Nets lacked offensively and their urgent need for their superstars. Especially Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

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The Nets had 5 players with double-digit scoring. Seth Curry had 18 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points, James Johnson- 19 points, Cameron Thomas – 11 points and Goran Dragic had 10 points. But it wasn’t enough to get over the Raptors who had 6 players in double digits. Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam had 18 points, Khem Birch and Thaddeus Young had 11 points, Malachi Flynn had 15 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 24 points leading all scorers.

The Nets are still in 8th place in the Eastern Conference but could lose that spot any day now. The Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks are just 2 games behind them in 9th and 10th place. The scarier part is that the 11th place Washington Wizards, who are just 3 games behind the Nets. If the Nets lose a few more games and let these teams get ahead of them, they might not even make the playoffs this year. This is the most adversity that Kevin Durant has ever had in his career and once he is back we will see whether he can be a leader or just a great talent.