Photo: New York Post
With only two weeks left in the season, the Brooklyn Nets are searching for players that could develop into long-term assets. Bojan Bogdanovic has evolved into one of Brooklyn’s most reliable scorers. By showing substantial improvement, interim head coach Tony Brown is looking to play younger players to see their value. Bogdanovic did play in a 107-87 loss to Cleveland last Thursday. The second year shooting guard scored 14 points on five of twelve shooting from the field. It was a decent performance against the best team in the Eastern Conference. Bojan didn’t play in losses against New York and New Orleans.
Brooklyn has five remaining games left on their schedule. They recently shut down Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young for the remainder of the season. Bogdanovic could possibly be the next player, as the coaching staff knows what the sharp shooter brings to the table. The Nets start a three-game road trip in Washington tonight. It continues against Charlotte on Friday and Indiana on Sunday. The week ends at home against Washington in a quick rematch. Bojan’s status will be updated at some point this week.
Photo: NBA.com
Orlando has officially been eliminated from playoff contention. The youngest team in the league will look to end the season on a high note by beating playoff-caliber teams. They proved that last Thursday by dominating Indiana in a 114-94 victory. Mario Hezonja scored only two points in 15 minutes of action. With Elfrid Payton healthy, Hezonja’s minutes were reduced in a crowded guard rotation. The rookie guard was very productive in a 113-110 loss to Milwaukee. In 21 minutes, Mario scored 11 points on four of seven shooting. There was no hesitation when converting on three huge three-pointers in the fourth quarter. A beautiful reverse slam was included in a noteworthy performance.
Hezonja puts together a highlight reel against Milwaukee
Orlando finished the week strong by winning 119-107 against Memphis. Hezonja contributed with five points, two assists, and two steals in 18 minutes of action. The first round pick was a part of Orlando’s second quarter dominance by outscoring the Grizzlies 38 to 26 in an offensive explosion.
At 33-44, the Magic has essentially nothing to play for. They will be facing Detroit tonight followed by Miami on Friday. A rematch will take place on Sunday in Miami. The week ends at home against Milwaukee in another quick rematch.
Photo: AFP
The Golden State Warriors looked to have ran out of gas this week after dropping home games to the Boston Celtics on Friday night and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. Andrew Bogut wasn’t much of a factor in the Boston game as the big man finished with four points, four rebounds and two assists in only 18 minutes of action. Andrew was rested against the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday and put in a good performance in a loss against the T-Wolves on Tuesday. The 7-footer finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and two blocks in 32 minutes of action.
Bogut on if they get 73 wins: “We’ll blow up some balloons and celebrate for a good 5-minute period”
Photo: NBA
Damjan Rudež only played two minutes this week as the regular season winds down for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Croatian international will most likely look for a new team after playing less than 150 minutes all season.
Photo: Jeff Mulvihill
The Sacramento Kings have recalled rookie forward Duje Dukan from the team’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, it was announced on Friday by Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Vlade Divac.
Dukan averaged 14.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 28.9 minutes per game in 27 regular season games for the Bighorns. The Kings finish the regular season with games against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night, the Phoenix Suns on Monday night and a trip to Houston to face the Rockets to end the season on Wednesday. Look for Dukan to make his NBA debut in one of those three games.
~Allen Strk reporting from New York and Denis Svirčić reporting from sunny Southern California
