At one point, the Brooklyn Nets were thought to be a team on the rise in the Eastern Conference, with a potentially bright future ahead with some talented young players leading the way for the struggling franchise.
Unfortunately, with the first half of the NBA season nearly in the books, there hasn’t been much to cheer about in Brooklyn, with the team sporting a losing record while being in ninth place in the Eastern Conference ahead of the Chicago Bulls.
Even though the Nets would prefer to be higher up in the standings in the East, the team did have something to cheer about on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
High-flyer Dennis Smith Jr. hasn’t lived up to expectations as a lottery pick from the 2017 NBA Draft, as he’s bounced around the league quite a bit over his short career in the league, but occasionally, he shows flashes of brilliance like he did against the Blazers with an eye-popping dunk via the NBA’s Twitter account.
DENNIS SMITH JR. MY GOODNESS 😳
Trail Blazers-Nets | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/DUvGByM6XR pic.twitter.com/IALoHmf470— NBA (@NBA) January 7, 2024
Unfortunately for the Nets, Smith’s highlight dunk didn’t spark a brilliant fourth quarter for Brooklyn, as the team ultimately fell to the Blazers in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, 134-127.
Smith finished the game against the Blazers with 10 points, 10 assists, two rebounds and two steals.
Mikal Bridges led the way for the Nets with a game-high 42 points, but the three-headed monster of Anfernee Simons (38 points), Jerami Grant (27), and Shaedon Sharpe (21) turned out to be too much to overcome, with Portland getting the seven-point win on the road.
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