Nets, who were crushed by Cavaliers, will face Raptors in first round of NBA ...
Tony Dejak/AP
CLEVELAND - Nets coach Jason Kidd was playing for the club the last time it won a playoff series, which was in 2007 when as a No. 6 seed in the first round the Nets defeated No. 3 Toronto in six games.
That was still when the team was based in New Jersey, but it will hope history repeats itself as sixth-seeded Brooklyn will face the No. 3 Raptors in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Game 1 will be Saturday in Toronto. Brooklyn split the season series 2-2 with the Atlantic Division champions. Three of those four games were decided by four or fewer points. Brooklyn avoided another first-round matchup with Chicago, which beat the Nets in last year's first round in seven games.
The Nets were crushed by the Cavaliers Wednesday, 114-85, and the Wizards defeated the Celtics, dropping Brooklyn (44-38) to the No. 6 seed and propelling Washington up to No. 5. The Nets entered the night knowing they would be fifth or sixth and play either Toronto or Chicago. The first domino fell when the Bulls lost to the Bobcats, locking them into the No. 4 spot and clinching the No. 3 seed for Toronto, regardless of how it finished in its game against the Knicks.
A quick glance at the Nets' starting lineup for Wednesday night's regular-season finale against the Cavs (33-49) said everything anyone needed to know about Brooklyn's intentions for the night, which obviously didn't involve caring about the result of the game.
The Nets started Jorge Gutierrez, Marquis Teague, Marcus Thornton, Andray Blatche and Jason Collins. Stars Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Joe Johnson were all rested, and Shaun Livingston and Mirza Teletovic (personal) were also unavailable. Alan Anderson, who has been dealing with a sore abdominal muscle, was considered available but unlikely to play much if at all, and he didn't end up playing.
Williams and Johnson both played at least 30 minutes Tuesday in a loss to the Knicks, while Pierce played 21 and Garnett played 15. The emphasis was crystal clear: Rest the stars, get through the night healthy and have everyone fresh for the first round of the NBA playoffs, which begin this weekend.
Tony Dejak/AP
Kidd said Wednesday was a chance for the guys playing to improve, though he did offer up this little gem before the game: 'We have a job to do, and that's try to win a ball game.'
It was comical. Winning wasn't on the to-do list, not that it needed to be. Nets general manager Billy King didn't go all-in by trading for experienced champions Pierce and Garnett for them to play in a meaningless Game 82. The goal all along was to make sure they're healthy for the postseason, even if it meant some lackluster efforts down the stretch; Brooklyn lost four of its final five games to sub-.500 teams after defeating the two-time defending champion Heat in Miami last Tuesday.
By falling one seed, the Nets are set up for a potential second-round clash with LeBron James and the Heat, whom the Nets swept 4-0 during the regular season and are seeded second in the Eastern Conference.
After the Nets beat Toronto in 2007, they lost to LeBron's Cavs the next round in six games.
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