For the Nets, playoff seeding sits on the end of a metaphorical seesaw. Health is on the other.
There’s a definite off-balance tilt, but not like when an elephant sinks to the ground and sends a mouse hurtling toward the sky.
“I think the No. 1 thought and priority as a staff is health over seeding,” coach Steve Nash said Monday entering the final week of the regular season. “But that doesn’t mean we’re 1,000 percent in on health over seeding.”
The 76ers will clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference with any combination of their own wins in their final four games plus Nets losses equaling two. The Nets entered Monday with a half-game lead over the Bucks to determine the second and third seeds.
But the Nets have two sets of back-to-back games beginning Tuesday at the Bulls, and Nash has held Kevin Durant out of back-to-backs since he returned from a hamstring strain. Blake Griffin, who manages a surgically repaired left knee, has played in one back-to-back since joining the Nets. If James Harden returns this week from a hamstring strain, it’s difficult to foresee risking a setback by playing him two nights in a row.
“It’s just a matter of how these games play out, how our team responds, how guys look and feel, and also frankly what our guys want to do,” Nash said. “What makes them feel confident? What [do] they need out of these last games? So there’s a lot of factors.”
The difference in seeding means two things: A weaker first-round opponent — the No. 3 seed likely draws either the Hawks or Heat while the No. 2 seed faces a survivor of the play-in tournament — and Game 7 home-court advantage if the Nets and Bucks meet in the second round. Either scenario represents a big change for the Nets, who entered the playoffs as the No. 6 and No. 7 seeds the last two seasons, respectively.
“I don’t think it affects the preparation, but I do think it probably affects the overall mindset,” forward Joe Harris said. “Not that it’s easier when you’re a lower seed, but you definitely have less to lose when you’re going into some of these games. … Trying to finish these last four games out the right way. Then you start preparing for whoever you’re going to be playing against come playoff time.”
How were the Nets feeling after an ill-timed season-long four-game losing streak? Forward Jeff Green didn’t mince words when he described the fuel for Saturday’s comeback against the short-handed Nuggets.
“I think we got tired of feeling embarrassed by the way we were playing,” Green said, “and we kind of just got it together and came out in the second half and played harder.”
