The Nets’ charter finally left Atlanta on Tuesday morning after a storm that did more than delay travel. Heavy snow stranded both teams in different cities and briefly put Tuesday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks in doubt.
As of early afternoon, the game still appears on track.
Brooklyn had returned to its hotel after Sunday’s 115-104 loss to the Atlanta Hawks expecting a routine trip home. Instead, a blizzard intensified into a full nor’easter that blanketed parts of the tri-state with more than a foot and a half of snow. States of emergency were declared across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and New York City schools closed Monday before reopening Tuesday.
Sheepshead Bay reportedly saw 22.5 inches, Williamsburg 21.1 and Crown Heights 21. Manhattan wasn’t spared either, with Washington Heights receiving 22.1 inches and Central Park 19.7. The Nets stayed productive through it, practicing in Atlanta on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks were stranded in Indianapolis after a 134-130 win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, their first victory following a 10-game skid. Their charter didn’t depart until later Tuesday afternoon, further straining an already tight travel schedule.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd summed up the uncertainty earlier in the week.
“Tomorrow is going to be a long day,” Kidd said. “We can’t leave until the evening and there’s no guarantee with that. Hopefully we can get out. But Brooklyn is in Atlanta and in the same seat as us. Hopefully there’s a game because I don’t know if we can make up another game on our schedule.”
For now, both sides appear to have made it through the logistical maze. The league hasn’t announced any postponement, and barring a late shift, the game will go on.
Brooklyn enters the night at 15-41 with 26 games remaining, carrying the third-best lottery odds but continuing to operate without the kind of roster manipulation that often defines this stage of a rebuilding season. The Nets’ injury report is clean outside of five players on G League assignment, marking just the second time in the last seven games they’ve had full availability. The first came Feb. 7 against the Washington Wizards.
That approach stands out even as the losses have piled up. Brooklyn arrives on a four-game skid but still intends to lean on its full rotation, at least for now.
For Dallas, rookie phenom Cooper Flagg will sit again with a foot injury, marking his fourth straight absence, while Daniel Gafford is listed as questionable. The Mavericks currently sit seventh in the lottery standings, 1.5 games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies and 2.5 behind the Utah Jazz.
The Mavericks already had a game rescheduled earlier this season because of an ice storm and faces a crowded calendar moving forward, including a March 31 trip to Milwaukee. That reality makes Tuesday’s contest one both teams would prefer not to revisit later.
