The Long Island Nets finished the G League regular season with East’s best record at 23-9, and by far its best defense. But those broad strokes don’t paint the whole picture for Long Island; they faltered down the stretch, finishing 1-6 over their last seven games, including dropping a pair to their quarterfinal opponent, the Cleveland Charge.
Despite their lower seed, the Charge arrived in Nassau Coliseum the much hotter team, finishing their regular season on a four-game winning streak that carried over to the first round of the playoffs, where they defeated the Maine Celtics to earn another contest with Long Island.