The Nets, coming off one of their better victories of the season, were greeted at practice Monday by the postgame remarks of Houston head coach Ime Udoka, who slammed his own team’s effort and said that was the reason for the loss.
At one point, Udoka — who was nearly hired by the Nets to replace Steve Nash as their head coach in 2022 — referred to the Nets as a “lower-level team.”
Day’Ron Sharpe said after Monday’s practice that the players felt disrespected by the comment from a coach of one of the Western Conference’s top squads.
“When we walked in, Jordi showed us what Ime said [Saturday] night,’’ Sharpe said of Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez. “They look at us like we’re not competition.”
That likely won’t be the case when the teams play each other Tuesday at Barclays Center, given the Nets’ 12-point victory in the previous matchup.
“We’ve got to come in with the same mindset, the same aggression, the same bully mentality,’’ Sharpe said of Tuesday’s game. “We can’t get bullied. We’ve got to bully them so we can win both games back-to-back.”
Asked if Udoka’s comments would “motivate” him, Sharpe said, “I’m motivated every game, no matter who we’re playing. So, I guess.”
Tuesday’s game is the first of six straight home games for the Nets, who could be impacted by Thursday’s trade deadline.
Fernandez said that although Cam Johnson (ankle) “went through the majority of practice” Monday, he will miss his sixth straight game Tuesday.
“He did a good job,’’ Fernandez said. “He’s feeling good. He’s out for [Tuesday] and then after that, he’ll be day-to-day.”
That means Johnson could potentially play against the Wizards on Wednesday, but the 6-foot-8 forward is one of the Nets’ appealing trade chips and the team may be reluctant to put him back in the lineup prior to the trade deadline and risk worsening the injury.
Johnson, 28, is averaging a career-best 19.4 points per game.
Ziaire Williams called the team’s reaction to the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade “crazy.”
“I actually lost a bet,’’ Williams said. “I lost a bet with a couple of guys because I thought it was fake. So I owe about $300 to some of these guys. … Definitely a blockbuster, to say the least.”
The reality hadn’t even set in for Williams.
“Even now, until I see Luka in a different jersey, I just can’t grasp the concept that he’s on a different team,’’ Williams said. “Like I said, you just never know.”
Sharpe added, “I ain’t gonna lie, Mavs fans should be mad. But you never know how it’ll play out. … If I was a Mavs fan, I’d be mad that they traded Luka — me, personally.”
