The Brooklyn Nets gave the reigning champs all they could handle on Friday night, keeping pace wire-to-wire with Boston before eventually falling short in overtime by the score of 108-104. Now sitting at 4-5 on the season, Brooklyn has proven they can hang with nearly anyone, playing exciting basketball as one of the biggest surprises in the NBA’s young season.
There were many keys to watch in this game, and the outcomes were mostly positive throughout the night.
Cam Thomas snaps out of his shooting slump but sees his playmaking fall off
After a mini-scoring slump of two games, Thomas exploded against Boston tallying 31 points on 11 of 22 shooting overall, and going 4 of 9 from deep. It was refreshing to see the key youngster regain his stroke so quickly and should serve as a reminder to doubters that he has all the tools to be an elite scorer in the league.
Unfortunately, the positive developments in his game did not continue as Thomas had seemingly made the adjustment to involve others more efficiently while tallying six assists in the victory against Memphis while struggling to make shots. Against the Celtics however, he reverted back to his shoot-first ways, which while efficient, resulted in only 1 assist on the night.
We haven’t seen a game yet this year where Thomas clicks as both a scorer and playmaker, which is the next step he needs to take in order to prove he’s a cornerstone piece for the rebuilding franchise.
The starting lineup gets a new look
Nic Claxton was inserted into the starting lineup for the second straight game, and the first with Ben Simmons available as Jordi Fernandez makes good on his plans to bring Claxton back to the starting lineup. The corresponding move was to send Simmons to the bench, however, both players played roughly to their season minutes per game averages.
While this move should pay dividends long-term by splitting up the primary ball handlers more, Brooklyn’s second unit struggled alongside Simmons just shooting 8 for 27 from the field (29.6%) and 0-10 from three.
For his part, Simmons together a line of 8 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds as he also got ample run with the starters. At this point, it’s time to accept this is who Simmons is as a player, a guy who does a little bit of everything, but seemingly doesn’t excel anywhere. That has value, just not at his current contract.
As for Claxton, it’s clear he’s not yet fully in shape as he went just 1-3 from the field, but contributed in other ways totaling 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. His performance should only improve as the season progresses and this new alignment should help balance out the size and ballhandling in games.
Cameron Johnson continues increasing his value
Johnson put together another solid game, scoring 18 points while also being an uncharacteristic force on the boards with 8 rebounds and tallying 4 assists. He’s been spectacular to start the season, now averaging 16.8 points per game on 45.6%/36.5%/83.3% shooting splits while playing acceptable defense on the wing.
He’s the Nets’ biggest remaining veteran trade chip and performances like this will only increase his value. There will be issues trying to move him due to his large contract that counts for $27 million this season for teams above the apron, as the new CBA makes passing the second apron an increasingly unpalatable proposition.
Unfortunately, most contending teams are too close to the apron to see the appeal of dealing with the financial ramifications of passing the second apron to acquire a role player, however, if Johnson can continue to play at this high level he may very well convince some teams that he could be the missing piece for a championship run.
Both teams were ice-cold from beyond the arc
This is both a testament to Brooklyn’s defense as well as an unfortunate referendum on their three-point consistency. Boston leads the league in three-pointers attempted per game at a whopping 51.4 per game while 13th overall in three-point percentage at 36.0%. The Nets stifled Boston’s long-range barrage holding them to just 14 connections of 53 attempts which was good for just 26.4%.
On the other hand, the Nets are currently sixth in the NBA in three-pointers attempted per game at 39.9 but rank just 20th in efficiency connecting on a mediocre 34.8%. Last night, they allowed Boston to do to them what they did to Boston, shooting just 10 for 38 from three which was good for just 26.3%.
Brooklyn’s efficient three-point defense will keep them in a lot of games as Jordi Fernandez looks to mold the team into a suffocating defensive unit, however without the efficiency from their own long-range shooters, especially off the bench, the impact of that strong defense will be muted.
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Up next for Brooklyn
The Nets get a short reprieve, off Saturday, before traveling to Cleveland for a Sunday evening matchup against old friends Kenny Atkinson, Jarrett Allen, Caris Levert, and the red-hot Cavaliers. Cleveland is 10-0 to start the season and coming off a 136-117 dismantling of the Golden State Warriors.
It will be interesting to watch the battle between Cavs’ star Donovan Mitchell and Cam Thomas as Mitchell is what many hope Thomas can become. Cleveland’s size between the aforementioned Allen and his towering front-court partner Evan Mobley will prove to be a huge challenge for Brooklyn.
Another key for Brooklyn will be whether or not their ninth-ranked 3-point defense (34.1%) can slow down Cleveland’s marksmen who lead the league in team three-point percentage with an eye-watering 42.7% success rate.
This is a game Brooklyn will likely lose, but if they play hard and together as they have so far this season, and their key players continue to take steps forward in their development it will be a metaphorical win for a team focused on culture and player development.
