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We’re about one-quarter of the way through the season, and the Brooklyn Nets sit at 7-15, having won six of their last seven home games. There have been more than a few lows and highs this season, so The Brooklyn Game takes a look at the good and the bad with 25% of the season under the belt.
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MVP: Thaddeus Young
On a team devoid of consistency, Thaddeus Young has kept the engine going. He ranks second on the roster in scoring, first in rebounding, first in field goal percentage inside the arc, and is having arguably the best season of his career hitting dipsy-doo floaters and banging inside.
Brook Lopez may have the gaudier numbers, but he’s also had more off nights scoring the ball, and Young has had a bigger (albeit not “big”) impact with his defensive versatility.
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Craziest Moment: Missing The Bunny
The Golden State Warriors have rode roughshod over the league in the first 23 games, ripping through without a loss. But the Nets, against nearly impossible odds, almost ended that streak. After leading by as much as 15 in the first half — on the road, no less! — the Nets had a chance to upset the Warriors in regulation, creating a clean layup at the buzzer for Brook Lopez.
But Lopez clanked it off the back of the rim, the Warriors cleaned up their mistakes in overtime, and they haven’t come that close to a loss since.
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Biggest Surprise — Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
The Nets picked up Hollis-Jefferson in a draft-day trade, expecting him to shore up the end of their rotation. But Hollis-Jefferson’s energy on defense and surprising creativity on offense earned him a shot in the starting lineup after five games, and he locked down the position: the team’s 5-man starting unit with him was one of the team’s few positives before he went down with an ankle injury.
Hollis-Jefferson doesn’t have three-point range, but his maniacal man defense put a jolt in a Nets rotation that has sorely lacked an active, athletic wing defender since the team’s move to Brooklyn.
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Biggest Disappointment — The Wings (Minus The Rook)
It’s hard to pick just one out of an entire underperforming rotation. Joe Johnson, Bojan Bogdanovic, Wayne Ellington, Markel Brown, and Sergey Karasev have all started the season poorly. Outside of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the Nets haven’t had a consistent scorer or defender out of their wing players, and both Bogdanovic and Karasev have been the subject of trade rumors. The team has begun to shoot a bit better lately, but it’s still the glaring weakness of the roster this season.
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Best Signing: Shane Larkin
Larkin may have tiny hands, but he’s used them well: the diminutive point guard has fit in well with the starters and reserves alike, using his speed and bounce to create plays for himself and others. Larkin’s assist rate is a career high, he’s the lone Nets player consistently hitting three-pointers, and though he gives up size on the other end, 3.8 steals per 100 possessions ain’t too shabby.
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Worst Signing: Andrea Bargnani
Yes, Bargnani puts up points in bunches, and his 23-point performance Thursday night against the 76ers was a key factor in their victory. But Bargnani has one NBA skill — catching the ball around the free throw line and firing up a shot. He has only three assists — and that may be generous — in eighteen games, and opponents are getting to the rim easily against him. His scoring punch can be effective in short bursts, but it’s difficult to watch plays like this.
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Best Moment: First Home Win
Their lock-down defense to close out the Atlanta Hawks in a 90-88 victory, their first home win of the season. Revenge is a dish best served switched.
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Worst Moment: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s Injury
Right when you thought something good might happen for the Nets, the effervescent Hollis-Jefferson went down with a brutal ankle injury in practice, which required surgery. Hollis-Jefferson will be out 8-10 weeks following the surgery. The Nets will have to find ways to win without him.
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Best Game: Nets 111, Celtics 101
Two days after an embarrassing 120-95 loss to this same Celtics team, the Nets returned home and gave the Celtics a thwacking, winning an upset contest that wasn’t as close as the final score. The team got solid contributions from the entire starting lineup and shot 51 percent from the field in the win.
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Worst Game: Knicks 108, Nets 91
The Nets & Knicks have a rivalry the same way twin infants have a rivalry: it’s mostly just too cute for anyone to really invest any emotion into it. But it still stung when the Knicks went on a three-point rampage all over the Nets, scoring 42 points in the first quarter and never looking back. Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis dominated their respective matchups, and the Nets never stood a shot to win after the dust settled on the first six minutes.
