It was tough to shake the feeling that the Nets were just treading water against the Los Angeles Clippers during tonight’s first quarter. And, despite a handful of crafty buckets from Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic, it never felt like Brooklyn belonged on the same court as Chris Paul and his friends. Paul weaved in and out of traffic and tossed alley-oops in the face of some non-existent help defense, never really looking troubled in the process. Perhaps it’s that LA-Cool Factor in play here, but the elegant and free-flowing offense from the Clippers only highlights this Nets team and their struggles to get anything going at all during their sets.

Paul might be the NBA’s best at navigating in tight spaces, but it goes beyond that — just watch the way that J.J. Redick never rests or how DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin are always setting picks and probing for the next big alley-oop opportunity. Even their bench players like Wesley Johnson, Josh Smith, and Jamal Crawford chipped in along the way, as their fluid offense constantly cycled through their options, snuck around screens, and didn’t allow the Nets’ flat-footed defenders to get comfortable.

And yes — this is about Brooklyn, but the Clippers’ poetic offense shined even brighter while juxtaposed to this brutal Nets’ attempt at scoring points. Aside from a couple of brave efforts from Young early on, the Nets quickly settled into stagnated offense and those ill-advised mid-range jumpers. Brook Lopez, who struggled with Jordan’s mass on both ends of the court, seemed frustrated and disengaged and without Jarrett Jack and Shane Larkin’s somewhat infrequent penetration, he and the Nets didn’t get an easy shot all night.

Yes, it helps when you’ve got three All-Stars on your team, but these concepts aren’t rocket science — and, in fact, they’re mostly effort-based. The Nets rarely do anything to set their teammates up with positive opportunities; a feeling oddly reminiscent of a bad high school basketball team in which the players take turns shooting before mentally checking out otherwise. On the whole, the Brooklyn Nets were passengers tonight, more than willing to sit back and watch this beautiful Clipper offense pick them apart slowly. But thanks to some timely three-pointers and some successful Hack-A-Jordan, the Nets were able to cut an 18-point fourth quarter lead to just two.

Ultimately, the Clippers abused the pick and roll with Andrea Bargnani just one time too many for the Nets to stay afloat. The Nets made it interesting in the game’s waning moments, but don’t let the final score fool you, Brooklyn was thoroughly outplayed the entire night.