The Brooklyn Nets played their fourth and final preseason game on Friday night, visiting the Toronto Raptors. Viewers can only hope the first half wasn’t a true preview of their regular season. Not only did
Brooklyn fall behind by double-digit immediately — though that part might not bother many — but they looked overmatched by an average Toronto squad.
The rookie point guards, starter Ben Saraf and especially backup Nolan Traore, couldn’t handle Toronton’s ball pressure; each turned it over three times in their respective first quarter stints…
It was a struggle for Brooklyn to even initiate their offense inside 40 feet, not just making them ineffective but nearly unwatchable. Sixteen first-half turnovers for Brooklyn led to run-out after run-out for Toronto; perhaps the defining play of the first half was a broken play in which Ziaire Williams missed a potential poster dunk, only for RJ Barrett to sprint the length of the floor and dunk it home without seeing a body.
There was one clear bright spot of the first-half, and it was #8 overall pick Egor Dëmin making his preseason debut, returning from the plantar fascia issue that has largely sidelined him since Las Vegas Summer League.
Pregame, Dëmin opened up a tad about his injury…
He didn’t look burdened by it on Friday evening. The Russian teenager entered with nearly 11 minutes to go in the second quarter and was not subbed out until deep into the third quarter, playing 19 straight minutes and easing some concern about that foot injury.
While Dëmin wasn’t at supreme ease facing Toronto’s ball pressure, he found other ways to contribute. He forced a turnover by making a nice defensive rotation and cut baseline for a layup almost immediately. Dëmin was the beneficiary of some silly Raptors fouls, once on a 3-point attempt and a couple times in the bonus, leading to six easy points. But he also hit a couple threes, including this one on a deep pull-up…
That might have been enough for a Nets fan to walk away from a largely dismal first half with a smile, with Dëmin also forcing a couple misses around the rim with his length. Listen, we’re taking all the positives we can get at this point.
Luckily, there were more such positives in the second half, even after Dëmin checked out of the game. Brooklyn stopped turning it over every time down the floor and ultimately crawled back into the game. Ziaire Williams scored 20 points off the bench. Nic Claxton put up a 13/11/5 double-double while turning it over five times, and when he wasn’t trying to instigate a fight with Jakob Pöltl, made some nice offensive plays out of the high post.
The star of the show, though, was Michael Porter Jr., who made up for Cam Thomas’ ice-cold game (1-of-10 from the floor) by getting hot and staying. MPJ shot 12-of-20 on mainly jumpers to score 34 points, though he gave plenty of them back on defense, perhaps the ideal skillset for a tanking Nets team.
With the Nets playing to win down the stretch, it’s telling that Danny Wolf saw zero action on Friday, Drake Powell played just two measly minutes, and Traore was stapled to the bench in the second half. Only Dëmin and Saraf got chances to prove themselves in something of a high-pressure situation, and Saraf redeemed himself a little bit by making a couple nice plays down the stretch…
The Nets took a late lead after initially falling behind by 18 points, but a win was not in the cards. Scottie Barnes, who finished with 31 points, made some big plays down the stretch, and Brandon Ingram hit a wide-open 3-pointer that gave Toronto the lead for good. Of note: in the last five minutes, Jordi Fernández went to a lineup with Cam Thomas at the point, playing without any rookies on the floor, though Saraf would ultimately re-enter.
It’s fitting that the final nail in the coffin was courtesy of a defensive breakdown. The Nets showed two to the ball, and even if Michael Porter Jr., had busted tail in help, it might not have mattered. He didn’t, though, and earned a talking-to from Fernández…
If the rookie ball-handlers can just be competent — and again, not easy for teenagers to do in the NBA! — the Nets just might be watchable this season. The first half was a punch in the gut, but they did rebound in the second half, finishing the game with 40 attempts from deep and assisting on 74% of their baskets, with Dëmin showing flashes. Bring on the season!
Final score: Toronto Raptors 119, Brooklyn Nets 114
