‘Tis the preseason. The Brooklyn Nets began theirs on Tuesday night in Charlotte, putting on quite the performance, particularly at the offensive end, as they aerosol sprayed the “Hornets” en route to a 124-90 victory. Hornets is in parenthesis because Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, and Coby White all sat out.
Thursday, it was the Philadelphia 76ers’ turn to be the showmen. Remember Brooklyn’s “Big 3”? Well, Philly now has a “Big 5” and they all suited up on the floor for the first time this evening
as LeBron James and Jaylen Brown joined Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe.
The Nets started Egor Dëmin, Keon Ellis, Noah Clowney, Julius Randle, and Mo Wagner. Michael Porter Jr. and Day’Ron Sharpe sat out. Mikel Brown Jr. remains on the shelf with a rolled ankle.
Hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby? It sure sounded that way going into the game. Few teams, if any, can field a five that matches Philly’s in terms of point blank talent. The Nets certainly can’t on paper.
However, this was a basketball game, not a comic book, even if the Philly’s starting group looked like The Avengers. The Nets had as impressive of a win as the preseason will allow. Here are a few takeaways from the upset.
6:37, 1Q – Brooklyn Nets 15, Philadelphia 76ers 15
- There were already going to be questions about Brooklyn interior defense going into this season with Day’Ron Sharpe stepping in as the lead rim protector. So, with Sharpe sitting out tonight, the bow inside expectedly broke early. The 76ers scored an abundance of their first quarter buckets with baseline cuts. When the regular season starts, the Nets will want to make sure their back court communicates better with the front court. More importantly, they’ll want to make sure Day’Ron Sharpe plays.
- The Sixers weren’t the only ones trying to attack the rim early. Dëmin, who spoke all summer about expanding his shot diet, had quite the two-point take early in the first. He beat LeBron James off the dribble and went through Joel Embiid to score at the rim. I know that sounds like Nets fan fiction, but trust me, it happened. It’s as clear a sign of his growth as you’ll see.
5:52, 1Q – Brooklyn Nets 19, Philadelphia 76ers 15
- Nolan Traoré, Drake Powell, Chaney Johnson, Danny Wolf, and Josh Minott replaced the starters at this point in the first. Perhaps that’s meaningless with absences from Porter Jr. and Sharpe already disrupting the rotation, but it might also be a sign of what Jordi Fernández’s regular season bench will look like.
- This five also played a bit of 2-3 zone. Still attacking the baseline, Philly had little trouble scoring against it.
0:31, 1Q – Brooklyn Nets 31, Philadelphia 76ers 31
- Chaney Johnson took and made a three less than 10 seconds into the shot clock near the end of the first. We know Chaney can shoot, and we know Jordi Fernández has never been brash about encouraging his guys to let it fly. However, Mo Wagner also pulled a semi-contested corner one earlier in the game, which is a bit more eyebrow-raising. So, while the personnel has changed, Jordi’s philosophy on shooting seems to be the same.
10:01, 2Q – Brooklyn Nets 36, Philadelphia 76ers 32
- Once the starters and reserves started to mix, one thing became clear: the Nets are going to stick with the switch. I saw Drake Powell on LeBron James at least twice at the top of the key. Brooklyn largely did that in their first preseason game as well.
- NBA defenses often live and die based on how they defend screens. And, in the second, Brooklyn lived by it, forcing four turnovers in the period’s first four minutes. They were especially physical in their pursuit of these extra possessions, often along the elbow and in the low post. Wagner had James visibly frustrated on more than one occasion.
4:24, 2Q – Brooklyn Nets 44, Philadelphia 76ers 45
- As the Nets look to establish themselves as that gritty team nobody wants to play, wreaking havoc in the backcourt appears to be on the agenda. Traoré poking away this possession from Jaylen Brown to set up Danny with an alley-oop as just one bit of evidence supporting that claim. The Nets ended up turning the 76ers over 22 times by the end of the game.
1:12, 2Q – Brooklyn Nets 52, Philadelphia 76ers 56
- At the other end, however, Traoré might need to work on his chemistry with Randle. He had a few misplaced dump-offs as the two ran pick-and-roll down the stretch of the second. Those turnovers helped Philly retake the lead entering the break.
HALF – Brooklyn Nets 56, Philadelphia 76ers 58
- Egor was willing and able to probe inside consistently against a legitimate NBA defense, with several takes to the basket outside of that aforementioned one over Embiid. That means it’s real now. He’s not just attacking G-League players or rookies in Las Vegas. He’s doing it against All-NBA defenders. Dëmin’s touch around the rim still needs work, but you’ll surely take the improvement for what it is. It’s also rare to see an athlete identify such a clear weakness in his game and work so deliberately to address it. He’s lived up to everything we’ve heard about his work ethic, and this may be the clearest evidence of that yet.
- This team has the potential to be the gritty, pain-in-the-butt matchup for contenders many of us want them to be. Wagner had King James shouting at the officials like a spoiled monarch on more than on occasion. As Philly’s turnovers were mounting, Drake Powell also drew a foul on an Embiid screen in the backcourt. Embiid got in Ed Malloy’s face, and got a tech. Needless to say, the Nets got the 76ers pissed, and they did it in a game that doesn’t even matter. That’s telling.
9:47, 3Q – Brooklyn Nets 60, Philadelphia 76ers 64
- You don’t often see multi-year All-Stars on the other side of 30 playing in the second half of a preseason game. You see them diving on the court for loose balls even less. Julius Randle did both here. I think Nets fans are going to like him more than they realize.
- Randle’s on-ball gravity at the other end is still a factor as well. He initiated much of Brooklyn’s offense early in the third just by getting in and getting the ball back out to shooters. Having that to fall back on during broken plays or wayward possessions will be huge, and it’s something Brooklyn’s hasn’t had in a long time.
5:02, 3Q – Brooklyn Nets 82, Philadelphia 76ers 75
- Noah Clowney and Danny Wolf can still do that thing where they makes a handful of threes in a flash after having little-to-no points all game. If the Nets are able to make good on their intentions to stay in more games this year, that’ll make those sequences more fun to watch as well.
1:34, 3Q – Brooklyn Nets 90, Philadelphia 76ers 79
- The Nets established their largest lead of the game at this point via an 8-0 run. The 76ers also pulled all their main rotation players off the floor a few minutes before this. Sorry, I feel like I have to mention that.
11:51, 4Q – Brooklyn Nets 90, Philadelphia 76ers 79
- Ben Saraf and Terance Mann both played their first minutes of the night here. Just incase it ends up meaning anything, it’s worth noting. Saraf did connect on his first triple of the game from the right wing, but struggled to run the offense after that.
4:45, 4Q – Brooklyn Nets 107, Philadelphia 76ers 97
- It’s never too late, even in the preseason, to make hustle plays. Grant Nelson had several in the final five minutes of this one, particularly on the offensive glass. As Brooklyn’s offense began to falter down the stretch, he kept them afloat, mining for extra possessions. It was the least flashy “closer” performance I’ve seen in some time, but worked nonetheless, and that’s what matters.
END OF GAME
- I know, it’s only the preseason, but the 76ers started a lineup tonight that’ll at worst be an all-time NBA 2K team. The Nets went toe-to-toe with them, and minus Porter Jr., Brown Jr., and Sharpe. In my opinion, a lot of factors have to align for a preseason game to warrant true optimism from fans, but this one had them all. Don’t got crazy, but you’re allowed to like what you saw.
- Again, Egor’s development, specifically where it’s happening, is beyond encouraging.
- On the contrary, it’s not looking good for Ben Saraf. Not that it would’ve mattered much, but Brooklyn almost let this one slip after giving him the keys to the offense. It’s hard to get around that when you consider the defenders he was facing at that point.
Next Up
Brooklyn’s tour of new look teams in the preseason rolls on with a visit to the nation’s capital on Monday. The Nets will face off against the Washington Wizards at 7:00 p.m. EST.
