The Brooklyn Nets (2-8) were hoping to begin their current four-game road trip with some wins so that they could turn their season around, but then they suffered a narrow loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. As every NBA team has to deal with, Brooklyn had the unfortunate pleasure of facing forward Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks (6-4) on Sunday on the second night of a back-to-back.
"Defensively, we were not connected, and we made a lot of mistakes. Then, a team like this, when they're in a rhythm with the players that they have, it's when you can get hurt," Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said after Sunday's 130-93 loss to the Mavericks. Brooklyn was able to stay within striking distance of Dallas in the first quarter, but they fell
apart soon after that.
"Offensively, we created good shots, but we again turned it over too much. The nature of the turnovers, 17 turnovers for 24 points, that's just not acceptable," Fernandez continued. "A lot of them is we're trying to run in transition, and we give it to the other team. I think those are tough. We still created 21 turnovers for 25 points, and I think that that's the pressure and and who we want to be."
Forward Michael Porter Jr. once again led the way for the Nets with his 19 points and nine rebounds, but like most of his teammates, he struggled to score at an efficient clip as he finished shooting just 5-of-15 from the field. Forward Julius Randle, who had been solid for Brooklyn prior to this road trip, finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists, but was also a -33 plus/minus in what was the Nets' worst loss of the season to date.
"Honestly, I'm not really sure [what led to the defensive breakdowns]. I got to watch the film. But, they were getting a lot of stuff off of switching, credit to them," Randle said to the media following the disappointing loss. "I don't think we have guys in here that have that character of letting go of the rope. But, [we're] definitely disconnected, and we got to figure out how to turn the page and get better and improve, stack days."
Brooklyn had a rough game on both ends of the floor as they shot just 39% from the field as a team while allowing Dallas to shoot 57%. The Nets were shorthanded with guards Egor Demin (right leg bone bruise) and Mikel Brown Jr. (back injury management) missing the game, forcing Fernandez to try different combinations such as playing forward Terance Mann and guard Keon Ellis 22 minutes each.
Ultimately, the Nets didn't have an answer defensively for Flagg (25 points, five rebounds, 12 assists) or guard Kyrie Irving (21 points, four assists) and they paid the price time and again. Brooklyn still has two games left on their road trip with their next matchup coming on Wednesday against forward Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans so the hope is that the team can turn itself around after two days of rest and contemplation.
Entire Starting Lineup Underwhelms
Even when accounting for the fact that the Nets were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, they still had the opportunity to show up more than they did and the entire starting lineup just didn't have anything left to give. Each of the starters were at least a -14 plus/minus so while it was clear that Brooklyn didn't have its legs, their effort also noticeably missing after the first quarter.
Nets Had No Answer For Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving
While Flagg and Irving are great talents, the ease with which they scored (Flagg shot 8-of-13 from the field, Irving shot 9-of-15 from the field) highlighted the lack of a defensive stopper. Guard Keon Ellis was brought in through free-agency this past summer to aid in that regard, but his playing time has changed over the past week or so and players like Danny Wolf and Michael Porter Jr. don't have skillsets for fulfill those roles.
Mo Wagner, Josh Minott Shine Off Bench
With Brooklyn struggling to maintain consistency, one of the main storylines has been who Fernandez can turn to in the rotation for a spark when the team needs it. With center Mo Wagner having one of his better games of the season and forward Noah Clowney fouling out in eight minutes, Fernandez eventually turned to forward Josh Minott, who put up 10 points, two rebounds, and two steals in just 12 minutes.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 130-93 loss to Kyrie Irving, Mavericks
