The Brooklyn Nets were defeated by the Toronto Raptors 123-107 on Friday night at the Barclays Center. Here are five thoughts.
The Raptors are the defending champs…
Yes, Kawhi Leonard is gone, but this team still has Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, Fred Van Vleet, Norman Powell, and OG Anunoby.
That’s still a pretty good team. Those players, with the exception of Anunoby and Powell played pivotal roles in winning an NBA championship.
Offensively, the scoring will likely be more balanced, though Siakam will be the fulcrum. They can get to the basket and make threes. There is good spacing and the ball moves.
Defensively, they are long and can switch well with certain lineups. Anunoby and Siakam as a help-and-recover tandem on the wings are a nightmare for spot-up shooters.
China…
15 hours.
That’s the approximate flight time from NYC to Shanghai, where the Nets started the China portion of their road trip. They also flew from Shanghai to Shenzhen while in China. If you’ve never done the trip to China, trust me, the jet lag is brutal. It lasts for about a week.
It showed in Friday’s game. The Nets were off on the offensive end with their timing and rhythm. Shots didn’t fall. (To be fair, the Raptors were in Japan during the preseason as well.)
Defensively, they were a step slow on closeouts, rotations, and there wasn’t a lot of communication.
This team played well in the preseason, aside from Friday’s game. We won’t overreact to the blowout.
Then of course there is all of the mental stress from being in China during the Daryl Morey tweet controversy.
This is an issue that will not go away.
Pro Hong Kong protesters showed up to the game with signs critical of Nets’ owner Joseph Tsai and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
One sign, read: “Tsai & LeBron: Morey was right, NBA: Stand for freedom”
Following the game Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson was asked about the protests.
The #NBAChina situation not going anywhere. There was a section of protesters at tonight’s @Raptors vs @BrooklynNets game. HC Kenny Atkinson was asked about it postgame. #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/nT19UNfpOg
— Jarod Hector (@jshector) October 19, 2019
Caris LeVert on catch and shoot threes…
This is a big season for LeVert. Before last year’s injury he was tracking to be an all-star. He was leading the team in scoring and hit a couple game winners. When he returned just before the all-star break it took him a while to regain his footing. But once the playoffs started he was the Nets best player. He showed no fear in the first round series loss to the 76ers, and why many have him pegged as an all-star this season.
Staying healthy will be the key for LeVert. This is the start of his fourth season and he has missed significant time due to injury in two of his three seasons played.
All that being said, he’s dynamic when on the floor.
An area to watch with LeVert this season is his catch and shoot three shooting percentage. Last season he was 27.3% on catch and shoot threes, attempting just over 1.5 per game.
Sharing the floor with Kyrie Irving this season will give him a lot more chances and he has to improve on that. He doesn’t need to shoot it at a near 50% clip like his teammate Joe Harris.
But with his catch and shoot three point attempts likely to go up to around 3.5 to 4 per game, he’ll need to convert on at least 38% of them.
On Friday he was two of four from three, and three of the four were catch and shoot attempts. A small sample size of course, but he connected on one of three.
During media day last month he mentioned that’s an area of his game he worked on over the summer.
DeAndre Jordan and Jarrett Allen
It looks like DJ will come off the bench this season and Jarrett Allen will start. At least that’s what the starting lineup and rotation looked like in Friday’s dress rehearsal.
That’s probably the best move. Allen has more upside offensively. Defensively DJ is better right now and Allen has a way to go on that end, despite the highlight blocks from last year.
DJ will certainly play in a lot of crunchtime minutes. He has played with high usage pick and roll point guards looking to give him shots at the rim, his entire career. His ability to catch and handle passes is critical. Allen still struggles catching and finishing in traffic.
The use of both big men is something Kenny Atkinson and his staff will tinker with throughout the season.
Taurean Prince
Prince was the primary player the Nets acquired during the offseason, in the Allen Crabbe trade.
He is a rangy small forward who can space the floor and has tremendous energy and activity on the defensive end. He’s 6’7” and can switch within the defensive principles employed by Atkinson.
Prince finished with 13 points in the loss.
They didn’t do it a ton on Friday, but he can operate as the roll or pop man in two man situations with either Irving or Spencer Dinwiddie.
Plus, he makes $15 million per year less than Crabbe and is more productive.
Additional Thoughts on NBA and China From Kyrie Irving
Always known to be introspective and at least intellectually curious. Kyrie Irving shared his thoughts on the NBA and China, as well as his core beliefs.