The Knicks blew out the Nets, 134-98, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden in another game where Brooklyn was barely competitive from start to finish, dropping to 1-9 on the season.
The Nets’ lone win since opening night came last week against an Indiana team missing five of its top scorers from a year ago, and even that one got uncomfortably close in the final minutes.
Michael Porter Jr., carrying the scoring load without Cam Thomas, showed again he can fill it up against the Knicks, finishing with 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting, but the league already knows what kind of offensive talent he is. Brooklyn’s historic five-player rookie class is the only thing keeping the team relevant right now, and if the Nets are going to struggle this much, especially on defense, that group should be the franchise’s main focus moving forward.
Ten games in, it’s clear the Nets’ veterans can’t cut it. This year was supposed to be about building around Egor Demin, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, Nolan Traore and Danny Wolf, yet three are stuck in the G League. If the season is already slipping away, those five should be learning on the job in Brooklyn.
Demin earned his second consecutive start Sunday and looked increasingly comfortable, finishing with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes. The 6-9 guard combined tight handle with smooth shot-making and good vision as Jordi Fernández continued giving him freedom to learn on the fly.
Powell was a bright spot as well, finishing with a career-high 15 points with two rebounds and three assists while going a perfect 3-for-3 from deep. He’s been a defensive spark whenever he’s on the floor, and his on-ball creation has been a welcome surprise. Saraf and Traore deserve similar opportunities to grow with real NBA minutes, along with Wolf, who has played just four in Brooklyn.
Those three have spent the past two games on G League assignment. In Long Island’s season opener Friday against the Capital City Go-Go, Saraf scored 21 points with four rebounds and three assists off the bench. Traore had a quiet scoring night but led the team with seven assists. In Sunday’s rematch, Wolf stood out most, posting 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting with 13 rebounds and two assists.
For a franchise that’s supposed to pride itself on player development, the path forward should be obvious. The Nets aren’t competing for playoff position. They’re competing for direction. Playing the rookies doesn’t just accelerate their growth but also helps the front office evaluate who actually fits into the franchise’s future plays. Every possession spent on a veteran stopgap is one less invested in the group that might define the next era of Nets basketball.
Until the Nets embrace that reality, nights like Sunday will keep looking the same. Brooklyn can’t defend, can’t sustain effort and can’t seem to find purpose beyond surviving the schedule. If Fernández is truly building something for the future, that process has to start now, with Demin, Powell, Saraf, Traore and Wolf learning through the growing pains that are already here.
