Early in the Nets’ 137–117 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, one sequence perfectly captured Brooklyn’s defensive struggles.
Michael Porter Jr. had just missed a 3-pointer from the left wing when Charlotte’s Miles Bridges grabbed the rebound and fired an outlet to a sprinting LaMelo Ball. Nic Claxton did his job, cutting off Ball in transition, but Porter and rookie Ben Saraf jogged back on defense.
Their slow recovery opened the lane for Ball to toss an uncontested lob to Brandon Miller for two of Charlotte’s 23 fast-break points. Meanwhile, Cam Thomas and Terance Mann barely crossed half court as four Hornets filled the paint.
It was a sequence uncharacteristic of a Jordi Fernández-coached team, one that prides itself on defense, energy and effort. And compounding moments like it added up to one of the more deflating losses of the NBA’s opening week.
“I know this is the first game, and at some point, there’s a lot of emotions, but we were doing things with no purpose, just running around, running around,” Fernández said.
On top of their transition issues, the Nets allowed Charlotte to shoot 53.3% from the field and 47.2% from deep, resulting in a dreadful 128.3 defensive rating — the second-worst mark in the NBA through the league’s opening slate, ahead of only the Clippers.
Nine of Charlotte’s 10 rotation players finished in double figures, led by Miller, who posted 25 points on 8-of-19 shooting. After watching film from the loss, Mann said Brooklyn’s defensive struggles came down to communication, a far cry from Thomas’ preseason confidence that the group was already well connected.
“First game of the season, a lot of jitters, a lot of nerves,” Mann said ahead of Friday’s home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “Away game, different environment, there’s a lot of factors at play when it comes to the first game of the season. So, I don’t really look too much into the first game of the season. In all my years of playing, I don’t remember any of my first games of the season. I don’t know what happened, who scored, who won, who lost. So, we got 81 more.”
Mann is right. Overreacting to Game 1 of 82 wouldn’t be wise, and there’s plenty of basketball left to play. Still, for a team projected to win just 20.5 games, defensive efforts like the one in Charlotte will only reinforce doubts about how much this group can really accomplish.
Young and developing or not, the Nets need to tighten up defensively — fast.
The Cavaliers visit Barclays Center next, a team that blew out Brooklyn twice last season and is still fuming from a loss to the Knicks on Wednesday. After that, the Nets face Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, then Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets in a road back-to-back this weekend. At this rate, an 0–4 start could be on the table before the Atlanta Hawks come to town next week.
“Like I said, being loud, just talking consistently,” Day’Ron Sharpe said. “We’re taking plays off. When adversity hits, everybody just shuts down. No matter if they go on a 10-0 run or a 4-0 run, we have to keep the same, consistent talking and aggressiveness on defense.”
