Brooklyn Nets vs Chicago Bulls
Trades requests happen. Trades happen. Players wake up to Woj bombs telling them to pack their bags and move across the country for a brand new situation. Wanted or not. However, the game must go on. And so it did, with the Brooklyn Nets hosting the intact Chicago Bulls. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan commented on being happy with standing pat. The opposite was true for Brooklyn. Ownership had a rocky relationship with at least one player. When that player publicly asked out, the house that Sean Marks built came falling down. Subsequently ending the big 3 era which now will be mostly known for containing 3 trade requests. The aftermath of the final 2 trade requests resulted in Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith suiting up for the Nets and Cameron Johnson and Mikal Bridges on the sideline looking like they’re searching for the meaning of life.
However, NBA players get paid to play games. The Bulls and the Nets faced off in a surprisingly full and energetic Barclays Center with the Nets being victorious. Dinwiddie returned to Brooklyn with a solid performance, scoring 25 points and adding 5 rebounds and 6 assists in 38 minutes. Dorian Finney-Smith added 9 points, 9 rebounds, and a spectacular dunk. His +- was a game-high plus 32. As one might have suspected, the Nets’ offense started off extremely slow. Without stars on the team, the Nets managed to score only 19 points in the opening period. The good and consistent defense kept the Nets in the game. Joe Harris caught fire in the third, draining six three-pointers and the Nets finished the first half up by 3.
In the second half the game went back and forth. Cam Thomas ended up seeing his 40+ point game streak come to an end. He scored 0 points in the first half but did manage to score 20 points total, including a big three-pointer in the fourth. Yuta Watanabe added two big shots in the fourth and together with Dinwiddie they managed to get the W for the new-look Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn Nets vs Philadelphia 76ers
Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson looked a lot less lost as they made their Nets debut in Brooklyn. “The Twins” both chipped in with 12 points for Cam Johnson and 23 points for the newly minted “Brooklyn” Bridges. Joe Harris pitched in from the bench again with 18 points, as did Cam Thomas with 14. Unfortunately for the Nets, it wasn’t enough.
Unlike last Thursday, the Nets got off to a decent start on the offensive end. The ball movement was crisp and the players seemed to be having fun. The defense started slipping a bit with the second unit but the Nets were still up going into halftime. The Sixers came back to win the 3rd quarter and took their first lead since the 1st, in the final frame. The Nets only scored a single basket in the final 6+ minutes of the game, allowing the Sixers to take the win despite Dinwiddie hitting a 3 to tie the game at the buzzer. The ball was still in Dinwiddie’s hands when the buzzer sounded.
Again the Brooklyn Nets showed their newfound defensive prowess with this new team. The starting 5 of Claxton, Finney-Smith, Johnson, Dinwiddie and Bridges has length and defensive versatility. Add potential defensive stalwart Ben Simmons and decent defenders like Royce O’Neal and Yuta Watanabe off the bench and no team will be able to say that the Nets are an easy out. With Joe Harris becoming himself again and Seth Curry returning, firepower is also present. However, the team will need to find a closer. Especially when all starters who aren’t “Twins” are scoring in the single digits.