After heaping praise on Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, and some other Nets after their first preseason game against the Lakers, the Locked on Nets guys take things in a different direction for this episode. They take a look at some of the things that didn’t go amazing for Brooklyn and what could be concerns throughout the season.
They look at the spacing with the first unit of Ben Simmons, Spencer Dinwiddie, Cam Thomas, Mikal Bridges, and Nic Claxton. This group held its own, but there were times when the offense got bogged down without tons of perimeter threats.
And then they look at how the Nets moved into some different defensive coverages for this game. Finally, what about the lack of ball handling and how with the Nets address this need on offense as the season goes along?
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25 Comments
Obviously Brooklyn's defense will improve and the key will be finding combinations that work.
For instance Cam Thomas and Spencer in the starting lineup doesn't work from a defensive standpoint. Mikal Bridges Cam Johnson Ben Simmons Nic Claxton and Dinwiddie is a better defensive unit with some balanced scoring.
Now Cam Thomas will fit better in the second unit especially if he's surrounded by good defenders such as Ben Simmons Dorian Finney Smith Royce o Neale and Darius Bazley/Watford.
Again its about which combinations work and Brooklyn has a vast depth of good defenders to figure it out….
Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton showed some improvement on their chemistry together and one thing they can do more is make smart assist passes to each other when they have clear lanes to get to the rim. If they can figure that out it will put even more pressure on opposing defenders to try to guard them.
Chill. It's just preseason and the Nets are ahead of schedule in camaraderie. That'll translate into cohesion sooner than later. Patience is imperative as they improve their chemistry.
Skip this one I want to hear more positive content it’s preseason Gus relax and we are not a title contender let’s look on the bright side
Doug is too pessimistic, make u doubt players strength pity!
Lakers defense stinks Doug ugh!
Would you start Thomas over Dinwiddie if his defense continues to look better than Dinwiddie?
I think Jaque Vaughn told them to go under screens against the lakers cause there not a good 3 point shooting team n because they didnt want ad involved in the game as a lob threat in the pick n roll if they wouldve went over on screens. I dont think i liked that the gameplan tho. He loves gimmick defenses lol we never get to play standard defense n see what our defense really looks like smh
Yall are making too big of a deal about spacing. Way too big of a deal.
Nets need to trade Ben Simmons if an opportunity presents itself.
The problem with this team is Simmons is a 3rd or 4th best player; Bridges is not a superstar and they have 5 other players on the same level. I think Simmons would be good at Spurs or trade him for Golbert. Then trade Fiddy Smith and Dinwiddie and try and chase a star to pair with Bridges, Johnson, Thomas, O’Neill. Maybe Zion or Morant depending
Ben Simmons and Claxton CANNOT space the floor in this modern NBA. Your PG will not shoot anything outside of the paint in the year 2023 lol… The Nets are literally running 2 centers in their starting lineups lol….So when this team goes up against better defensive teams it’s a wrap. Ben Simmons will be a non shooter on the perimeter or just stand in the dunkers spot. He’s a waisted body on the offensive side if he doesn’t have the basketball in his hands lol… His teammates will be playing 5 on 4 on offense lol…The Nets aren’t making any noise this season anyways but it’s fascinating to see how many people support Ben Simmons and his incredible mediocrity lol… it’s fascinating lol…
The Nets have a lot of talent and significant deficiencies right now. My concerns are shooting, spacing, point guard, and rebounding. LON covered all of these well … except didn’t much address rebounding in this episode. I think they will figure out how to best apply their defensive skills as they get more time on the court together. How well they address these concerns will determine if they can win more games than they lose this season.
I am really impressed by how much the Lakers improved since the trade deadline line last year. They made a lot of good moves.
Preseason is a time when franchises set up their roster rotations. The Nets should experiment by removing DFS as a starter and inserting Trendon Watford in his power forward spot. His size, (6'8" 237 ibs) athleticism, ball handling, and grit will pay instant dividends. The first players off the bench should be Simmons, Thomas, Harry Giles, Jalen Wilson and Royce O'Neale. Day'Ron Sharpe, DFS, Lonnie Walker, DSJ, and Darius Bazley should get situational minutes, for now.
I don’t wanna go overboard with the first preseason game, but over the years what I’ve noticed about the nets defense and offense is, it seems to be kind of all in on one specific thing rather than blended or situational.
Now to the drop cover I completely understand the need to use more drop coverage. However, it should be used with specific players in mind specifically with your center. It shouldn’t be used by Dennis Smith, Jr., who can fight through a screen and stay with his man.
You want to situational use drop coverage with a guy like Claxton because if you have him out on the perimeter too much, your rebounding suffers. So drop cover should be situational and depending on what position the person is in.
Nets fans won’t like this but if He (Giles) looks good & obviously healthy I would like him to start over Clax because of his ability to step outside and shoot , better post up player & he has grit
Lets gooooo. Can't wait to see more minutes with watford as the point forward
I'm really curious where DFS and Royce fit in this team. It feels like no one is discussing them. Even if they're trade candidates, they should be showcased in the first half of the season
I say start cam Thomas over dinwiddie that way his defense gets hidden behind Ben, bridges and clax, and that way we get a good pg of the bench.
Cam is a bucket and we need that scoring from him, because no one else on the team is a natural scorer like him.
He’s not a good playmaker but we won’t need it from him if he’s starting and doesn’t need to lead the second unit.
Don’t think it’ll happen but should atleast try
GM LON, Doug was exceptionally brutal in his assessment and I approve his message . Straight facts No chaser. 👌🏾
As a former Nets fan i hope claxton keep growing.
That said this team won't ever go anywhere if they don't get a true Superstar.
Let's keep it/💯, Ben Simmons hijacked the starting point guard spot through a media-driven campaign, putting pressure on Jacque Vaughn and the Nets. Ben held JV and the Nets organization hostage and the Nets know any opposition from them would be met with threats of mental health concerns and back issues. I'm not convinced Ben truly earned the position over Dinwiddie, who averaged 9 assists in his Nets return. My issue with Dinwiddie was that he lacked strong coaching from JV to curb his complaints about fouls, poor shot choices, and excessive dribbling. It might be better for Ben to come off the bench with Cam Thomas until he proves himself worthy of the starting role. His media-driven push disrupted team spacing, leaving Bridges struggling to find room to operate.
I liked the people coming of the bench staying active. Rebounding was decent and there were lots of instances where the team looked solid rebounding.
The amount of strange fans wanting Simmons to start on the bench is absurd, he is by far the best player "when healthy" as a point guard he has been a rookie of the year, 3 time all-star, 2 x first team all defense, 1 x all NBA as a point guard, his career averages are better than anyone on the roster in every single category excluding blocks, and he is even 2nd in this category and in the 4.5 seasons he has played in the NBA 4 of the seasons he was elite. last year he was injured, this year there is no excuse obviously to play like last year. Not to mention he is by far the highest +/- player on the roster, huge difference maker and the only player not to lose or miss the playoffs or defeat in the first round. His resume speaks for itself…
The obvious answer to the spacing issue is to trade nick Claxton for a stretch big. Ben Simmons, if healthy is the nets best player. And he appears to be healthy again. Trade Claxton for a big like Myles Turner, and the Nets will be able to play five out with Ben as the point forward. That raises the teams ceiling exponentially.