The Nets were without Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson against the Philadelphia 76ers in their third preseason game. And it was pretty ugly from the start with Ben Simmons and company turning the ball over a ton and struggling in basically every facet of the game.
Philly was without Joel Embiid and James Harden in their own right, but faced little resistance from the Nets in this one.
Doug Norrie breaks down the game and what went wrong for Brooklyn basically from the tip-off on.
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19 Comments
Honestly again the defensive side wasn't anywhere close to the level we know this Brooklyn squad can be, but without Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson tonight was about giving other players an opportunity to earn minutes and affirm roles.
Ben Simmons definitely showed some good endurance tonight playing in all four quarters and really brought it in the fourth. That insane assist pass to Spencer and following that up with a steal that led to a Ben Simmons dunk was exactly the type of energizing Simmons Brooklyn fans want to see more of this year
Nic Claxton Lonnie Walker lV and Royce o Neale were solid as well. But this team still has a lot to improve on….
But again the turnovers tonight were abysmal and very unlike the Brooklyn Nets.
But not having Mikal Bridges tonight was supposed to give Cam Thomas a big opportunity to play a complete game and instead Thomas did not do that.
He played a sloppy game, didn't make the right passes, defend well or find his scoring rhythm.
Cam Thomas is a scoring prodigy but he needs to make improvements beyond that element of his game if he hopes to become a starter one day.
For now Cam Thomas coming off the bench and becoming that sixth man is the best move…
Looking at the starting rotation for next week Ben Simmons Mikal Bridges Cam Johnson Spencer Dinwiddie and Nic Claxton is the best combination to deploy.
As far as the second unit goes Cam Thomas Royce o Neale Dorian Finney Smith Lonnie Walker lV and Harry Giles should get minutes.
What is key is that one of Ben Simmons Mikal Bridges or Spencer Dinwiddie needs to be present during each quarter for the team to find its offensive flow….
This is a bigger question to Claude Doug and Adam. Does Dayron Sharpe have a long-term role on this team? Tonight he as well looked sloppy and didn't rebound as much as Brooklyn wants him to….
Harry Giles and Watford have each made a fair case to get backup center minutes. But does Sharpe deserve a chance or is that window for him closing?
Iām already convinced that Harry Giles should take Sharpeās minutes overallā¦Iām not seeing the defensive side of him whereas Giles only in one game showed that he can command a defensive presence down low while grabbing boards and he also looked good playing alongside Benā¦
Fouls have become real soft since Ben last played a full season in my opinion.
I'm glad to see that DDJ landed on a better roster than the Nets. It was good seeing him greet former playmates and coaches.
Hopefully, this game will serve as a wakeup call to those Nets fans that have an inflated view of how good we're going to be this season. Achieving chemistry and cohesion is a time consuming process and no amount of mixing and matching and turning the roster over thinking that's the solution to being successful will suffice. We have to put in the work.
Ben Simmons is still liability on offense. Heās getting paid too much to average a triple single. Only taking 8 shots and one free throw is ridiculous. Preseason is the time to showcase all of the things you worked on. Donāt be fooled itās same Ben. His offense hasnāt improved since his rookie season. If you think having a 6ā10 pg thatās scared to shot wonāt be problem your delusional. Must of the turnovers came from shots he was to scared to shoot.
Imagine losing KD, Kyrie, Harden, all your picks and all you have to show for it is Ben Simmons and Mikal Bridges ššš
Giles should play over Sharpe. He and Ben had a nice synergy with the passes and lobs last game
Its time for the Nets to really start looking for a potential trade for DFS and put dinwiddie in the second unit. Oānealle so far has been way better than DFS and one of them has to go.
Bens getting closer to scoring triple doubles.
The optics against the Sixers looked terrible. Spacing and rebounding were even worse than expected. To open up space especially when playing alongside Claxton, we need Ben to attack the rim, whether going downhill, or shooting a midrange or even occasional 3, at least twice as often as he did last night. You could see the Sixers not trying to defend him, but rather concentrate on intercepting his passes, and hence all the forced turn overs, and clogging up the paint. I will say it again, and I know a lot of nets fans don't like hearing it, but Claxton is not a good rebounder in particular when it comes to offensive rebounding. He just doesn't have the instincts to position himself in the right spot. I would take sharp over him any day for his rebounding and shooting. I would also invest a lot more time in Clowny that includes giving him play minutes. If we stay on this path, we would be lucky to make it to the play ins.
Nets played as well as your Internet performed Doug š©š©
The 76ers forced 27 turnovers for 35 points. The Nets loss the game in the 1st 5 minutes. They don't know each other. While they try to find an identity and chemistry, fans have to be patient.The growing pains are part of the process to making improvements.
First I wouldāve love to see Giles more, but Duggers most likely correct. He has an uphill battle since heās on an Exhibit 9 contract, and would have to bump someone who they give it a full contract to. I am not a big sharpe guy. I donāt find him to be that athletic and his length and versatility questionable.
Second, Iām not sure why Watford should be behind DFS in this rotation, since he basically are the same size and Watford can do more.
Third again I have the same frustrations that Doug has about certain veteran players blocking younger players on this roster, and it just seems to not make any sense whatsoever.
The problem is that offense JV trying to run other teams already know what we want to do. Go to the rim, get it done or layup or kick out for three easy simple If I'm wrong I believe can was the first one to take a mid-range shot The Lakers did the same thing. They just sat on everything
Why why why did the Nets sit Bridges? They know he's cherish and is known for is his attendance.