Egor Demin Posts CAREER-HIGH But Brooklyn Nets’ Defense PLUMMETS to historic low | Changes incoming?
On today’s show, Jaor Gyman sets a new careerhigh in points, but the Nets defense once again prevents them from picking up their second win. I’ll offer my top takeaways from Brooklyn’s loss to Toronto right now. You are Locked on Nets, your daily Brooklyn Nets podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Welcome in to Locked on Nets right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network. It’s your team, the Brooklyn Nets, every single day. I’m Eric Slater, Brooklyn Nets beat reporter for clutchpoints.com. Thank you for making me your first listen of the day. This show is 100% free on all those great platforms. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Head to fanduel.com to get started. And on today’s episode, the Nets fall 1119 109 to the Toronto Raptors at Barclay Center, dropping them to 1 and 10 on the season. So, I’m going to react to a bunch of different storylines from this game. But want to talk about Jagorman, but first need to get into what is the driving factor behind this loss and really all of the Nets losses this this season. and that is their poorest defense, which remains one of the worst in the league and frankly one of the worst in NBA history through 11 games. And really, it just comes down to the fact that the Nets can’t defend the paint whatsoever. They can’t score in the paint, but they also cannot defend the the paint. That has been the case all season, and it’s been extremely glaring during these last three losses to the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and now the Toronto Raptors. If you look at it for the season, the Nets are dead last in both points allowed in the paint and points scored in the paint. They’re allowing 41 per game. They’re, excuse me, they’re scoring 41 per game and allowing 59 per game. So that’s an 18 point differential every night in points in the paint. So that is you just can’t win like that. In these last three games, it’s been even more pronounced to really a historic level. Over the last three games, the Nets have been outscored 206 to 104 in points in the paint. Those are real numbers. Like I’m not being I’m not being hyperbolic or making those up. Real numbers 206 to 104 in points in the paint. And that is just unbelievable. It’s unbelievable to believe that the Nets competed in any of these games, which they really didn’t. I mean, the Pistons game and this Raptors game were close at points. They obviously got the doors blown off them by the Knicks. But you’re just not going to win games like that. There’s no way. The Nets don’t have the offense. Even if you have an elite offense, you’re not going to win games like that. And the Nets obviously are very far from an elite offense. So you you know ask the question like what is happening defensively? Why are the Nets allowing so many points in the paint? You could boil it down as simply to you know simply as just they don’t have good defenders and that is true. But you look at the scheme that the Nets are playing. They’re playing a very aggressive scheme. I’ve talked about it since the season started. They’re playing against pick and rolls. They’re playing at the level which means when the ball handler is coming off the screen that big man, the defending big man is right even with where the guy is setting the screen. So he’s up pretty high. It’s not a blitz or a hedge, but he’s up really high there. Sometimes the Nets are also just trapping the ball at half court. And when you do that, the rolling big man is going to is going to catch the ball coming downhill at an advantage. And then you need to rely on your low men, which are the guys rotating down by the basket to provide a lot of resistance there. And you need guys who understand timing. You need guys who are very motivated. And you also need guys who are very athletic. And the Nets just don’t have any of that. They’re really coming up short in all those areas. you look at this. I mean, when Nick Claxton is at the level or trapping, you know, guarding screens of high uh near half court, the low man who are rotating and trying to cover these rolling big men, it’s guys like Noah Clowney, MPJ, you know, Zire Williams, uh Terrence Man, whoever else you want to say, Drake Pal, like they’re just not guys for the most part who are equipped to be doing this. And they haven’t been there in terms of the communication, in terms of the want to, in terms of the explosive athleticism. the Nets are just lacking in all of those areas and they’re just getting gashed in the paint playing this defensive coverage. And I asked Jordy about it pregame, you know, if he was considering changing anything in this defensive coverage because of the historic amount of points Nets are allowing in the paint. And he pretty much said, “No, we’re not going to. We’re committed to this aggressive scheme.” But I want to show exactly what it said, what he said, because I think it was an interesting answer. So, got a video for you right now. It’s a good question. There’s no negotiables here. Ball pressure and being aggressive in pick and roll. You look at the top defenses like OKC and all those teams are able to execute multiple coverages, but for the most part they’re at the level and they pressure the ball. So, if you don’t want to do that, you’re probably not going to be able to play for the Nets because we’re going to, you know, be aggressive and as we grow, we’ll be able to execute multiple coverages. Right now, with our stage, uh, we’re going to stay with the basics, but there’s no excuses for not, uh, protecting the rim. I think that all the teams you can be able to be aggressive and also protect the rim. So there you have it. This is a scheme that Jordy is committed to and I’m not saying I disagree with it. I think in the long run that he’s right, but the Nets just don’t have the personnel to execute this scheme and it’s been clear from a comm from a communication standpoint, from a want to standpoint, even though I think the effort has gotten better of late from an athleticism standpoint, they just don’t have it and they’re just getting gashed in this scheme. But, you know, that raises the question of would a scheme change even do anything? And I’m not necessarily sure like if they started switching everything, might it be a little better? Maybe. But I’m not that confident because they really just don’t have any point of attack defenders on this team outside of I’d say Nick Claxton, you know, maybe Drake Pal. He’s he’s not there yet. He’s a good defender right now. I think he’s going to get a lot better, but he’s still a rookie. And then Claxton, if he switches, is a pretty good point of attack defender. But outside of that, you look at the guys who are guarding at the point of attack like Jagor Gman, Terrence Man, Zire Williams, whoever else you want to say. Like these guys are just not equipped to do it at a very high level. So if you change the scheme, you might be looking at a marginal improvement and I don’t really know if that’s worth it. Like Jord’s probably looking at it as I’m going to stick with this because this is the scheme I want to play long term. And whatever guys we have on the team right now that are going to be on the team long term are going to get more reps and get more comfortable and gain a better understanding doing this. And that’s worth more than making whatever change you make and having whatever marginal improvement, if there even would be a marginal improvement. And I agree with that thought process. And not all of these, you know, advantages that the Nets are giving up, all the points in the paint that they’re giving up are a product of the scheme. Like I said, they just can’t guard people at the point of attack. Like they just give up a ton of advantages off the dribble. And they also give up a lot of points in transition, a lot of second chance points. Just all around it is, you know, a disaster defensively. And I just I don’t really seeing improve it improving. And that’s why I did an episode last week saying the Nets defense is their greatest tank weapon because I just don’t really see a path to improving it drastically where it’s going to lead to them winning a lot of games or winning really any game. So that’s how what I’m seeing with the defense and Jordy is committed to this scheme and they’re going to play it moving forward and you know we’ll see if they can get any better but I’m not that hopeful. But we want to get to Jagor Gman is Jaor put together another very encouraging performance after Sunday’s win or Sunday’s loss over the Knicks that Jagor also played well in. But tonight career-high 16 points, had four rebounds, five assists to one turnover, which is really impressive against a Toronto Raptor squad with a lot of length and then he was 5’11 from the field, four of eight from three, played 27 minutes, was only a minus four. So really good performance from Jagor and he continues to take positive steps in the right direction. This is his third straight game starting. You know Cam Thomas obviously sideline Jagor’s getting a lot of onball reps and I think we saw a lot of positive aspects of his game and him just kind of stacking days stacking reps getting better. You look at in this one as I said five assists, one turnover. very impressive when he’s being pressured full court a lot of the time by guys like Scotty Scotty Barnes, RJ Barrett, you know, Grady Dick, whoever else you want to say. He looked really comfortable initiating offense and that is a massive positive. Next biggest positive, the three-point shooting, the three-point versatility. Jagor obviously was really cold. He started off hot, 71 from three, and then he had a stretch where he was three of 20 and he’s gotten back into a rhythm over these last three games. And now you look at the overall sample size. were 10 games in with Diego and he’s shooting 37.5% on five attempts per game. So that’s pretty high volume and that’s really good efficiency for a rookie. So that is a resounding positive because I said it Jaor shooting the ball it was not a guarantee. It was a you know big red flag with him after he shot 27% last year at BYU albeit on high volume. But him being able to do that and him looking like a legit shooter which he does right now a confident sniper who can make shots in a variety of ways that is extremely encouraging. And that should lend him, in my opinion, to having a good floor, especially when you talk about some of the other skills, which I’m going to get to. But looking at the three-point shooting in this game, I mean, Jaor hit two threes that I thought were really impressive. He hit one where uh Noah Clowny hit him on a skip pass. He hit, you know, a pump fake, sideep three, splashed, and then he had another one late in the shot clock where Michael Porter Jr. just had nothing going and was on the perimeter and threw Jaggor a grenade and Jagor kind of relocated through the baseline, curled around to the right wing, caught the ball, movement three, like squared his shoulders as he caught it and hit a three on the move as the shot clock expired. So the movement shooting, the shooting off the dribble, the catch and shoots, just all of it looks really good at this point and that is a resounding positive. and Jagger shooting with this kind of efficiency as a rookie over now a 10ame sample size on high volume extremely positive and I think it’s quelling a lot of concerns about what he is going to be as a player long term but also the stuff outside of the three-point shooting is improving like there was a lot of headlines about Jaor not attempting a two-point shot through five games and that obviously was very concerning and there still are very real concerns about what he can do on the ball as an advantage creator but it’s getting better slowly but surely it’s getting better he’s starting to go to the basket. We saw a rep in this game where he was kind of like it was kind of a semi-pick and roll. Not really too much of a screen set, but Scotty Barnes was guarding him and he gave him an opening and he took it really fast and he got downhill and he laid the ball down. We saw another one where Jaor drove baseline and he tried to dunk over Yaka Purle. So that is really positive because we know with Jaor like the aggressiveness, it’s just something we haven’t really seen. So him going downhill trying to dunk over somebody, he missed it. But that’s extremely positive and you want to just see more of that. You want to see more physicality. Also, there are still, you know, red flags about him. There are still concerns about him as a driver. He really can’t go by anybody. Like, he’s completely reliant on ball screens. And that was the case at BYU last last year. His pick and roll volume was just through the year through the roof last year. Like, he needs a pick to get by somebody. And that was, you know, the case. Like, you look at it this game. There were multiple reps where he’s getting a screen and he has a switch and he has Yakoba Purle on him and Yaka Purle does not look fast or graceful defensively by any means right now. He looked really sluggish in this game. And when Jaor gets a guy like Purle on him, I just want to see him try just try to go by him. Just do something like, you know, I know that he’s limited as you in terms of a first step. It’s not the most explosive in terms of having the tightest handle, but when you have a guy like that on you, you should be able to go by him or create some kind of advantage. And I just want to see him try. And there were a few possessions tonight where he had it and he didn’t really try and he just waited and one of them he ended up jacking up an extremely deep three late in the shot clock. Just try try to add some more things to your repertoire. That is going to need to improve. But in terms of the aggressiveness, the willingness to try to touch the paint, all of that is getting better and I talked to about it after the game and he said, “I’m continuing to try to do that. Every time I touch the paint, I feel like something good happens and we’re seeing him do it more and more. It’s still not where you want it to be. I mean, you look in this game and he took 11 shots, eight of them were threes. He was one of three on twos, but it’s a step in the right direction. Three two-point attempts in one game. One of them was a nice drive to the basket where he laid it in. Another one a dunk attempt. I think that you take those wins where you can with Jagger, especially when the shooting looks like it does. And the playmaking today, he had five assists. He could have had a lot more. He created some really good looks for his teammates. So, all of that with Jaor after a lot of people were sounding some alarm bells early in the season. I think that he’s continued to look better, especially since getting all all these reps, you know, without Cam Thomas in the lineup. And, you know, not going to turn this into a Cam Thomas thing, but Jagor said, we talked to him in the locker room after this game and he said, “It’s just about reps. You know, the more reps I get, the more comfortable I’m getting all of that.” So, with Cam out of the lineup, Jaor’s usage has just gone through the roof and it’s looking more and more positive, which with each game that passes against some good competition. So, really positive stuff from Jagor. We also got really good offensive performances from Nick Claxton and Noah Clowny in this one. And those are two guys who have continued, the arrow continues to point up offensively and there still are some serious concerns defensively. So, I’ll get into their performances and what fans should be looking for moving forward after a quick break. 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And want to hit on Nick Claxton and Noah Clowny, Brooklyn’s new look starting front court. But focusing on Nick, Nick turned in in another really high level offensive performance in this game. You look at what he did. He had 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two turnovers, was eight of 14 from the field and five of five from three. And Nick, I don’t think it’s a stretch. You know, Cam Thomas is out, but you know, if we’re taking Cam Thomas out of the equation, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Nick has been the Net’s best offensive player this season. There’s obviously Michael Porter Jr., but MPJ MPJ struggled in this one. He’s taking a lot of really hard shots. He’s not really creating too many opportunities from his for his teammates. And Nick’s stats just feel much more impactful. And he’s doing it he’s doing it extreme extremely efficiently. And we’ve talked to Jordy Fernandez about wanting to run his offense through some hub big men. And Nick is operating this offense right now at an extremely high level. You look at what Nick’s done over the last six games or the last seven games. He’s at 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists to 1.6 turnovers and shooting 62% from the field. So that is extremely elite offensive efficiency. I mean, in terms of he’s really improved as a driver. Like you look at offensive things that he’s added to his repertoire. He’s kind of dominating some opposing big men on drives to the basket this season. and he’s obviously a quicker dude because he’s a little bit slider. So, he’s going to have a speed advantage on some of these big men, but he’s adding some serious craft on drives to the rim. Like today, we’ve seen it all year when Nick gains an advantage. Whether he’s ghosting a dribble handoff, whether he’s just catching and going, whether it’s a crossover, he has this move now where he’s going to the basket and he goes to the del and he’s able to decelerate really good on his inside foot when he’s planning while going up for the layup. And as he’s doing that, he’s getting a lot of big men who aren’t as agile to fly by and hit him. And he’s gotten a lot of and ones out of that this year. So that’s been really positive. We saw a few times this season, he’s even broken out the Penoy step, which is the ball fake on the one two to try to get the defender in the air as you’re doing your one-two. So that’s been positive. Also gotten in some and ones. He had a rep today against uh Purle where he got the ball and he went between in between the legs to a hesy cross and really shook Purle and he went to a del when he didn’t have to but and he missed it. But just like the driving ability, the advantage creation and the finishing has all looked much improved this season. And then talking about just what he’s doing as a hub big men when they’re running some split actions or delay or whatever. You’re getting MPJ on these back door cuts. You’re getting shooters spacing out. He’s operating at a really high level. I said over the last seven games, 4.3 assists to 1.6 turnovers. Like that’s that’s just really improved stuff from Nick and he’s doing it at a really high level. And I think that, you know, you’re really seeing a lot of these things start to come, you know, kind of come into focus and kind of mesh together with Nick and we talked to Jordy Fernandez about it and he said that the work that Nick has put in has been a real positive. Now, there are concerns defensively, which I’m going to get to in a minute, but I also want to talk about Noah Clown’s offensive performance before talking about them as a duo defensively. Noah put together another good offensive performance in this one. He had 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, was four of nine from the field and 207 from three, but eight of nine from the free throw line. And like Nick, Noah is really improved as a driver this season. And that’s even more noteworthy in my opinion because Noah was a guy who we had serious questions about of whether he would be able to do anything outside of three-point shooting and outside of being a spot up three-point shooter. And he was extremely limited, extremely reliant on the three-point shot. And he still is very three-point dominant, but in this one, we’re seeing him go to the basket a lot more and do it a lot at a much higher level. And I think a lot of that is you’re really seeing the added bulk that we talked about this off season. you’re really seeing that pay off because Noah is a guy who he’s obviously not a high level ball handler. He’s not very, you know, twitchy or have he doesn’t have a lot of shake. So, he doesn’t have these fluid or crafty moves as a ball handler. His avenues to creating advantages are attacking closeouts because people do respect him as a three-point shooter and then also creating space in the lane using bumps. And this is something we talked about during the offseason. Noah’s ability to play off two feet. In order to do that, you got to be able to create space on bumps in the lane. And we’re seeing that with Noah with that added weight that he added to his upper body. When he gets downhill, he’s creating a lot of space. There were multiple plays today where he put his shoulder into Colin Murray Boils’s chest, who’s a very bulky, strong dude, and he created two, three, four feet of space to either go up to the rim and get fouled or find his teammates on some skip passes or cuts or other things. So all of that is really positive. And we’re seeing Noah, I think, take serious strides as a driver, as a decision maker offensively, as a finisher, all of that. So really great to see and something that I was really concerned about last season and entering this year and, you know, him taking some really positive steps. Now, the caveat with this is the defense from Nick Claxton and Noah Clowny. It just needs to get better. Like there’s just not enough aggression or activity from either of these guys. If you’re talking about Nick, I said in this scheme, he’s playing at the level a lot, which pulls him away from the rim. And you know, his job in that is really to play at the level, not commit too far up the court, and then recover down to the paint. That takes a lot of effort, a lot of movement, but it does, you know, pull him away from the rim. And I asked him about the scheme after the game. And with the Nets allowing all these points in the paint, what can he do better? And what can they they do better as a group? And he kind of gave me a non-answer like we just need to be be better on the low man. He did say that, you know, I want to be in the paint. I want to be a guy that, you know, can contest shots and that they have to shoot over. And, you know, he said that and that’s obviously not the case in this scheme. And it’s not a secret. Nick doesn’t like this scheme. Like, it’s very clear that he doesn’t like this scheme. I think if Nick had his way, he wants to be switching, you know, as he did. He said that to us early this season. He said that he thinks that, you know, that’s his greatest skill. And he even said he thinks that’s the reason that he got paid was his ability to switch. Mets aren’t doing that as much and they’re really playing with him as at the level and pulling him away from the rim and he doesn’t like that. But still, he can do more. Like there are plays where you just see there’s like one play every once in a while where he’ll be at the level, he’ll recover or he’ll close out and he’ll recover. He’ll get a block or a steal. Like he’ll close out, force a drive, recover, get a block or a steal. And it’s just like those multiple effort plays. Nick is capable of it, but I think it takes a lot of effort, you know, throughout the whole game. And with what he’s doing offensively, that can be tough. But we’re going to need to see more from Nick defensively. And then just as a defensive rebounder, Nick has not been good this season. And that is really, you know, just overall the Nets whole Nets team hasn’t been good. And that’s another area where he needs to get better. And in Noah’s case, I said the Nets need to be better, you know, as lowman rotating in this scheme. And Noah is the low man a lot. And it hasn’t looked good. It was better today, but in the Detroit games and the New York games, and even this game, it wasn’t at that high of a level. He needs to get better doing that. But I’m just not that sure how much better he’s going to get because he just has limitations there. Like he’s not the bulkiest guy. And usually when you’re not that bulky of a guy, it’s an advantage because you’re faster or more athletic. And on the defensive end of the floor, Noah just doesn’t look very quick or fast. And he doesn’t look very explosive. Like when he’s the low man, he’s lacking in the bulk department and he’s also lacking in the explosiveness. like he’s not getting up and blocking a lot of shots or contesting a lot of shots or being a real hindrance to a lot more of the high level big men. It was better today because Yaka Purle frankly looked terrible in this game. When you’re talking about guys like Jaylen Duran or Mitchell Robinson or Carl Anthony Towns, he really hasn’t been able to make an impact in that regard. And also guarding on the perimeter, there’s just too many plays where he’s giving up advantages or he’s falling asleep. So this Net’s defense needs to be better and it starts with this front court of Noah Clowney and Nick Claxton. They’re going to need much more from these guys. And then also Michael Porter Jr. like he struggled offensively in this game. And I’m not going to beat a dead horse, but the defensive effort is just abysmal. So they’re going to need more from Nick Clax and Noah Clowny to make up for MPJ and then also make up for the lack of athleticism and the lack of highle point of attack defenders they have. And it’s a lot to ask, but those guys are two guys who I think can do a lot more defensively. We also saw in this game Danny Wolf was a real candidate to get the first meaningful minutes of his NBA career. He got called up from the G- League for this one. Dron Sharp was out with the glute contusion and yet Danny Wolf remained on remained on the bench as did Benth. Why was that? What I what did I think of those moves? I’ll get to all that when I close out Lockd on Nets after a quick break. Guys, if you’re still overpaying for wireless, it’s time to say yes to saying no. At Mint Mobile, their favorite word is no. No contracts, no monthly bills, no overages, no hidden fees, no BS. I said yes to making the switch and getting premium wireless for just $15 a month. Mint makes it simple. All plans come with high-speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation nation’s largest 5G network. You can even bring your own phone and keep your same number and contacts. Guys, I love that you’re getting the same quality service you had before, but for a fraction of the price. The setup is super easy. You keep your number and then you’re running in minutes. Ready to say yes to saying no? 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Hopefully he can provide some exciting moments. And yet Danny remains glued to the bench. He does not play until 2 minutes left in the game in garbage time. Ben Saraf, same thing. And I was pretty surprised by it. I thought that Danny was going to get some burn in this game. And I asked Jordy Fernandez why he did not play Danny and why he opted to go playing Noah Clowny extended minutes and playing him as the center with the second unit. And Jordy kind of gave me a non-answer. He said, “Noah’s got the experience right now.” He did say the opportunities will come for everybody, but he said it’s his decision and he’s gone with Noah because he knows what he gets from Noah and you know that’s pretty much it. So, I don’t really understand it. I would like to see, you know, I would have liked to see Danny get some minutes in this game. He’s a rookie. I’ve said it numerous times. He’s a rookie, but he’s not like these other rookies who are 19 years old. He’s 21 years old. He’s also he’s actually older than Noah Clowney right now. So, you’d like to see him get some minutes. And in a game where uh Dron Sharp is not playing, you would think that they would want another center option in there, but they opted to go with Noah. You know, I watched some of Danny’s games in Long Island. He posted double doubles in his first two G-League games. And offensively, it looked good. Like the first game was a little bit of a struggle. The second game he had 25 points, shot 50% from the field. Looked a lot better. The defense didn’t look good. Like he had some pretty big struggles, but he’s also playing on a G-League team like it’s their first games. It’s not a ton of structure. And frankly, like how worried are you about defense? How much worse can defense get? The defense is abysmal right now. So, I don’t understand. Like, I think Danny is going to get NBA opportunities. I don’t really have a doubt about that throughout the season. I just think this was a pretty clear spot where he should have been getting some opportunities. And same thing with Ben Saraf, honestly. Like, Ben played those five games. Uh, he started those five games at point guard for the Nets the first five of the years. and he obviously had his struggles, but he showed some flashes and he look he looked good in the first two G-League appearances and like just with Danny and Ben together just not playing in this game. You look at it like you have four guys in Terrence man, Zire Williams, uh Jaylen Wilson and Tyrese Martin who are getting a lot of minutes. Like Terrence played 32 minutes in this game, Zire played 17, Jaylen played 16, and Tyrese Martin played 14. And it’s just like it’s kind of hard for me to see those guys combine for, you know, 90 whatever minutes or however much that is and, you know, watch Danny Wolf and Ben Shroth, these Nets rookie first round picks on the bench because like Terrence, Zire, Jaylen, Tyrese, none of those guys are going to be long-term pieces for this team. Like I like them. I think all of them, you know, work hard. They’re good guys. I think they have some positive aspects to their game, but none of them are going to be long-term pieces. None of them are going to be like rotation caliber pieces in a playoff caliber rotation or on a playoff caliber team. Maybe Zire and even him most likely not because he’s just so limited outside of his three-point shooting and he’s not really even a good three he’s an okay three-point shooter I guess you could say at this point he was 0 of eight from this game. He’s 10 of 41 over his last six games. Just I don’t get why we’re seeing all of these guys get minutes and we’re seeing Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf on the bench in a game like this. I I mean I get it because Jord’s trying to do what he can to let this team compete and give them the best chance to compete. And might those guys be better, you know, suited to give this team a chance to compete than some of those other guys like Danny Wolf or Ben Saraf? Sure. But I don’t think the difference is like monumental. And these guys are not going to be long-term pieces. And I think we’re going to continue to see this throughout the beginning of the season. But sooner rather than later, you’re going to have to see more of these rookies get in the rotation and more of these rookies get opportunities. And I think that, you know, when it’s coming at the expense of guys like Terrence Man or Zire Williams or Jaylen Wilson or Tyrese Martin, like it’s really not that big of a deal or not that big of a detriment because honestly like the Nets were in this game for stretches like the the P uh the Raptors pulled away at the end, but like a lot of these games aren’t competitive anyway. So, you might as well just give Ben Saraf, give Danny Wolf, give some of these guys some opportunities. And I think Jordy will. It might just take a little bit longer than some fans want it to. But that’s all I have for today’s episode of Locked on Nets. Hope you guys enjoyed the show. If you guys do not already, make sure to subscribe to Locked on Nets on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast, whether Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you enjoy the content, take one second right now, smash that like button, leave a comment, leave a fivestar review. Anything you can do to engage is much appreciated. The Nets are hitting the road and they’re going to return back home next week. So, I’ll have coverage of all that and more when I’m back tomorrow talking more Brooklyn Nets basketball.
Erik Slater reacts to the Brooklyn Nets’ 119-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors, diving into the team’s defensive struggles, Egor Demin’s encouraging performance, Nic Claxton and Noah Clowney’s development, and the lack of playing time for several rookies.
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17 comments
What has stood out to you about Egor Demin's offensive performance and the Nets' defensive struggles thus far?
Why call back up Saraf and Wolf from the G League if Jordi going to play them 2 minutes? Especially Wolf, considering DayRon is out 🤦‍♂️
Egor looks more comfortable each game
Egor’s handle really isn’t the problem, it’s more of his lack of speed and strength. He just gets knocked off his spot too easily but it’s expected at his age and current weight of 190 pounds. Once he gets stronger, his offense going to expand big time. Otherwise very good game from him
@LockedOnNets why do you think it is that Wolf doesn’t get any minutes but garbage time? Every other player on this roster has gotten regular rotation minutes at some point except him. It can’t be because Jordi thinks he’s not ready when every other rookie at some point has played 20 min in atleast one game including Traore who is the least prepared out of all of them. Daron Sharpe averages 15 min per game right now so we were expecting to see him get minutes somewhere around there
Nets should cut Wilson and Martin so Jordi has no choice but to play saraf and wolf
Egor did two 360s on defense yesterday. His close-outs are really bad.
I’m sorry cam Thomas can’t be allowed to come back and dominate the rock. Trade him
You guys wanted this I did not. I never agreed to it. There's no one to blame but the fans who wanted this.
Man i know every nets fans is cheering for the team to lose….but man I hate seeing us lose….
Shoulda drafted Derick Queen
Egor can’t dribble or get past anyone how’s he supposed to be our pg
we need the playmaking of dwolf at the 4, but jordi still playing tyrese martin and etiene
I like how you incorporated the Jordi video into the show. Nice.
I think you're being hard on these guys you do know they're rookies right? all I'm saying is give them a chance
I really don't know what to make of Egor or what The Nets envision of him. He was sold to us as a Big Playmaker, but it seems he's better off the ball as a shooter, and that's what they wanted. They were better off getting your typical 3&D Wing. Not a slow-footed wing, mid defender with a questionable 3-point shot.
Egor is not your 1st or 2nd option, and I don't know if he's a 3rd option. What is Egor's role on a competitive team?
I was always taught you can teach defense… can you? Apparently, no one has even thought of teaching defense to Micheal Porter Jr. not a lick. Every starter is new except Clax and he’s been spotty. So… this is going to be a really long season.