The Brooklyn Nets (1-11) have already experience some tough losses this season as they are dealing with the trials and tribulations of fielding such a young team. Brooklyn had a chance to get their second win of the season against an Orlando Magic (7-6) that was missing one of its best players in forward Paolo Banchero, but the Nets froze up down the stretch of a close game.
The Nets lost at the Magic 105-98 despite this game being a back-and-forth kind of affair until the last few minutes of the game when Brooklyn wasn’t able to keep up. Forward Michael Porter Jr. had arguably his best game of the season to the tune of 24 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists while forward Ziaire Williams was huge off the bench with 15 points and three steals.
Despite the fact that the Magic did not have Banchero, forward Franz Wagner stepped up for his team as he put up 25 points, six rebounds, and five assists while forward Tristan da Silva dropped 22 points and nine rebounds of his own while filling in for Banchero. The Nets are now 0-2 in NBA Cup play so it seems like that may not be a possibility for them either so here are three takeaways from Friday’s loss at the Magic:
Michael Porter Jr.’s All-Around Effort
Porter has been asked to carry the offense in the wake of Cam Thomas’ hamstring injury and while the former Missouri Tiger has met the challenge, it’s important to acknowledge how much impact he had in this contest. Porter is well on his way to having a career season in terms of scoring, but his rebounding (11) and passing (7 assists) was key for the Nets to be competitive in this game until deep in the fourth quarter.
Ziaire Williams’ Needed Bench Performance
With rookie Egor Demin and forward Noah Clowney struggling to shoot the ball over the course of this contest, Brooklyn needed someone to step up off the bench and that happened to be Williams. Williams had been in a shooting slump over the past few games, but his outing against the Magic showed what he could be for this Nets team if he is able to be a more consistent shooter to pair with his solid perimeter defense.
Fourth Quarter Woes
While the Nets have plenty of flaws that contribute to the team losing games, it’s clear that the fourth quarter is one of the weakest areas of the team as they seem to tense up towards the end of close games. Orlando won the final period by 10 points and that included stretches where Brooklyn was unable to generate consistency on either end of the floor, especially in the final minutes.