The Nets leaned on a jumbo lineup of Egor Dëmin, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney, Danny Wolf and Nic Claxton down the stretch of Monday’s 116–103 win over the Charlotte Hornets, a group with an average height of 6-10.
While the sample was small, head coach Jordi Fernández may have captured lightning in a bottle with this group. They posted an offensive rating of 128.6 and a defensive rating of 76.9, and Brooklyn outscored the Hornets 18–8 during their stretch. The Nets won the quarter 28–21, shot nearly 12% better from the field, controlled the glass by six and doubled Charlotte in paint points.
It was their most dominant defensive window of the night, and the offense flowed naturally with Dëmin, Wolf and Claxton connecting actions and Porter and Clowney cutting, finishing and spacing. The Hornets struggled to generate anything clean against the sheer length on the floor; drives died in crowds, passing lanes collapsed, and Charlotte managed just two made 3sin the quarter while missing a string of contested attempts at the rim.
On the other end, Brooklyn’s size didn’t take up spacing the way traditional jumbo lineups sometimes do. Instead, the Nets leaned into concepts (delay actions, elbow touches, wedge screens) rather than a single creator. That allowed Dëmin to play as a connector rather than a pure initiator. It also empowered Porter, whose blend of cutting and movement shooting looked even more dangerous when opponents were preoccupied with Wolf diving to the rim or Claxton lurking behind the play.
“Coming from Denver with the best passing big man in existence, it’s fun coming over here and playing with guys who can also run similar offense, and we can run similar reads and passes,” Porter said. “I think with Clax and [DayRon Sharpe] and Wolf, all these guys are really good at making reads. If I go backdoor, they’re going to find me. If I come to the ball, they’re good at handing the ball off and getting a good screen.”
But the subtle engine behind the lineup’s success was Wolf. His processing speed kept the group out of stagnation despite the absence of a second guard. When Dëmin gave the ball up, Wolf ensured it didn’t stick. When Porter curled into the lane, Wolf shifted into a dribble-handoff. When Clowney spaced in the corner, Wolf slid into the dunker spot.
“He has a really good feel for the game,” Claxton said. “He can pass, he can handle, he can shoot. We saw that he can shoot with some good percentages and he has a lot of confidence. That’s going to translate very well in the league and for us this year.”
That blend of decision-making and versatility allowed the Nets to play big without sacrificing flow. And with Dëmin as the only true ball handler on the floor, Wolf’s ability to serve as a release valve, someone who can make the next pass, initiate a handoff or create an advantage without needing to dribble, became essential. If this jumbo look becomes a real tool in Fernández’s pocket, it will be because Wolf turns its size from a gimmick into an actual structure.
“I give Danny a lot of credit because you’re sitting in the third quarter, played zero minutes in the third, and then he played 12 straight in the fourth and he helped us with his ball handling,” Fernández said. “We were playing well and we were rolling with him.”