The Brooklyn Nets (0-6) were hoping that after a few days off to recenter themselves that they would be in a better position to win their first game of the 2025-26 NBA season. Brooklyn’s latest chance to win their first game came against the Philadelphia 76ers (5-1) and unfortunately for the Nets, the 76ers didn’t need Joel Embiid or Paul George to win this game.

The Nets lost to the 76ers in embarrassing fashion on Sunday as they lost 129-105 in a game where Philadelphia led by as many as 28 points in the game. Guard Cam Thomas led the way for Brooklyn to the tune of 29 points while center Nic Claxton had arguably his best overall game of the season with 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

Despite the 76ers playing without the aforementioned Embiid or George, Philadelphia didn’t have a problem with scoring as they were led by Kelly Oubre Jr. and his 29 points. Brooklyn’s defense did not show up as they allowed the 76ers to shoot 52.1% from the field in what continues to be a troubling trend for the Nets’ defense. Here are three Nets takeaways from Sunday’s loss to the 76ers:

Can The Nets Figure Out The Point Guard Spot?

Coming into this season, it wouldn’t have been the most surprising prediction that the Nets would have trouble at the point guard position given that they essentially drafted three point guards from the 2025 NBA Draft class. After some shaky performances from Ben Saraf as the starting point guard, head coach Jordi Fernandez made a somewhat-surprising move by inserting Tyrese Martin into the starting lineup to replace Saraf.

In this loss, Martin did provide the stability and ball-handling that Fernandez has been looking for out of his point guards as he had four assists to two turnovers in 27 minutes, but it seems like the problem is persisting for Brooklyn. Martin did not score as he went 0-for-6 from the field, but the main point is that the move did not fix the Nets’ offense (43.3% from the field, 18.4% from three-point land) or its defense (Philadelphia shot 52.1% from the floor).

Terance Mann Is Stepping Up In Every Way

It’s hard to find positives for the Nets following a 24-point blowout that never seemed close at any point beyond the first quarter, but Mann is one of the players that has seemed to find his stride in recent games. Mann recently spoke about the fact that he was expecting to potentially have a bigger role for Brooklyn as the season went on following his conversations with Fernandez prior to the beginning of the season.

While the Nets are being led by Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. in terms of the offensive hierarchy, Mann has been producing on both ends of the floor in the midst of these blowout losses. Mann finished this contest with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals while shooting 7-of-9 from the floor and providing solid effort on the defensive end.

What About The Effort?

While the Nets came into this season projected to be one of the worst teams in the league, most pundits would have to admit that they did not expect Brooklyn to look this bad, at least with the veterans seeing rotation minutes. It was understandable to see players like Saraf and Egor Demin struggling as they learn the point guard position in the NBA, but the team has bigger problems than just the development/struggles of the younger players.

No matter what, it seems like Brooklyn cannot stop turning the ball over and more to the point, the effort has not been there for more than one quarter outside of the 117-112 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Fernandez even mentioned as much after the game about how the lack of effort is something that he has yet to figure out and that is troubling to see six games into the season.