In a season that seems to have grit, high-effort, or “going the extra mile” as its theme so far, it was only right for the Brooklyn Nets to cap off their first road trip of the year with a comeback victory tonight in New Orleans.
While the Pelicans entered this one rather bruised up, suffering injuries to CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson, and legendary hypothetical Net Dejounte Murray, they still presented the Nets with a daunting task to begin the work week. Brooklyn lost three of their last four vs New Orleans before tonight — all of which came in blowout fashion.
But with their trademark tenacity, a boatload of threes, and a favorable no-call on a late jump ball, the Nets got it done. Ziaire Williams also got his first start as a Net. Noah Clowney had a career-night and Cam Thomas was a 6’3” sleeping giant who woke up at just the right time. Here’s what else went down.
Ben off the Bench has Promise
Ben Simmons came into this season with 332 NBA games under his belt — starting all but a dozen of them. Now counting tonight’s contest and its predecessor, he’s inflated that number to 14, and the results argue that it should continue to grow.
We last saw Simmons against Boston, as he sat out the back-to-back vs Cleveland. In Beantown, he finished with eight points, eight assists, and six boards while putting up six shots — his most in a game all season. Jordi Fernández has repeatedly voiced a desire for Ben10 to increase his field goal attempts, so while that’s still a modest stat line, it represented a step in the right direction.
There were more taken tonight. After coming into the game at the six and half minute mark of the first, Simmons led the Nets on a 21-12 run that gave them a lead going into the second frame. He notched 10 assists at the half, tying a singular half record for himself as a Net, finishing with six points, 12 dimes, five rebounds, two steals, and three turnovers. He took five shots and finished as a +8 for the game.
So what’s the differentiator here between his production off the bench and as a starter? I’ll give you two reasons — one from a new school and one from an old school basketball approach.
For you basketball modernists, it’s easy math, and probably an equation you’re already familiar with. Simmons coming off the bench means he plays less with Claxton, improving the spacing around him, and making it easier for him to play his brand of ball. With him working adjacent to Clowney rather than Clax, it opens up more passing lanes for cutters and shooters. There’s also more room for Ben to operate on the drive and put pressure on the rim. That last thing might just be wishful thinking at this point — but hopefully you get the idea.
From the eye test perspective, Simmons simply seems to have an extra layer of chemistry with a handful of players that are more likely to play with him off the bench than as a starter. The most notable one tonight was Jalen Wilson, who often plays as Brooklyn’s seventh or eighth man.
I mentioned on Saturday that although Jordi Fernández opting to bring Simmons off the bench is the right move for the Nets, it’s also one that makes Day’Ron Sharpe’s role on this team difficult to define. That’s still the case today, but for one reason or another, Brooklyn’s biggest problem for almost two years now has been their inability to get significant production from Ben Simmons. The Nets should be glad to take this from him now no matter the cost.
Fast Break Still Not There
With New Orleans harboring a handful of injuries and consequently a shortened rotation, it would have worked to Brooklyn’s advantage tonight to test their opponents’ legs. Whether by design or not, they declined to nonetheless, generating just six transition points.
But while exploiting this weakness for the Pelicans would have been sensible for the Nets, it shouldn’t come as a major shock that they didn’t. It’s a small sample size, but so far this year, Brooklyn ranks second last in the league in transition points per game, trailing only the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It’s fine to call this stat a curious one given Brooklyn’s emphasis on conditioning going into the season, but it shouldn’t be a confusing one if you’ve continued to listen to Fernández throughout the year.
Although the Nets indeed prioritize hustle, they also play rather conservatively when it comes to forcing live-ball turnovers, which remains the easiest way to start a fast break in the league.
“We’re a ball pressure team, but we’re not a gambling team,” Fernández said pregame today. “So I don’t want my players to go for steals. A lot of times you play against very good offensive teams like we’ve played. So you do your job with your ball pressure, but you know, one is creating events, creating turnovers because of your ball pressure, and the other one is you trying to gamble. So we don’t want to do that.”
Gambling, going for steals, whatever you want to call it, the Nets held back tonight, forcing a moderate 11 turnovers. You can’t argue with the process, as the Nets came away with the dub, but this will be something interesting to follow as the season moves forward given the thin line between hustle and hazard.
Never Out of it with CT
If this game felt a bit hollow to you going into its final frame, that’s probably because it lacked a Cam Thomas god-level moment for so long.
It was still a rather modest game for the Bayou Bucket in the box score, as Thomas finished with 17 points after shooting 6-10 from the field. However, Thomas came through with 10 of those in the fourth, including his last three, which felt like they counted a bit more than the rest.
Whether his fault or not, most late game moments involving Thomas over the past year and a half haven’t ended well for him or Brooklyn. Most recently, we saw a would-be memorable closing performance from him painted over by a Denver Nuggets W after Nikola Jokic and company coasted to an overtime win a few minutes after Thomas hit two unbelievably difficult shots that gave his team a lead with under a minute to go.
This shot, however, gets to be enjoyed by Nets fans in full capacity. Even if Fernández tried to call a timeout before it, or even if some of you would have preferred he miss it in favor of the tank, it was a reminder that with Cam Thomas, some buckets are almost always going to come, and with that, a chance to win.
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