In the Nets' abysmal loss to the Pelicans to open the 2022-23 season, they barely looked like a playoff team, let alone a title contender. For Brooklyn's sake, it's a good thing champions aren't crowned on the first night of the season.
Two nights after getting run out of their own gym, the Nets welcomed in a pesky Raptors team for yet another tough early-season test. It might not have passed with flying colors, but Brooklyn did provide a glimpse of its scary potential in a 109-105 win over Toronto on a night where both teams traded runs.
Brooklyn righted a number of wrongs from opening night, benefited from its star duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and enjoyed some key contributions in the margins, all of which bode well for the franchise moving forward.
Star power
Even on a night in which he misses seven of his first nine shot attempts, Durant will find a way to make you pay.
After that cold start, KD made the second half his, scoring 16 points on tidy 5-of-8 shooting to finish with 27 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Why is this important? After Durant looked mortal against the Celtics during last year's playoffs, it seemed that there could be regression, or that frustrating him with defensive schemes is the first key to defeating Brooklyn.
Not quite.
Against a team with lengthy perimeter defenders like O.G. Anunoby, Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam, among others, Durant got himself out of the mini-slump. There's not really any defense for this:
And if you want to talk unguardable, Irving, who exemplifies better offense beating good defense, put his ability to make tough shots on display. This is just one example:
Pullin' up pic.twitter.com/MJZx1ozOtw
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 22, 2022
One of those stars is enough to deal with, but when both are clicking? Good luck. Irving bounced back from an awful shooting night (6 of 19) on opening night to connect on 11 of his 24 attempts against Toronto. And he was one of many to bounce back.
Righting the wrongs
Brooklyn had a rather impressive response to the biggest issues that arose against New Orleans.
After getting outrebounded 61-39 and giving up 21 offensive rebounds on Wednesday, the Nets won the rebounding battle Friday 44-41 and gave up just eight offensive boards to the Raptors.
The Raptors might not possess the same size as the Pelicans, but Brooklyn's focus on the boards illustrates a resolve and focus to work on an issue that could cripple the team during the season. That mentality is more important than anything.
After not appearing connected to open the season, the Nets had a response to each of the Raptors' runs, ultimately holding Toronto off with clutch shots down the stretch. A team with Brooklyn's talent and that much resolve has the potential to be a problem for the league.
It's something to build on.
Key contributors
It wasn't Durant or Irving, but Royce O'Neale who sank the dagger to put away the Raptors on Friday. O'Neale's bucket with 15.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter was made possible by the attention given to Durant and Irving, but the fact that he stepped up to drain the shot is worth focusing on.
BIG @BucketsONeale00 pic.twitter.com/rwbAVaIwfd
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 22, 2022
Look back to any of the league's past champions and contenders: there were reliable role players who could step up in big moments when called upon. This Nets team has a number of players capable of doing that:
- O'Neale is a savvy defender capable of hitting a big shot.
- Patty Mills brings veteran leadership and a championship pedigree off the bench.
- Joe Harris is a sharpshooter.
- Markieff Morris provide toughness and defense.
- TJ Warren can provide instant offense.
It could be any of those five on a given night — it happened to be O'Neale and Mills on Friday.
Just as we were ready to write Brooklyn off after one game, it's important not to crown the team when 80 games remain in the season. But what it displayed in its response to a disappointing outing is, again, something to build on and a reminder of why the league remains on notice.
