3 Takeaways from Brooklyn Nets hard fought loss vs Miami Heat

When 2024 reminds you of 1984 (the book) and wins are losses and losses are wins.

At the peak of the season of giving, the Brooklyn Nets are finally giving their fans what they want, right?

The Nets fell last night to the Miami Heat by a 110-95 score. The contest, featuring several thrilling, yet ultimately unsuccessful comeback attempts, was far closer than what the scoreboard argues. It also featured some surprising play from the team’s youngsters, all-in-all making it a tanker’s delight being a watchable basketball product that still had a Flagg-favorable result.

Brooklyn is now in line for the eighth pick via Tankathon, but we know the ping pong balls will ultimately decide their fate. For now, all we can do is watch, subtly cheer, and hope to see improvement — but you know, not too much so that the team actually wins games. Or at least, that’s the plan. In doing so last night, here’s what we learned.

Fast Break is a Mixed Bag

Basketball teams without enough skilled players to strum up a properly-tuned halfcourt offense often spam the fast break like a degenerate on a slot machine. Struggling to get productive play from Spencer Dinwiddie and Ben Simmons last year, the Nets pulled that trigger over and over again last year.

This season, it’s seemed like a worthwhile pursuit ever since Dennis Schröder, the conductor of almost all things offensively for Brooklyn, went off to Golden State. Unable to beat defenses toe-to-toe, trying to catch them by surprise has been their best option.

But last night, that “get out and run” strategy was like a double-edged sword, and a sharp one at that.

More often than not in the first half, the Nets looked like a person going too fast down the stairs before rolling into an all-out tumble. The hustle was there, but the poise wasn’t, as the Nets oftentimes threw the ball too far ahead of each other or bolted down the floor without enough control to gather themselves and set up a shot.

In fairness, it got better as the game went on, bringing us to the outward side of the blade. Brooklyn cut down their turnovers each quarter from five, to four, to three, and three again. The second period also saw the Nets generate 10 of their 19 fast break points. They found their footing and in turn, kept stride with Miami’s far more efficient offensive attack.

It’s worth noting that those 19 transition points clocked in as Brooklyn’s most in a losing effort all season. It was also their most since they sent Schröder packing.

The Nets likely don’t start the game two touchdowns behind had they not played with fast break fire here. But that same heat (pun intended) that burned them early is also what cooked up their initial comeback effort — and gave us our most entertaining chapter of the game.

At this point, Brooklyn’s transition offense is a chaotic force that could give us something different every quarter and every night. Take that as you will.

Tyrese Loves the High Temps

There’s just something about Tyrese Martin and warm weather states — especially when it comes to the three-ball. The two-way guard, who was only officially made available for today’s game a few hours before tipoff, had it going in South Beach, finishing with 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench.

Although his pre-Christmas performance wasn’t as high caliber as his pre-Thanksgiving one, it surely was enough to give any Phoenix Suns fans who found their way to the Nets broadcast some PTSD. Martin shot 4-of-5 from deep and 5-of-7 from the field, splashing his catch-and-shoot looks as well as a few well-defended ones he simply had to green.

Martin also brought enough grit to rival those flashy finishes. He was instrumental in keeping the Heat within striking distance during the third even as Miami shot the ball at a clip nearly 10% higher clip than them in the frame. Martin was often first to the floor or sideline for 50/50 balls. He also poked away two steals, grabbed an offensive rebound, and played a role in tightening up the transition attack.

Whether or not this equates to more playing time going forward like his flamethrower evening in Phoenix did remains to be seen. But the Nets have now played two games between the tropics and desert — and Martin has balled out in both. It could be fun to take this experiment further and give him some extra burn the next time they venture south again.

Clowney Growth is Legit

For years now we’ve been waiting to see Cam Thomas start passing out of doubles or the aggressive closeouts which his shot-making skills understandably warrant. Thankfully, we’ve gotten a decent dosage of that so far this year. A good sign!

But now, with him out, Noah Clowney is picking up where he left off. While the versatile big man wasn’t out there splashing grenade threes or hitting spin-around fadeaways last night, he was spraying Miami from deep, shooting 4-10 from three in what was arguably his best game of the season.

As a result, the defense began keying in on him as the game progressed, even a bit too much on a few occasions. Thereafter, Clowney flashed that secondary level of growth you like to see from any shot-maker — adjusting around the defensive pressure to either find the right look for yourself or a teammate.

Clowney finished the game with just one assist to go with his 19 points and five boards, but the dime he dropped toward the end of the game illustrated exactly that.

Clowney, having logged just 43 games in his career now, is undoubtedly a long way from drawing defensive attention every night and leveraging it a la Jayson Tatum or Luka Doncic. But when he puts it all together on one night like he did Monday, it’s hard to not marvel at.

The ‘Bama product also enjoyed a solid night as a screener, especially working in the two-man game with Ben Simmons. Neither Sharpe nor Claxton found their groove, shooting a collective 4-of-16 from the field. But Clowney, again leveraging his gravity as a shooter and using his speed to slip out of his screens undetected made him the go-to big down the stretch for the Nets.

Jordi Fernández agreed, rolling with Claxton down this game’s stretch before it boiled into garbage time. Of course, the Nets let go of the rope late last night with Miami outscoring them by 10 in the fourth. Of course, much of that had little to do with Clowney, and Fernández’s vote of confidence in him which also speaks to his growth. All in all, this game amounted to a nice find under the tree for the many Nets fans more focused on the team’s future than the present this season. No pun intended, this time.