3 Takeaways from Brooklyn Nets newest addition to stack of losses

Is this the low point? Probably not, unfortunately, but we’re close.

Well, we can’t watch the Nets’ 25-point comeback from 2019 against the Sacramento Kings forever.

Somehow almost seven years and three Brooklyn Nets “eras” later, the highlights from that game still finds their way into the backs of our minds or onto our social feeds anytime Brooklyn and Sacramento face off. I have no doubt in my mind the YES Network flashed some tonight and I can’t blame them either. The episode of Nets v Kings we got tonight was nowhere near as entertaining as that classic.

Honestly, you should’ve known it would be that way from the jump though.

But as we all know from the TV cart days in elementary school, you can learn a thing or two if you’re able to find it in yourself to pay attention when that thick Panasonic powers up, even if the program is boring as beans. Here’s what we gathered from another bone-dry L.

Claxton and Russell Finding Some Chemistry

Pinning Nic Claxton’s deficiencies on the Nets’ revolving door at the point guard spot won’t entirely hold up in Kings County Court this year. While there’s certainly some merit to that argument, there’s not enough evidence there, your honors, to excuse him averaging his fewest points per game since the 2021-22 season and posting a career-low field goal percentage.

We’ve seen Claxton score in isolation before, even at a notably high clip. That’s why its been so weird seeing him omit from doing that this year, where for the first time in his career, Brooklyn lacks the personnel to queue up anything better in the halfcourt.

Having said that, Claxton still stands to benefit from having a consistent presence at point guard. Tonight, he played his third in a week with D’Angelo Russell and it showed for a few moments.

While Claxton and Russell started things in reverse, with Clax feeding DLo on a run to the rim rather than the other way around, their collective play was anything but awkward, as the two looked on time and on task in the first.

Two plays after that one, Russell was there to find Claxton on the finishing end of a pick-and-roll. The two ended up assisting on each other’s buckets on three separate occasions for the night.

Unfortunately, the duo’s issues at the other end stunted production at this one not long after the first. Sacramento went up in the paint 42-28 midway through in the third and with Claxton picking up his fourth foul a few minutes before that, the game plan began to favor Day’Ron Sharpe. Claxton’s eventually put things to bed entirely.

But although this synergy from Russell and Claxton didn’t blossom all the way into a flower tonight, we can see things budding. Them figuring it out for a full 48 might not flip the tide of this season, but should give us some more digestible basketball.

Ziaire Has Defensive Chops

DeMar DeRozan may be past his prime but he remains one of this generation’s craftiest and purest scorers. Ziaire Williams, whose talent lies on the opposite side of the ball, had some nice sequences against him tonight.

Between the first and second quarters tonight, ZDub trailed DeRozan up and down the court, forcing either a pick up or turnover on three straight possessions. His 6’10” wingspan was his most valuable tool in doing so.

Jalen Wilson shared the DeRozan assignment with him as the game went on, as did Tosan Evbuomwan, who likely swiped a few extra minutes of court time tonight after his nine-point first quarter. Their fault or Williams’ Deebo still ended up going for 17 points on an efficient 7-of-11 from the field as the Kings rallied to beat the Nets.

But as another Big Z once preached from a golden mid 2000s animated flick, winning isn’t everything. That’s certainly the case for these Nets this year, so take solace in this latest sign of development.

Paint Remains an Issue

Brooklyn’s woes on the interior have been well-documented at this point, but their losing margin inside tonight is making me feel like a vampire looking at the Sun with how it’s burning through the box score.

The Nets lost there this evening by a 62-38 margin. Sacramento shot it inside by a 70.5 percent clip. Even though buckets are supposed to come easier in that area, that’s a rather astonishing number.

The average fan will probably look at this and charge Claxton as the primary subject of this statistical crime. Upon further detection, you can charge him as guilty, but not for that reason.

For the evening, Clax finished as a -20 while his backup Sharpe finished +6, being one of only two players to finish on the positive side of that stat. The eye test backs that up too, as Sharpe gave Domantas Sabonis trouble from time to time even while he waltzed his way to a 21/10/22 game. He also showed poised adjusting to drives and cuts around the cylinder for what I’m counting as a third straight game.

While plus/minus remains a very loose stat with several other factors baked into it other than a player’s impact, the paint was Brooklyn’s biggest weakness tonight (-24), the two guys who play primarily down there had a plus/minus difference of 26, and they Nets ultimately lost by 16. That’s too much smoke around the center spot to act like there was no fire there dictating the game’s result.

It’s worth noting Sharpe is also +0.2 per game for the season while Claxton is a team-worst -8.1. Even with the stat’s vague nature considered, we’re at a point in the season where that should mean something as well.

Exactly what is up for discussion, however. Brooklyn’s goal for the year remains developing its players, and even with Claxton now seen as a veteran, he’s surely still part of that. The calls for Sharpe to start over Claxton will be quiet for that reason, but if you want to see the paint defense tighten up, there are experiments to be done.