3 Takeaways from the Brooklyn Nets dreary loss to Orlando Magic

No Dennis Schroder, no surprises

The Orlando Magic didn’t give the Brooklyn Nets any sort of a discount tonight on Black Friday. Dropping this one 123-120, Brooklyn’s shorthandedness seemed to finally, finally catch up to them.

For team tank, that wait was like one where you’re sitting in a room before a dentist appointment. Your phone is dead and the magazine selection is nothing special. For those eager to get their hands on as many wins they can, it was like spending an extra day at a five star hotel on the house.

But no matter how you visualized Brooklyn’s three-game winning streak, you knew it would be ending relatively early tonight. After a 13-0 burst by Orlando to close the first half, the Magic never looked back. They carried a 20 point lead for almost the entire remaining portion of the game, making this a snoozer on par with all the tryptophan you consumed yesterday. Let’s get into it.

Lineup Fluidity is No Joke

The Brooklyn Nets proved themselves as equitable business partners when it comes to minute distribution tonight. On Wednesday, Tyrese Martin gave the Nets 30 points vs the Suns. Tonight, the Nets gave him the first start of his NBA career.

Martin proved himself serviceable under his newly promoted role, going for eight points while shooting 3-6 from the field and 2-4 from deep. He didn’t heat up to the level we saw him at in the Valley of the Sun, but he did enough to make you think his median temperature is still higher than we thought it was a week ago.

Whether or not Martin would have started had Dorian Finney-Smith, Cam Thomas, or any of the other usuals been healthy is an interesting hypothetical to ponder. It’s also something we’ll never know the answer to.

But frankly, it doesn’t matter, because they weren’t. Martin got the nod and although the Nets weren’t all that better for it on the scoreboard, they were in terms of fostering a competitive basketball environment.

The Nets made it clear to themselves and the league that there are no egos to protect here in Brooklyn. If you play well — you’ll get to play more often — no matter your name or contract. I have to imagine that will bode well for the Nets as they try to attract free agents this summer — if their fortune of cap space somehow isn’t enough. That’s an M.O. that should excite anyone who calls themself a competitive hooper.

Dennis Schröder, Cam Thomas are Important

After the Phoenix game, I wrote about how the Nets seemed to be playing a game of chicken with themselves, seeing just how long they could keep winning with key players out of the rotation. The metaphor I used was inching toward the side of a cliff.

Well, tonight the Magic hip-checked them off the side, and it was largely due to Cam Thomas and Dennis Schröder not being able to suit up.

Without their two main creators, Brooklyn’s offense struggled to generate good looks outside of the occasional Ben Simmons burst down the floor. After a West road trip that felt like a party, nothing was more sobering than the sight of 62 points sticking to the scoreboard for Brooklyn with roughly three minutes to play in the third.

“He’s very important. Head of the snake,” said Jalen Wilson of Schröder postgame. “Been that guy the entire year, whether he’s getting downhill and finding us or getting downhill and creating his own shot, all the different things he does. He’s very important, very important to how we play and to our team. Even if he’s not here, we still had to step up and have his back, but Dennis was someone that we always leaned on.”

But it wasn’t just the offensive creation that Brooklyn missed from Schröder and Thomas tonight, but rather the protection of it. The Nets turned it over 20 times tonight, beating their mess of a game in Philly a week ago for their most in a contest this season.

Fernández more or less said there’s no way to win when that happens after that game in Philly. He was right then, and again tonight.

We Need a Healthy Nic Claxton

While Nic Claxton isn’t exactly a creator, he’s shown flashes of being a capable scorer with his diverse skillset and touch around the rim. But tonight, and in most games recently, he hasn’t been either.

This evening, he contributed with just four points outside of garbage time while shooting 2-4 from the field. He’s averaging his fewest points per game since his sophomore season. He’s averaging his fewest field goal attempts, rebounds, and blocked shots since the 2021-22 campaign.

This likely isn’t Claxton’s fault, or isn’t totally his fault. Clax has missed five of the team’s last eight games, including the last two before tonight with “lower back injury management.” He’s likely pulling his punches to a certain degree. The Nets surely aren’t pressuring him to go full throttle either — knowing better than anyone not to play around with back injuries, especially those tied to expensive contracts.

But just like it was important for the Nets to have a healthy Ben Simmons last year, it’s important for them to have an aggressive Nic Claxton when Thomas and Schröder are out.

We didn’t see his fake dribble hand-off until there was less than two to play this evening — and it hasn’t been all that visible this season in general.

He hasn’t looked to rim run in transition nearly as often as he did last year either. Iso possessions in the paint haven’t been as common in the past, but they’ve always been efficient for the Nets. We were missing those too.

While getting Schröder back and later Thomas to help set him up will be key, Fernández said postgame that it all starts with his screening.

“Yeah, he had six shots,” said Fernández. “He rebounded well, two assists and two turnovers. I want that to go up. But his screening has got to be better if we play through him, but also, he’s got to set screens and roll. The angles of those screens — if this is a team that goes under and everything, what you have to do is set flatter screens and find better angles, and roll.”

Brooklyn’s next opponent will bring that same strategy to pick navigation…because Brooklyn’s next opponent is the same one they saw tonight. I guess we’ll just have to see how he adjusts.