Brooklyn Nets lose disgusting game to Phoenix Suns, 108-84

Another one down, another loss closer to better lottery odds. Kevin Durant’s Nets tenure is but a distant memory by now.

The Brooklyn Nets hope you enjoyed their feisty, Tuesday night loss to their cross-river rival, the New York Knicks, on national television. Because Wednesday night would be a return to eye-bleeding basketball.

D’Angelo Russell was out with injury management, dealing with left hammy tightness with Brooklyn on the second night of a back-to-back, and Cam Johnson jammed up his ankle again on Tuesday night. No Cam Thomas nor Trendon Watford, still.

The stupefying question of how the Brooklyn Nets were going to score 100 points on Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns was, again, answered quite simply: They weren’t.

They put up 37/19/64 shooting splits…

Brooklyn only turned it over 14 times, a staggeringly low number given the cartoonish-ness of many of those turnovers. They threw passes to teammates who weren’t looking, dribbled it off their feet, had alley-oop attempts ricochet off the backboard. Look at this stat…

Dariq Whitehead made his first three 3-pointers, the only highlight of Brooklyn’s night besides a late Keon Johnson dunk. Whitehead also had an and-1 finish, which all added up to 12 points 15 in minutes for the sophomore…

Jordi Fernández said he saw “great energy and not second-guessing,” from the 20-year-old. “He was ready to shoot, and his teammates made the right play, and he was in the right spots, and he let it fly. So it was great to see.”

(Just to make sure no Nets fan had too much fun, Whitehead air-balled his fourth 3-point attempt of the night.)

The Suns fans — or more accurately, the Kevin Durant and Devin Booker fans in attendance — had some fun. Kevin Durant was primarily guarded by Nic Claxton to start the night, which was a fun back-and-forth for the two of them.

Claxton got some stops on his way to a 10/12 double-double, even making some tough layups after his poor shooting on Tuesday, but that was as minor of a subplot as can be. KD played his typical game, posting 24/8/3 to elicit frequent “oohs” from the crowd he once called his own fans, then took a backseat to Devin Booker, who stat-padd— I mean, finessed his way to 32/2/6. Jokes aside, he was very good, even as the score got out of hand, and reminded Brooklyn of the type of talent they need to regain relevance once more.

You know, if KD wasn’t enough of a reminder.

Tosan Evbuomwan shot 2-of-15, occasionally making some poor decisions but more often shooting it because somebody is basketball teams are required to, within 24 seconds of the shot-clock expiring.

Day’Ron Sharpe, somehow, only lost his minutes by a point, another strong showing which resulted in 8/9/2/2, including five offensive boards. Keon Johnson was the best Net on the evening, posting 20/7/2, and here’s that dunk when he blew by Durant…

Though the game was truly dreadful, most of the Nets deserve some praise. Or sympathy, at the least. They did not ask to be featured players on an NBA roster, and many of them aren’t ready for that responsibility yet, especially as they suffer from whiplash as Ben Simmons, D’Angelo Russell, and Cam Johnson soak up a ton of usage some games, and are absent for others.

Jordi Fernández summed it up postgame: “It’s not easy, because I continue to ask them different things. I also feel like the context and the situation, you know — it’s very different when you are asking that you to pick up full-court and then cut and shoot when you’re open. Then you’re gonna have to bring the ball [up], you’re gonna have to make a play, you have to read the roll, all those things. These guys are more than capable of doing it. It’s just, they haven’t done it yet at this level, and I think it’s great that they get to do it.”

Keon Johnson echoed that sentiment when asked about his strong performance, though it came in a short-handed loss: “Having those guys out has given me more opportunity to get those reps that normally, those guys would have taken. And over time, I feel like I’ve gotten more and more comfortable as time has progressed.”

That’s what this season is all about for Brooklyn, not that it makes for terribly exciting hoop.

Brooklyn also played hard, keeping the score respectable until the last six minutes of the game, when an uninspiring Phoenix squad missing Bradley Beal remembered they weren’t that uninspiring.

Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life” boomed from the speakers as fans filed toward the exits. It was a good call. Brooklyn may have all the assets in the world, but that can’t score you points. As a distraction from the game, Nets fans and Suns/KD/Booker fans joined hands in garbage time and pined for Bol Bol, who heard loud cheers every time he went near the basketball…

You gotta find joy somewhere.

Final Score: Phoenix Suns 108, Brooklyn Nets 85

Milestone Watch

• Claxton’s double-double vs. Phoenix was his ninth of the season, which leads the team. He also grabbed ten of those rebounds in the first half, his first double-digit rebound half of the season.

Injury Report

Thankfully, the Brooklyn Nets made it through a whole game without incurring any new injuries. Perhaps, after a couple of days off, they’ll have more than nine available players on Saturday.

Jordi Fernández described Ziaire Williams, out with a left ankle sprain, as “day-to-day” prior to Wednesday’s action. He also confirmed Trendon Watford is now going through full-contact activities on the court, though it seems unlikely Watford will be ready by Saturday.

Bojan Bogdanović definitely won’t be ready to make his season debut by then, but he’s up to non-contact, on-court workouts. According to Fernández, “He’s done a great job being around the team, using his voice as a leader, as a veteran. He’s doing a good job.”

Cam Johnson missed Wednesday’s action with a bum ankle which he sprained yet again in Tuesday’s game against the Knicks. The Nets do not yet have a timeline for his recovery: “He just jammed it a little bit,” said Fernández. “It’s the same ankle, obviously now he’ll be out. We don’t know exactly for how long, it was part of him jamming it again … I mean, that’s just bad luck. But he’ll work hard and he’ll be back soon.”

The Phoenix contest marked Ben Simmons’ third consecutive absence with an illness, so he has a chance to be back for Saturday’s game. His high school teammate D’Angelo Russell does too, as D’Lo was out with injury maintenance on his left hamstring, which has been experiencing tightness in recent weeks.

“My body is not prepared for this,” he said after Tuesday’s loss to the New York Knicks, referencing his new role in Brooklyn. “I didn’t prepare for this all season, all summer, so it’s an adjustment for me as well. My body’s adjusting as well. So like I said, just keep listening to the training staff. They’re putting me in the best position to adjust mid-season and not be vulnerable out there as well.”

Kevin Durant on the mic

Once again, Kevin Durant addressed his time with the Brooklyn Nets, as well as the current state of the franchise he once called home.

Less interesting was the former. When asked why his Nets never won a title with their three-headed monster, KD responded, as he often has: “Injuries, COVID, us not getting on the court … once we got on the court and we actually played together, and you saw the culture we were building, it was something the fans could get behind.”

However, EasyMoneySniper also gave his opinions on what the Nets are up to now, and his review was firmly positive…

Indeed, the product on the floor is inconsistent. Some might call it poor, which it was in Wednesday’s loss. But Durant is correct; rebuilds are all about assets, and the Nets are rolling in them. He even wants to see them do well! How kind.

Next Up

Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

The Brooklyn Nets remain at home after two off-days, after which they will take on the Miami Heat on Saturday evening, tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET. The Nets will raise Vince Carter’s #15 into the rafters at halftime.

• Boxscore: Phoenix Suns 108, Brooklyn Nets 84 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Phoenix Suns 108, Brooklyn Nets 84 (Video) – NBA
• Jordi Fernandez on Nets’ loss (Video) – YES Network
• Bob and Frank review Nets’ loss to Phoenix (Video) – YES Network
• Just Being Frank with special guest Sarah Kustok (Video) – Bob Lorenz, Frank Isola & Sarah Kustok – YES Network
• Booker and Durant lead the Suns to a 108-84 victory over the short-handed Nets – Brian Mahoney – AP
• Kevin Durant, Devin Booker lead Suns past skidding Nets – Larry Fleisher – Reuters
• Kevin Durant opens up on Nets rebuild before helping Suns rout ex-team – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Kevin Durant opens up on Nets rebuild before helping Suns rout ex-team – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• C.J. Holmes: What else does Dariq Whitehead have to do to prove he’s ready for expanded role with Nets? – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Nets Notebook: Jordi Fernendez shares injury updates on Ziaire Williams and Trendon Watford – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News