When you’re young, you make mistakes. As the Nets, the fourth youngest team in the NBA and it shows late.
You never know what to expect from the Brooklyn Nets when they step on the court. Players come and go, injuries happen with great regularity — they do lead the league in games lost and they are a very young team — they’re the NBA’s fourth youngest roster.
And unfortunately, they often fall apart at the end. For some fans, that’s okay. The Nets are hoping for the best possible outcome at the May 12 Draft Lottery and a good game against a good team ending with a loss is for some an ideal outcome.
But as Brian Lewis wrote Sunday, the Nets have taken that to a level that is oh so frustrating if you’re rooting for a win rather than more ping pong balls. Brooklyn is the worst team in the NBA when it comes to losing leads and then games.
Nobody has blown more fourth-quarter leads than the Nets, their 18 such collapses coming into Saturday’s rematch in Indiana — a 108-103 loss notable for a late Nets rally that fell short — tied for the league high, or more accurately, the league worst.
Actually, it’s worse than that.
The Nets have blown the second-most leads (45) and third-most leads of at least 10 points (15).
Lewis chalks it up to the lack of experience, citing the data on the team’s youth,
They’re exceedingly young with an average age of just 24.8 years old. The only teams younger are Portland (24.5), Oklahoma City (24.7) and Utah (24.8), with Washington (25.1) right behind.
Of course, that youth hasn’t been a problem for the Thunder. Certainly, the injuries and constant re-jiggering of the line-ups is an issue. In talking about the “genius” he sees in Jordi Fernandez recently, D’Lo spoke about the difficulties of putting teams together.
“Watching him prepare for these games, not knowing who’s going to play, not knowing who’s gonna start, or who can finish, who can’t play, minute restrictions, et cetera. For him to still find a way to get straight wins and keep everybody’s energy and spirits high, I think the future’s bright here,” said Russell.
Lewis, though, takes a deeper look into the numbers, citing the latest loss Saturday night to the Indiana Pacers at the Gainsbridge Center in Indy. Some bad offense and the dust-up between Trendon Watford and Andrew Nembhard and Myles Turner.
The Nets led by as many as 11, and were ahead 84-77 after Russell’s layup with 4:55 to play when the wheels came off.
After a bucket by Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin, Trendon Watford got into it with Andrew Nembhard and Myles Turner, drawing two technicals and an ejection.
From that point on, it was Pacers, Pacers, Pacers, and as Russell noted, the failings of youth.
“That’s just the level of intensity that you’ve got to rise to,” Russell said, “It’s not the playoffs, but it’s a playoff environment. We’re a young group trying to get there, so as a group to be able to handle our emotions throughout those moments, don’t let them get the best of us at any point in the last five minutes of the game.”
The Nets will have another chance Monday night vs. the Dallas Mavericks at Barclays Center. The Mavs will be without two key pieces, Kyrie Irving and Derrick Lively, but they will have Anthony Davis, even if minutes restricted. Can the Nets win with Davis and Spencer Dinwiddie? Davis of course will be trying to prove that the Luka Doncic trade for Davis wasn’t really that bad (Spoiler Alert: it was so bad) while Dinwiddie will just be trying to show the Nets front office that they blew it with him.
So who knows? The narrative in Brooklyn may have nothing to do with late collapses. There are always a lot of possibilities with so many ties between the two clubs.