Kembali
Brooklyn’s season is already looking like a lost one, and it’s still only October.
On Friday night, the Nets were hoping to get into the win column for the first time this season and get the early campaign on the right track. After a tight overtime loss in Boston earlier in the week, the Nets looked ready to take a next step and secure a victory.
Unfortunately, the Nets were unable to do so and ended up with a blowout loss on their home floor. Suffering a 110-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Cup opener, the Nets looked outmatched for all 48 minutes against last season’s No. 1 seed.
The loss itself isn’t necessarily something for Brooklyn to be upset about, but the lack of competitiveness against a team of that caliber is certainly concerning. After the Nets had shown some fight against other hopeful contenders to start the year, this matchup looked much like the beating it received from Indiana a few days earlier.
For the Nets to win against a team like the Pistons, they need to play a near-perfect game for all 48 minutes. Instead, the Nets played a game that might not have been enough to defeat the Sacramento Kings, who stand as the league’s only other winless squad.
It starts at the top for Brooklyn with its duo of star forwards. Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle have both had solid starts to the season and have appeared to gel together thus far. Unfortunately for Brooklyn, those two both had rough nights on Friday, combining for 28 points on 8-of-22 shooting and six turnovers.
After a solid first quarter, the Nets simply collapsed, with Detroit then taking a seven-point lead into halftime and blowing the game open in the third quarter. Trailing by as much as 30 points on their home floor, the Nets looked much like the team expected to finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
While it’s still early in the season, every loss tacked onto the Nets’ skid to begin the year will only put any hopes of a postseason bid further away. At this point, the Nets only seem to be putting themselves in a worse position to accomplish anything positive this season.
With six of their next seven games coming on the road, the path to a successful season won’t be getting easier anytime soon.