The average age of the Nets‘ 18-man roster is 24-years-old.
D’Angelo Russell and Cam Johnson, both 29, are the veterans of the group by age and NBA experience. Reece Beekman and Tyson Etienne are rookies, while Jalen Wilson, Tyrese Martin, Noah Clowney, Tosan Evbuomwan, Dariq Whitehead and Maxwell Lewis have all logged just one full season of service.
Learning how to win in the league takes time. Russell and Johnson are the only two players on Brooklyn’s roster that have appeared in the Conference Finals. And Johnson, who began his career with the Phoenix Suns, is the only player who’s appeared in the NBA Finals.
So, it shouldn’t come at a surprise that the youthful Nets, under a first-year head coach in Jordi Fernandez, have struggled to close out games this season. Saturday’s 105-102 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets marked the fifth time Brooklyn has blown a 17-point lead this season and lost the game. That’s tied for the most in the league this season.
“Obviously our last game was disappointing, the way it ended up and the way we handled ourselves,” Fernandez said. “because of our consistency, there were some good things, but sometimes that’s how you learn.”
The Nets also blew a 22-point lead against the Golden State Warriors last Thursday at Barclays Center. That experience, for better or worse, is part of growth.
“When I was a little kid, my dad would tell me all the time ‘Don’t do this. You’ll get hurt.’ And guess what? I did it. I got hurt, and that’s how I learned,” Fernandez said. “So, I guess it’s part of parenting. Our guys are great, for the most part. They learn and they listen.”
THE DSF EFFECT
The Lakers acquired Dorian Finney-Smith from the Nets in December. Since trading for the versatile defensive forward, they’ve had the third-best defensive rating in the league at 110.3.
Finney-Smith’s defensive rating of 105.0 ranks first on the Lakers among players who’ve appeared in at least 20 games. He was sidelined by left ankle soreness in his return to Barclays Center on Monday, and didn’t play when the Nets visited the Lakers in January, either.
“He can do everything,” Fernandez said of Finney-Smith. “He’s extremely tough and was a great teammate, and that just helps. And I think that’s why part of the [Lakers’] success comes from bringing in guys like him.”
MISSING STAR POWER
The Nets played without Cam Thomas and Trendon Watford on Monday, who were both managing left hamstring injuries. While Luka Doncic wound up suiting up for the Lakers despite entering the night listed as questionable, Los Angeles was without Finney-Smith (left ankle soreness), Rui Hachimura (Left patellar tendinopathy), Jaxon Hayes (right knee contusion) and, most notably, LeBron James (left groin strain).