The Nets head into their three-game home stand hoping to get back on track after losing three of their last four games.
Brooklyn’s bad stretch reached its lowest point on Friday night in Toronto as the team lost 120-87 to the Raptors – it’s worst loss of the season. Aside from that defeat, the Nets have shown some positive signs, which is important for a team that values development.
Jahlil Okafor and Nik Stauskas made their debut on Friday and showed where they could potentially make contributions in Kenny Atkinson’s system. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is quietly averaging 15.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1 block per game in December and Spencer Dinwiddie continues to impress with his NBA-leading assist-to-turnover ratio.
Still, offensive consistency and turnovers from the team overall remain a concern heading into Sunday’s game. The Nets will need to improve both if they want to even their season series against the Pacers – which would end a four-game losing streak against the team.
Here are the Three Biggest Storylines vs. Pacers:
Key Matchup: Allen Crabbe vs. Victor Oladipo
Oladipo might have already secured the Most Improved Player award in December. He’s been that good.
The athletic guard has shown flashes of his potential throughout his career and is one of the league’s top perimeter defenders, but there are few who would have expected him to average the almost 25 points a game he has since being traded to Indiana. That’s almost nine points above the fifth-year player’s career averages.
A big reason for his jump in offensive production is his improvement from behind-the-arc. He’s shooting over 42 percent from three this season, a big jump from the 34 percent he shot in his first three years in Orlando. It will be difficult assignment to contain a player who affects the game in so many ways.
The Nets hope the rest given Allen Crabbe (left knee soreness) will help him get back to his best. The 25-year-old had previously been on a cold spell, shooting just 18 percent in his last two games. When he’s at his best, Crabbe is one of the best three pointer shooters in the league as evidenced by his 42 percent three-point percentage in November.
How will Okafor and Stauskas Fare in Their Second Game?
Brooklyn fans got to see their new arrivals in action in the loss in Toronto on Friday. The fact that the game got away from the team early might have benefitted both players as they got extended minutes without much pressure.
Stauskas got plenty of attention after an impressive opening eight minutes of action, but Okafor also showed why he will be a valuable addition to Atkinson’s rotation. The center showed some good footwork when he got inside the paint and a willingness to shoot outside of it. As he gets used to Brooklyn’s pace of play and improves his positioning, he will likely gain more confidence.
Both players have generated plenty of excitement from Nets fans since the trade, which could bode well if they see action at Barclays Center on Sunday.
Nets Need to Focus on Keeping the Ball
In the last three games, Brooklyn is the third-worst team in the NBA in turnovers. The Nets gave away the ball 22 times in Toronto, which the Raptors converted into easy points. As Atkinson said after the loss against Atlanta on Dec. 2, it’s a “recipe for disaster.”
With the Pacers having two ballhawks in the backcourt in Darren Collison and Oladipo, Brooklyn must improve its decision-making on the court to get a win.
Projected Starters: Dinwiddie, Crabbe, Carroll, Hollis-Jefferson, Zeller
Injuries: D'Angelo Russell (left knee surgery) is OUT.