Brooklyn Nets: 5 takeaways from a goring at the Garden

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1. The struggle was real for LeVert

The image above indicates how much of a non-factor Caris LeVert was Monday night for the Brooklyn Nets — the only image from the game with LeVert featured was taken while he walked into the arena.

This is not exactly what a team hopes for from its leading scorer.

LeVert went 1-for-7 in the first half and 1-for-4 in the second, missing all six of his 3-point attempts along the way, while finishing with four points.

It was interesting to hear new YES Network analyst Richard Jefferson almost begging LeVert to shoot more in the second half, saying that it was something big-time scorers have to be willing to do in the midst of an off night.

But LeVert’s never really been that guy. At Michigan, he was as much a playmaker as he was a scorer and that is a role he really returned to last season when he was tossed into the point guard mix because of injuries.

So even on a night where he couldn’t throw a rock in the ocean without it bouncing off the beach, LeVert had a team-high five assists for the Nets.

Defensively, he struggled against Tim Hardaway Jr., who gained a measure of revenge for allowing LeVert’s Oct. 19 game-winner the last time these two teams met by scoring 25 points with eight assists.