Brooklyn Nets: 5 takeaways from smackdown at Golden State

4. LeVert never got going

One night after hitting his second last-second game-winner of the season for the Brooklyn Nets, Caris LeVert never achieved liftoff.

Before leaving the game in the third quarter after banging his knee on the floor, LeVert had just four points in 21 minutes, going 1-for-6 from the floor, missing all three of his 3-point attempts and hitting just 2-of-4 at the line.

He also turned the ball over twice and was held without an assist for the first time all season.

The foul shooting is a concern, as he’s now 6-for-13 in his last two games after making 79.2 percent of his attempts in his first 11 contests.

LeVert hurt the Warriors with his penetration and inside scoring skills in their first matchup on Oct. 28, when he scored 23 points, and Golden State worked to take those opportunities away from him on Saturday.

Golden State almost always had help in the lane if LeVert did beat his defender off the drive and the third-year guard was often slow to recognize that help, leading either to a wild shot or passes thrown after he committed to the air.

For a player who has shown so much composure against single defenders in the lane, LeVert can get a bit rattled when a second defender shows up.

As defenses key on him more regularly, he’s going to have to get quicker at recognizing the help and looking for the open shooter left by the helping defender.