After beating old friend Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns in the desert on December 13, the Brooklyn Nets had a 13-10 record and were feeling mighty good about their franchise's position for this season and the future.
Flash forward to January 1 and the beginning of 2024, and everything looks drastically different. Brooklyn lost five consecutive games after the win in Phoenix and then defeated one of the worst teams in basketball history, the Detroit Pistons, in two consecutive games, but have not lost three straight.
Brooklyn has lost their last eight games that aren't against the 3-29 Pistons. That is very, very troubling.
The latest defeat closed out 2023, which was a turbulent year in Brooklyn. The Nets lost 124-108 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose starters all scored 17 points or more. Mikal Bridges scored 22 for the Nets, but once again was inefficient shooting the basketball (8-20 from the field). Cam Thomas added his usual 20, but was awful defensively.
The Nets are going to need to make lineup changes
Spencer Dinwiddie and Thomas are both major defensive liabilities, and can no longer feasibly be on the court at the same time.
Lineups with Dinwiddie and Thomas have a -11 net rating and an abysmal 127.5 defensive rating in 389 minutes.
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 1, 2024
Not sure how much longer the Nets can keep playing those two together. https://t.co/RmNbaKyM3e pic.twitter.com/FNz8Sicvzp
Jacque Vaughn will need to find new lineup configurations before the season gets away from the Brooklyn Nets. Just look at those horrendous numbers. Thomas and Dinwiddie flat out can't be on the floor together.
That presents a huge problem for Brooklyn, whose only current healthy guards are Dinwiddie, Dennis Smith Jr., and Thomas. When Ben Simmons and Lonnie Walker IV return, Vaughn must ensure these two guards see the court oppositely.
Brooklyn also needs to find more scoring. Cam Johnson and Bridges have not come close to taking the leap the Nets needed from them in order to ascend into contender status.
Brooklyn shot just 12 of 46 from three point range (26.1%). That is astronomically bad. 2024 has just begun, and hopefully, it'll bring a new start for the Nets.