Egor Dëmin is going to miss at least the next week with a proper leg bone bruise. And Brooklyn sorely missed his offense Friday night time.
The Nets went ice-cold in a 110-94 loss to visiting Detroit, lacking Dëmin’s spacing and secondary playmaking.
Brooklyn was short-handed, so they went big-bodied, with Jordi Fernández eschewing going to the bench for a guard (such as Keon Ellis or Terance Mann) and instead handing 6-foot-7, 235-pound two-way Chaney Johnson only his second profession begin — and his first in the backcourt.
The outcomes were combined. Johnson’s dimension and athleticism helped the protection, particularly on Pistons star Cade Cunningham.
But the offense took a hit.
“Our offense is not … we’re not generating the looks we want. Part of it is every night is a new lineup’s playing together. Chemistry is a real thing,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “So lineups can have something to do with it. Egor is out, we put Chaney in there. That’s a group that hasn’t performed collectively. So sometimes when it comes to the positions we’re taking part in on the flooring, it might be complicated for some guys.
“Chaney normally plays the four when we run plays, but he might be playing the two with this group. For us, we need to know different positions in the playbook. So some of that’s on the players, just so that when we’re put in the game in different positions, we can execute regardless of where we are. So I think that was part of it, guys were not knowing where they’re supposed to be on certain plays.”
Chaney Johnson rises up for a dunk previous Ausur Thompson during the first quarter of the Nets’ 110-94 loss to the Pistons at Barclays Center. Charles Wenzelberg / NY Post
Johnson had six factors, a steal and a block in 18:32, much of it spent utilizing his size to harass Cunningham.
The Pistons guard labored laborious for his 20 factors on a modest 6 of 15 with 4 turnovers.
“Yeah, he did great,” Fernández said. You know, he picked up these three fouls, and then we had that good run to reply to their run, which we reduce it to six. They called a timeout. And then they went to a 28-9 run, so they won these minutes by 19 factors.
“And I thought Cheney’s effort and purpose and everything he’s done so far, it’s been very good. I think he’s taking advantage of his minutes. We just need everybody to have the same intentions and intensity and play as hard as he plays. And I think then we will be OK.”
The Nets play at Indiana at 5 p.m. Sunday.
They got drilled at residence by the Pacers, but this time they won’t face Tyrese Haliburton.
The star guard is out for at least the next two weeks with a strained left hamstring.
Source hyperlink
