The Nets were felled in both trips to Kia Center last season by an average of 17.5 points. While their latest road meeting with the Orlando Magic did not get out of hand until late in regulation, Jordi Fernandez got on the team charter back to Brooklyn afterward still searching for his first career win.
Jamahl Mosley’s bunch prevailed 116-101, dropping Brooklyn to 0-2 this season. Orlando has now beaten the Nets at home four straight times.
The game certainly felt winnable for most of the night, similar to Wednesday in Atlanta. The Magic were the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference during last postseason, returned most of their key guys from last season and the Nets kept their feet on the gas for a while. But the wheels clearly fell off in the fourth quarter, where they were outscored, 35-30, and fell behind by 17 points multiple times.
Also, just like Wednesday’s game in Atlanta, the Nets could not get out of their own way at times. The effort was definitely there, but the execution was not. They committed 19 turnovers, which led to 25 points for Orlando, and racked up 31 team fouls, which led to 23 points at the free throw line for the home team. Brooklyn had 46 fouls in Wednesday’s loss, more than they had in any game all last season. The team’s sloppiness in both regards must be addressed going forward.
The Nets will return to action against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday at Barclays Center.
Ben Simmons has been more of a foul merchant than a triple-double machine in his first two appearances this season. After collecting five personal fouls in 24 minutes against the Hawks, he already had two personal fouls in his first seven minutes on the court, four with 6:03 left in the third quarter, then picked up his fifth and final foul with 3:30 left in the third quarter.
Simmons, playing in his second regular season game following last season’s extended absence, needs to be smarter, especially with reserve center Day’Ron Sharpe sidelined indefinitely. Brooklyn’s frontcourt thin is enough as it is. He also failed to crack double-digits in scoring for the second straight game, finishing with seven points, six rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.
Excessive fouling, not injuries, is why he has struggled to stay on the court. Perhaps Nic Claxton, who just played in his second regular season game after missing all of the preseason, will return to the starting lineup sooner rather than later because of it. Although he remains on a tight minutes restriction, he finished plus-11 in his 20 minutes on the court. Simmons was minus-17.
It is also clear that Fernandez is still figuring out his rotations, but that was expected considering how early it is in the season, and the fact that the Nets are still far from whole because of their injuries. Jalen Wilson was the first player off the bench against Atlanta, but that honor went to Shake Milton on Friday. Wilson played only 13 minutes against Orlando, the second-lowest total on the team behind Keon Johnson (two). He never found a rhythm offensively and went scoreless.
It was also a somewhat forgettable night for Cam Thomas, who dropped 36 points on the Hawks earlier in the week. The Nets attempted 11 shots in the first four minutes of the game and Thomas relegated to the corner early on. He started 1-for-7 from the field and still managed to score a team-high 24 points, but did on a 7-of-17 clip.
Fernandez deserves credit for how he handled Paolo Banchero defensively. The Nets sent multiple bodies at him all night, and Orlando’s All-Star forward was held to just 15 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
