NEW YORK — Brooklyn, we have a problem. As a matter of fact, we have several problems.
These championship-contending Nets are closer to another early offseason than they are to being the last NBA team standing.
The Nets had an opportunity to build on the momentum of Kyrie Irving’s return in Indiana with a matchup against the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. But their 121-109 loss to the Bucks — a game they never led and trailed as many as 24 before garbage time — underscored everything that’s wrong with a Nets team clearly a notch below the league’s cream of the crop.
For a team that claims they’re a championship contender, they sure have a lot of problems.
Chief among those issues is coach hSteve Nash’s rotations: Nash started rookie David Duke Jr. for the second game in a row. In reality, he should have started one of his veterans — DeAndre’ Bembry, James Johnson or even Bruce Brown.
The decision to play Bembry just eight minutes against the Bucks was especially concerning given his incredible performance against the Pacers two nights before. The Nets outscored the Pacers by 24 in Bembry’s 20 minutes and Nash called his performance “flawless,” yet the impact player whose contract fully guaranteed on Friday saw just eight minutes of play. Johnson played 13 and Brown played seven minutes of garbage time.
In fact, Nash chose not to match brute strength with brute strength: While Giannis Antetokounmpo (31 points, nine assists, seven rebounds) and Bobby Portis (25 points, 12 rebounds) trampled the Nets for 56 points and 19 rebounds combined, Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap watched from the bench, and LaMarcus Aldridige played just nine minutes.
The issues compound from there. With no Irving at home due to New York City’s vaccine mandate, the Nets continue to sorely miss Joe Harris, who is out another two weeks recovering from ankle surgery. Without those two sharpshooters, the Nets only have one other player not named Kevin Durant or James Harden who is a reliable volume shooter from downtown: Patty Mills.
Friday night was an off night for Mills, who shot just 1 of 6 from downtown. It’s become customary for Mills — either he is red-hot, or he’s ice cold.
The third and most concerning issue for Brooklyn remains Harden’s inconsistent play. Durant scored 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field but had little help from his co-star, who at times looks more like a supporting act. Harden, by all accounts, was a no-show: 6 of 15 from the field for 16 points, seven assists and five turnovers.
A tertiary issue at Barclays Center remains fan support. One Nets fan who identified himself as a supporter since the team relocated to Brooklyn from New Jersey approached the New York Daily News with a raspy voice and blamed the other fans in attendance for not giving the players enough support.
“We have the best players in the world,” the fan said. “We should be winning every game. I should not be the only person in here who lost their voice.”
It seems like a lifetime ago when the Nets were the undisputed No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but their four-losses-in-five-games skid moves them closer to third place. Falling down the standings might be good closer to the playoffs, where Irving will be available on the road, but this early into the standings, with this much talent, it’s far more concerning than anything else.
