This season was imagined to be about participant growth. Whereas Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns handed the Nets their fifth straight loss on Wednesday at Barclays Heart, 108-84, followers might see flashes of the long run.
Brooklyn was as soon as once more decimated by accidents coming into the evening. D’Angelo Russell, Ben Simmons and 5 different key rotation gamers have been dominated out earlier than the sport, and the Nets’ twenty fourth beginning lineup of the season didn’t function a real level guard.
Keon Johnson and Tyrese Martin, each enjoying out of place, have been tasked with ball-handling duties. They’d a tricky time producing offense early. The Nets began 1-for-8 from the sector and Phoenix raced out to a 9-2 lead with 7:15 left within the first quarter and have been up 28-16 coming into the second. Brooklyn was capturing simply 6-for-20 from the sector and Durant dropped 11 factors within the opening quarter.
The Nets desperately wanted offense, and Dariq Whitehead delivered.
Whitehead, a second-year guard whom the Nets chosen with the twenty second general choose within the 2023 NBA Draft out of Duke, was recalled from the G League earlier within the day. He’s spent many of the season on Lengthy Island and appeared in simply seven NBA video games in 2024-25 after enjoying in simply two in 2023-24.
The 20-year-old entered the evening averaging simply 5.9 minutes per sport, however each time he has stepped on the courtroom for the Nets — and performed prolonged minutes — he’s proven that his time within the G League this season has been time nicely spent. In a 128-102 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 2 — one other sport the place Brooklyn was brief on our bodies — he performed slightly below 24 minutes, scored a team-high 18 factors and went 6-for-10 from 3-point vary.
Whitehead had one other stable offensive sport in Wednesday’s loss, ending with 12 factors on 4-for-7 capturing — the third-highest scoring output on the staff. He checked in late within the first quarter and knocked down his first 3-pointer of the evening with 21.8 seconds left within the interval. He then made two extra treys within the second quarter, then showcased his enchancment off the dribble by slashing round Mason Plumlee in transition and completed on the rim by means of contact.
“He had great energy and wasn’t second-guessing [himself],” Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez mentioned of Whitehead. “He was ready to shoot, and his teammates made the right play, he was in the right spots, and he let it fly.”
Whitehead couldn’t full the 3-point play however loved a flawless first half in any other case: 4-for-4 from the sector and 3-for-3 from deep. He matched Durant with eight factors within the second quarter, which helped the Nets play Phoenix to a 26-26 draw. Brooklyn nonetheless trailed 54-42 at halftime, but when it weren’t for Whitehead, issues would’ve gotten ugly a lot faster.
Whitehead is now 11-for-21 (52.3%) from distance in eight video games this season. He missed two 3-pointers within the second half, the final an airball shot over the 7-8 wingspan of Bol Bol. He additionally missed an 8-footer with 45.3 left and went 1-for-3 on the free throw line.
The Nets are 14-31 after Wednesday’s loss. Younger expertise was imagined to be prioritized this season and rotation gamers proceed to drop like flies. So, what else does the previous 2023 first-round choose must do to show he’s prepared for an expanded function?
Confidence is a giant a part of growth. Whitehead has clearly discovered his. Nonetheless, he performed simply quarter-hour in opposition to the Suns.
Initially Printed: January 22, 2025 at 10:10 PM EST
