The Nets leaned on a jumbo lineup of Egor Dëmin, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney, Danny Wolf and Nic Claxton down the stretch of Monday’s 116–103 win over the Charlotte Hornets, a bunch with a mean top of 6-10.
Whereas the pattern was small, head coach Jordi Fernández could have captured lightning in a bottle with this group. They posted an offensive score of 128.6 and a defensive score of 76.9, and Brooklyn outscored the Hornets 18–8 throughout their stretch. The Nets gained the quarter 28–21, shot practically 12% higher from the sphere, managed the glass by six and doubled Charlotte in paint factors.
It was their most dominant defensive window of the evening, and the offense flowed naturally with Dëmin, Wolf and Claxton connecting actions and Porter and Clowney slicing, ending and spacing. The Hornets struggled to generate something clear in opposition to the sheer size on the ground; drives died in crowds, passing lanes collapsed, and Charlotte managed simply two made 3sin the quarter whereas lacking a string of contested makes an attempt on the rim.
On the opposite finish, Brooklyn’s measurement didn’t take up spacing the way in which conventional jumbo lineups typically do. As a substitute, the Nets leaned into ideas (delay actions, elbow touches, wedge screens) relatively than a single creator. That allowed Dëmin to play as a connector relatively than a pure initiator. It additionally empowered Porter, whose mix of slicing and motion taking pictures appeared much more harmful when opponents have been preoccupied with Wolf diving to the rim or Claxton lurking behind the play.
“Coming from Denver with the best passing big man in existence, it’s fun coming over here and playing with guys who can also run similar offense, and we can run similar reads and passes,” Porter stated. “I think with Clax and [DayRon Sharpe] and Wolf, all these guys are really good at making reads. If I go backdoor, they’re going to find me. If I come to the ball, they’re good at handing the ball off and getting a good screen.”
However the refined engine behind the lineup’s success was Wolf. His processing pace saved the group out of stagnation regardless of the absence of a second guard. When Dëmin gave the ball up, Wolf ensured it didn’t stick. When Porter curled into the lane, Wolf shifted right into a dribble-handoff. When Clowney spaced within the nook, Wolf slid into the dunker spot.
“He has a really good feel for the game,” Claxton stated. “He can pass, he can handle, he can shoot. We saw that he can shoot with some good percentages and he has a lot of confidence. That’s going to translate very well in the league and for us this year.”
That mix of decision-making and flexibility allowed the Nets to play huge with out sacrificing circulate. And with Dëmin as the one true ball handler on the ground, Wolf’s capability to function a launch valve, somebody who could make the following go, provoke a handoff or create a bonus with no need to dribble, turned important. If this jumbo look turns into an actual device in Fernández’s pocket, will probably be as a result of Wolf turns its measurement from a gimmick into an precise construction.
“I give Danny a lot of credit because you’re sitting in the third quarter, played zero minutes in the third, and then he played 12 straight in the fourth and he helped us with his ball handling,” Fernández stated. “We were playing well and we were rolling with him.”
