After two defeats in which they had taken control of the matches, the Nets still needed to open their counter. The trip to Charlotte was perfect for this and Jacque Vaughn’s players provided the necessary ingredients and manner to win.
The coach, faced with the absences of Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson, had relied on a small major five, with Dorian Finney-Smith as the pivot. The objective? Run, run again and run again.
From the first seconds, it was visible. Ben Simmons started the fast play from the defensive rebound, with quarterback passes. Brooklyn was also well helped in transition by a disorganized Hornets defense, which left spaces towards the circle. Result: 15-2 after less than three minutes of play and a first quarter dominated head and shoulders.
“It put us in a good rhythm, a good dynamic to start this match,” comments Cam Thomas, 33 points in this victory, for the New York Post. “Usually we start slowly, so starting quickly was a good thing. We ran, we had open prize baskets. And when we run, we have ‘mismatches’, we can play big guys against small guys and do isolation. Counter-attacks open up a lot of things. »
Mikal Bridges vents his frustration
In this very open style of play and against a weak team, Simmons is very comfortable. He finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists and the Nets scored 28 points on the counterattack.
“This shows that we can get a lot of shots, and good ones. That’s my priority: running, getting the ball up, getting into rhythm and finding my teammates,” describes the former Philadelphian. “Winning was our priority in Charlotte and everyone was on the same page. »
This success therefore not only opened the Nets’ counter, but also allowed Mikal Bridges to launch his season. The Nets star was pretty average in the first two matches. But with 24 points at 10/13 on the shoot, including an easy first quarter with 9 units and concluding with a prize-winning basket at the buzzer, he offered himself a first quality performance.
“I had to let it flow, let the game come to me and be aggressive when I was on the field. And find pleasure”, judges the former Suns. “I was too focused on myself, trying to do this or that. I felt frustrated these last two matches, I wasn’t having fun on the pitch. I had to play free, have fun. And my mother spoke to me too. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Cam Thomas | 2 | 29.2 | 62.5 | 33.3 | 81.3 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 33.0 |
| Mikal Bridges | 2 | 35.3 | 41.4 | 33.3 | 91.7 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 19.0 |
| Spencer Dinwiddie | 2 | 31.8 | 45.0 | 46.7 | 75.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 14.0 |
| Lonnie Walker | 1 | 21.2 | 55.6 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 14.0 |
| Cameron Johnson | 1 | 26.1 | 50.0 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 12.0 |
| Dorian Finney Smith | 2 | 30.0 | 50.0 | 46.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 11.0 |
| Royce O’neale | 2 | 28.5 | 40.0 | 36.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 8.0 |
| Ben Simmons | 2 | 27.7 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 7.5 | 10.0 | 8.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 7.0 |
| Nicholas Claxton | 1 | 28.3 | 30.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 |
| Dennis Smith | 2 | 12.1 | 50.0 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 5.0 |
| Day’ron Sharpe | 2 | 7.7 | 60.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 3.0 |
