DeMarre Carroll
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

The Brooklyn Nets dropped their third straight on the home turf, in a 122-114 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

  • Phoenix Suns (3-4)
  • Brooklyn Nets (3-5)
  • NBA, Final Box Score
  • Barclays Center: Brooklyn, New York

In what was supposed to be a game the Nets could take slow and find their stride, they ended up fighting for their lives up until the final buzzer. Brooklyn’s defensive lapses are on full display, and Phoenix showed no mercy.

It was Devin Booker who led the way for the Suns, scoring 32 on 11 shots and grabbing four steals. He is a close friend of D’Angelo Russell, and was celebrating his 21st birthday last night. Which means he was likely hungover, and still fired on the Nets with all cylinders.

Point guard Mike James was a force of nature in tonight’s game, dropping 24 points on 56 percent shooting. This is a guy who wasn’t playing in the NBA last year, if you need any further convincing about the Nets’ defensive tendencies.

For Brooklyn, D’Angelo Russell went head to head with Booker, scoring 33 points next to 6 rebounds and 4 assists. It looks great on paper, but he scored 20 of those points in the first half, and earned a -22 net rating.

When he was on the bench, the Nets offense came to life, under leadership of backup Spencer Dinwiddie. He tallied 15 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals in his 22 minutes of play. Dinwiddie pushed Brooklyn through a 23-2 run to close the third, and place them in position to win.

Forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson hit a season-high 21 points, in addition to 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. He was the best Net in crunch time, but couldn’t pull it off alone.

Overall, this game is just a continued lesson that has yet to be learned. At this point in time, and it’s only been eight games I know, it looks like a five-year old could score on this defense. Until that gets better, expect the Nets to keep dropping close ones like tonight.

Russell is surely a great leader, but it almost seems as if he needs to play the two as was intended originally. Next to Dinwiddie in the starting lineup, we could see some smoother transition between defense and offense, and a less uptight Russell.

Brooklyn is preparing to embark on a five game road trip including games against the following teams: Lakers, Suns, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, and Jazz. They’ve already given up wins to two of those teams at home, so it will be interesting to see if they can return the gesture.


Next, the Brooklyn Nets will travel to Los Angeles, and play the long awaited rematch between Russell and the Lakers. Tip-off is Friday, at 10:30 PM EST.

Writer, reader, entertainer. New York Knicks and the Carolina Panthers. Hoodie Melo is my spirit animal.