BROOKLYN NETS

A nice and calm night in the desert with the Pheonix Suns is exactly what the doctor ordered to help mitigate the stress from the midterm elections.

It definitely started out normal and slow, with 11 fouls between the two teams in the first 8 minutes. Even using the word “nice” to describe this game of professional competition might be a tad bit too generous. To start, it was not the highest quality of basketball that the Brooklyn Nets have played this season.

It was, however, good enough to take a lead over the Suns early on. The game seemed to be characterized in the first half, at least on the side of Brooklyn, by smart ball movement leading to good looks that they simply failed to convert on. While no individual player took over in the first half, there was a determined team effort that stopped the Suns in their tracks whenever they threatened to go on a run. For a team as bad as Phoenix, it was reassuring to see the Nets take care of business even when they weren’t clicking on all cylinders at the beginning.

This ain't no rec league ball, but when the Nets pull out the same cut play a second time, you know Bird's busting out the epic call. #NETSonYES pic.twitter.com/FydFp4gG1B — YES Network (@YESNetwork) November 7, 2018

Possessions like the one above from Ed Davis and Spencer Dinwiddie were crucial in carving out the early lead that the Nets would ride for the rest of the game. When the shots started falling in the second half, it was smooth sailing. From Caris LeVert to Spencer Dinwiddie, the Nets took turns exploiting the soft, unattentive Suns defense time and time again.

Surprisingly enough, the main reason for the game never being hotly contested is the improved defense from the Nets. This was another game where Brooklyn shot significantly worse from the three-point line than their opponent but made up for it with fewer turnovers and more offensive rebounds.

While this is unexpected, it is not unwelcome. A Brooklyn Nets squad that plays decent defense and hits their shots is good enough to sneak into the playoffs in a weak Eastern Conference. As of this second, the Nets sit in 7th place — so, all in all, we’ll take that without issue.

In the end, the score of this game would lead you to believe that it was closer than it really was. The Nets were comfortably in control and would have turned this into a blowout if they had converted more on their high percentage opportunities. This is exactly the type of win that the fans wanted to see before heading into their tougher matchups on this road trip — Denver and Golden State. Gulp.