Nets unable to hang with the Pistons in NBA Cup opener, lose 110-94
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Nets unable to hang with the Pistons in NBA Cup opener, lose 110-94
BROOKLYN, NY - OCTOBER 30: Duncan Robinson #55 of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket during the game against the Brooklyn Nets during the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup on October 30, 2026 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Collin Helwig·SB Nation
·
8 min read
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The Brooklyn Nets had no interest in celebrating the holiday tomorrow. No costumes. No masks. Tonight, they came as they were — a young team still trying to figure it out. They were scary nonethless.
And, against an Eastern conference contender, that's not enough to challenge for a win.
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The Nets did change up their look in another sense, although it wasn't by choice. With Egor Dëmin out for at least a week with a bone bruise in his right leg, Chaney Johnson started in his place. And no, it's not like he played the four or five and everyone slid up a slot. Like a true two-guard, Johnson started possessions guarding Amen Thompson and Duncan Robinson at the top of the key tonight.
And guess what? It worked. The Nets led for the entire first period as their size and switching appeared to give Detroit fits. Johnson was a +3 with three points, a blocked shot, and a steal in six minutes.
"He did great," Fernández said of Johnson postgame. "Chaney's effort and purpose and everything he's done so far, it's been very good. I think he's taking advantage of his minutes. We just need everybody to have the same intentions and intensity, and play as hard as he plays, and I think that we'll be okay."
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Despite the Pistons coming into tonight with the seventh best 3-point percentage in the league, and the Nets allowing the seventh highest to their opponents, Detroit shot just 1-9 from deep in the first.
After his breakout turned blunderous night in Boston, Mikel Brown Jr. was Brooklyn's ninth man off the bench this evening, not checking in until the 3:32 mark of the first. The offense continued to hum with him at the helm. Struggling from deep themselves following a 2-of-11 start, the Nets had to look elsewhere for offense. With Julius Randle having an easy time burrowing inside and Mo Wagner ready to eat out of the dunker's spot, Brooklyn outscored Detroit in the paint 18-14 in the period.
While Wagner's been an offensive bright spot of late, his game tonight had some shade cast down on it. After getting free for an uncontested dunk early in the second, Wagner couldn't flush it all the way down, and the ball rattled out leading to an easy three on the break for Kevin Huerter. The five point swing introduced a 15-5 Pistons run that gave them the lead.
It's not like it was all Wagner's fault. The Nets shot just 3-of-14 from the field in the second, resorting to isolation possessions that ended in contested shot attempts on one too many occasions. Brooklyn also continued to look out of sync and downright slow with its off-ball defense tonight, over-helping in the gap at other points as well. As a result, the Pistons also rebounded to shoot 5-of-9 deep in the second, and carried a 56-49 lead into the break.
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Julius Randle hit a triple and then found Johnson above the rim to help Brooklyn cut the lead back to six after Detroit had opened the period with a 9-3 jolt…
But then, after only committing eight turnovers in the entire first half, the Nets gave it up six times in the third's first six minutes. For Detroit, it was fun and mesmerizing. For Brooklyn? Not so much…
"It's just tough when you turn it over that many times," Fernández said. "It's a lot of damage, poor spacing, poor setups. Like I said, I think I said before the game, making the simple play, making the simple play when you run the floor, making the simple play when you get into the paint, and I don't think we're buying into that."
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Those turnovers, paired with another poor shooting period, made it a 20+ point lead entering the fourth for the Pistons. Through three, Randle shot 4-13, Traoré shot 3-10, and Brown Jr. shot 0-6. Michael Porter Jr. and Wagner were the only men with a field goal percentages north of 50% and with more than two field goals. That's just not going to cut it.
"We're not all on the same page with what we're running or what we're trying to do out there, and then it's getting us in bad positions," Randle said. "Like, we're getting like stuck against a loaded defense, or our floor balance is off, or we're not cutting when we're supposed to cut. So, it feels like sometimes that's happening, or we're getting to one action, and there's no flow and rhythm after the first action. It's like we're just kind of like stuck, and we're just sitting there watching each other. We got to find a way to to get in a better flow and rhythm, and then just figure out what we're trying to accomplish each possession."
"This game especially, and with a team that pressures you, you need more cutting, and you need very good spacing and setups, otherwise, you just find bodies in front of you," Fernández added. "I have to do a better job helping our guys to find those advantages."
Both Fernández and his players noticed a drop in intensity as the offense became stagnant around the third period.
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"I think just generally speaking, we when stuff doesn't go our way, we kind of put our head down a little bit and lose our connectivity, and I think that's one of our staples and we worked way too hard all summer, and probably set much higher standard than that for ourselves," Wagner said. "So, it's obviously a little disappointing, and we gotta get that done."
So, in the fourth, we were treated to our first Terrance Mann minutes of the year. Danny Wolf joined him on the floor alongside Brown Jr. as we made that familiar shift from watching a competition to developmental minutes at the Barclays Center. Getting most of his points at the stripe, MBJ was able to grind his way into a more appealing stat line by the end of it, finishing with 10 points and four assists while shooting 2-9 from the field and 6-8 from the line.
But of all the end-of-game minute eaters, Wolf looked the most hungry out there, chipping in nine points, six rebounds and two assists in the fourth quarter. Drake Powell, who the team called up this afternoon and logged six minutes, assisted on two baskets but did not score himself.
The Nets are 0-5.
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Final: Detroit Pistons 110, Brooklyn Nets 94.
Next Up
Brooklyn will get another shot at the Indiana Pacers next, who they lost to at home last Sunday by 20+ points. This time, it's on the road, and Tyrese Haliburton won't be involved. Hali is set to miss at least two weeks with a left hamstring strain. The contest tips off at 5:00 p.m. EST.
