The Brooklyn Nets lose to the Atlanta Hawks 120-116 on opening night

Everyone inside and outside the Brooklyn Nets organization knows the job. To compete game by game, but not in the year-end standings. Finding “the next Nets,” as Sean Marks put it on September 26, rightly implying that Brooklyn’s present is also about its future.

That's why the Nets traded control of their next two NBA drafts and a slew of picks from other teams. That's why Mikal Bridges no longer has to commute across the East River and Jordi Fernández is the new head coach.

But Wednesday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks was the start of a new season, and nothing beats the optimism of opening night, no matter what that optimism means. For Brooklyn, that still means winning the NBA Draft Lottery and capturing the flag in seven months, but still being entertaining enough in the 94-by-50 format.

Especially on opening night.

For three quarters the script went perfectly according to plan, the score was 77-77 with a dozen to go. The young guys had their moments, as Noah Clowney made a three-pointer and had an impressive block in transition, while fellow freshman Jalen Wilson was perhaps the best Net on the floor up to that point.

He finished the game at 16/4/1 as the first-ever substitute, pushed his way to the finish line perfectly eight times, and was generally everywhere while hitting a few three-pointers…

Nic Claxton was on a minutes restriction having missed the preseason, so he came off the bench – high up, Steve Nash – in a footballing decision from Fernández, so the Nets played small to start with Ben Simmons at the nominal five.

Ben was, you know, Ben. He played 24 minutes and posted 6/5/8, with many of those assists leading to three-pointers. He even scored two layups in the first four minutes of the game, but those highs were punctuated by five fouls and six turnovers, some of which elicited groans and groans…

But Brooklyn hit enough shots — and Atlanta missed some open shots — to make this a true neck-and-neck race.

Fernández also took advantage of his opportunity and pushed all the buttons at his disposal in his debut as head coach. Although he started small, he soon played a Simmons/Claxton/Clowney line-up that somehow worked.

“Step back and look at this game: something very special, very special for my wife, for my children, for my parents, for everyone who has accompanied me on this journey. “It’s a great honor and I’m proud to be where I am,” Fernández said of the experience.

Although he made a classic rookie mistake, he forgot to substitute Dorian Finney-Smith late in the first half and watched from the sideline as DFS committed his fourth foul.

Cam Thomas couldn't answer a call most of the night, which occasionally sent him into Chuck mode in frustration, especially when Atlanta strolled to the line 46 times. (That was a mostly defensible number, as the Nets committed 32 fouls, exceeding their season high from last year. And they were indeed fouls, an area where their lack of size bothered them more than the glass.)

But overall Thomas played well. He took a lot of threes and got to the rim, his assist total had no bearing on some of the quality passes he made…

…and when it came time to score in the fourth quarter, he shot the ball and stayed aggressive in all the right ways.

Thomas scored 20 of his game-high 36 points in the final frame, some of them in half-garbage time, but it was still 36. And it wasn't enough to save the Nets from defeat, although many fans will be completely fine with that result.

“He was great, he was very efficient,” Fernández said, using that word again. “Shot over 50% from the field and three or five rebounds. And I thought his physicality was there defensively as well. He worked on both ends of the floor and I really liked Cam Thomas. We tried to put the ball in his hands and he had to wrestle with Dyson (Daniels) again.”

And yes, the head coach made a case for Thomas not blowing the whistle: “Thomas shot a free throw because he's a guy that shoots 27 times, which is interesting.”

The decisive play in the fourth quarter came from Claxton, who would have played more than 15 minutes if he hadn't committed that outrageous flagrant 2 on Dyson Daniels…

…that could lead to a ban. Just one dirty play that crossed the finish line well past the swinging to the dangerous line, and although Dyson Daniels missed the ensuing free throws, the entire tenor of the game changed. Atlanta scored on the ensuing possession, and the game didn't return to one-possession territory until Cam Thomas made a shot with two seconds left.

“I loved our physicality,” Brooklyn’s head coach said. “We talked about the courage of Brooklyn, right? You saw that with 32 fouls. The only thing is, we have to be smarter. Our technology has to get better. We have to lead with our chest and show our hands.”

Claxton said during the week that “it will take a few games” to find his rhythm. “It will definitely take a few games. That's part of it. I missed pre-season and part of training camp, but that's okay. I’ll be able to pick my spots and get going.”

And although he made some nice plays off the bench, he shot 1 of 4 from the line, including an airball, and committed that foul. The Nets are likely to win if he plays appropriately, as no one could stop Hawks backup center Onyeka Okongwu, who scored most of his career-high 28 points against Brooklyn's exceedingly small lineups.

Trae Young also ate and seamlessly transitioned from facilitator to foul caller: 30/5/12 on 14 of 16 from the line.

It was a fun game, maybe even the perfect game. But the Nets lost for expected reasons. They shot 25 free throws and are still dwarfed in that regard. They scored 20 points off turnovers but allowed 17. Hell, they far outscored Atlanta from deep in both volume and efficiency, but the Hawks scored 54 points in the game, beyond free throws. throws. Swiss cheese indeed…

And yet, hopefully, a harbinger of what's to come. They played hard, if somewhat undisciplined. Fernández played ten guys and rocked with Wilson and Ziaire Williams when their game called for it. Cam Thomas shot 14 of 27 and many of those shots were fine. They lost, but it could have been much worse.

Let's hope it stays that way.

Final score: Atlanta Hawks 120, Brooklyn Nets 116

Milestone clock

Cam Thomas scored 36 points, so here we go:

• Along with Kevin Durant, he is the only Net to score 30 burgers in two consecutive season-opening games and the first Net ever to score more than 35 points in each game.
• He equals Kyrie Irving (2019) and Patty Mills (2021) with seven three-pointers in the season opener.
• He joins Trae Young and Ja Morant as the only players in NBA history to score multiple 35-point season openers before his 24th birthday.
• Some love Jalen Wilson: His 16 points would have been his second-highest scoring output of last season.

Next

Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

The Nets will play two consecutive away games to open the season for the fourth time in 30 years. But they stay in the Southeast and play the Orlando Magic after a day off at their gym. The meeting point is scheduled for Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. ET.