Julius Randle didn’t force the issue, and Brooklyn was better for it.
Late Wednesday, with the Nets building a double-digit lead over the Charlotte Hornets, Jordi Fernández wanted Randle back on the floor. The veteran forward had already put up 22 points, but he saw the game differently. As Fernández explained afterward, Randle’s response was straightforward: Just let them roll.
That small exchange fit neatly into a 114-104 win that was shaped as much by Fernández loosening his grip on the rotation as by the players who took advantage of the opening.
“Sometimes you see guys not having it,” Fernández said.
The biggest beneficiaries were Danny Wolf and Terance Mann, two reserves who had barely been part of the picture before Wednesday. Wolf, a second-year forward, entered early in the third quarter after sitting outside the rotation for the first seven games. Mann followed later and ended up playing the entire fourth quarter.
Mann didn’t score, missing all four of his shots, but Brooklyn still outscored Charlotte by 11 in his nearly 16 minutes. During the fourth quarter alone, the Nets were plus-10 with him on the floor from start to finish.
Wolf made a much louder statistical imprint. In less than 19 minutes, he finished plus-17 with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists.
What mattered most in the closing stretch was how steady the group stayed. With Mann and Wolf on the floor for the final period, Brooklyn had 10 assists on 11 made baskets and turned it over only twice.
That was a sharp turn from Monday, when the Nets managed just 11 fourth-quarter points against the Knicks. Against Charlotte, they put up 34.
Michael Porter Jr. said Mann’s impact didn’t catch him off guard. He pointed to Mann’s defense and communication, then added that he is “one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever had.”
Porter also said Mann kept younger players engaged from the bench instead of letting a smaller role shrink his influence.
Randle’s choice to stay out of the way belonged in that same category. His 22 points mattered, and Fernández had every reason to call for him.
But the group on the floor had earned another possession, and then another after that. Randle understood it before the substitution even came.
Fernández called him “selfless.”
The question now is whether this carries beyond one night. Egor Demin remains out with a right leg bone bruise for Saturday’s road game against the Atlanta Hawks, and Drake Powell is questionable while on G League assignment. Joshua Jefferson, Ben Saraf, Tyler Bilodeau and Grant Nelson are also out on assignment.
Wolf and Mann may not have locked down regular minutes yet, but Wednesday gave them a real argument. The next move belongs to Fernández.
In Other News...
Nets Still Waiting On Egor Demin As Backcourt Absences Pile Up
The Nets backcourt depth is getting tested again, with Egor Demin set to sit out the upcoming game against the Dallas Mavericks because of a right leg bone bruise. Brooklyn will have to keep waiting on the rookie, who remains in the evaluation process as the team works through another stretch of absences.
Mikel Brown Jr. will also be unavailable against Dallas, leaving the Nets even thinner in the guard rotation. Both players are at least in line to be in the conversation for Brooklyns next game against the New Orleans Pelicans, giving the team a possible boost after a short turnaround and a chance to regain some needed stability in the backcourt. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rotation Faces Heat After A Loss Brooklyn Should Have Closed
For three quarters, Brooklyn looked like it had done enough to put another win in the bank, building a lead and leaning on a balanced effort from Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle. Porter finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Randle added 19 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in a game that, for long stretches, seemed to be trending the Nets way.
Then the closing stretch turned into the kind of loss that tends to linger in a locker room and in the film room. The 124-121 defeat to Atlanta left Brooklyn sorting through player grades and individual performances, but the bigger concern is harder to grade: how a game that was there to be closed slipped away when it mattered most. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Collapse Overshadows DayRon Sharpe Night Fans Will Be Debating
For most of the night, DayRon Sharpe gave the Nets exactly the kind of interior presence and playmaking they can build around, finishing with a triple-double in a game that felt like it was slipping into Brooklyns hands. Mikel Brown Jr. helped keep the pressure on Atlanta with 18 points, and the Nets had a late lead before the fourth quarter turned into a reminder of how quickly a game can change when the margin gets thin.
Jordi Fernndez had some lineup choices to explain afterward, including his decision to ride with other options down the stretch even after Nolan Traor had flashed earlier in the game. But the bigger conversation around this one will be the collapse itself, because a 124-121 loss after controlling so much of the night tends to linger longer than any individual bright spot. [Read more 🡒]