The Nets are still chasing that first win, and Sunday night brings a familiar opponent with a very different look.
Brooklyn heads to Indiana for a rematch with the Pacers at 5 p.m. ET, trying to shake off an 0-5 start and recover from Friday’s 110-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons in its Emirates NBA Cup opener. The Pacers come in at 2-4 after a 145-125 defeat to the Miami Heat, but they’ll be missing two key starters from the team that handled Brooklyn just a week ago.
That earlier meeting was lopsided. Indiana beat the Nets 136-109 at Barclays Center last Sunday, taking over with a huge second and third quarter. The Pacers poured in 78 points across those two periods, shot 57.6% from the field and 48.8% from three, and never really let Brooklyn back in it.
Tyrese Haliburton was the engine that night, finishing with 24 points and 10 assists. Pascal Siakam added 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Obi Toppin gave Indiana a lift off the bench with 16 points.
This time, though, Haliburton won’t be there. He suffered a left hamstring strain and is expected to miss at least two weeks, leaving Indiana without its All-Star point guard and top offensive organizer. Starting center Ivica Zubac is also out after spraining his left ankle in the first quarter of last Sunday’s game against Brooklyn.
That puts more pressure on Andrew Nembhard to run the Pacers’ offense. He already showed what he can do Friday against Miami, scoring 22 points, knocking down five threes and handing out nine assists. Quenton Jackson led Indiana with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and Jarace Walker chipped in 14 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, is trying to clean up the same problems that have followed it through the opening stretch. Against Detroit, the Nets jumped out to a 28-21 lead after one quarter, then watched the game slip away as they were outscored by 33 over the next two periods. The final margin was 16, and the story was familiar: shaky defense, costly mistakes and no sustained energy.
Mo Wagner led the Nets with 16 points and eight rebounds, continuing to give them useful production off the bench. Julius Randle posted 15 points and eight rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. added 13 points and seven rebounds, and Mikel Brown Jr. finished with 10 points and four assists after showing some encouraging signs in the fourth quarter.
Brooklyn will be shorthanded again. Egor Dëmin remains out with a bone bruise in his right leg and is expected to miss at least another week after being diagnosed following Tuesday’s overtime loss to Boston. Brown will also sit Sunday for back management as the Nets open their first back-to-back of the season; he is expected to be available Monday against the New York Knicks.
Even with Indiana missing Haliburton and Zubac, Brooklyn can’t assume anything. The Pacers already showed last week how dangerous they can be, and Siakam, Nembhard and the rest still give them enough firepower to make this a tough night.
For the Nets, the assignment is simple: put together a full 48 minutes and finally get into the win column.
In Other News...
Nets Already Face A Bigger Problem Than Their 0-5 Start
The 0-5 start has already put the Nets in an early-season hole, but the bigger concern around the group is how quickly the frustration has started to show. Brooklyn has been dealing with team adversity and poor body language, and coach Jordi Fernandez made clear after the recent loss to Detroit that the group is in a fragile mental state. For a team trying to build any kind of identity, that can be just as damaging as the losses themselves.
Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. are supposed to be part of the stabilizing force in the locker room, the veterans who help keep the season from drifting further off course. But even that piece of the puzzle comes with uncertainty because of their contract situations, which leaves Brooklyn trying to steady itself while not knowing exactly how long its most experienced voices will be around. For now, the Nets are not just searching for a win, they are searching for cohesion. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Face Another Lineup Problem As Winless Start Keeps Dragging
The Nets are still trying to piece together a workable rotation as their winless start drags on, and the injury report keeps making that job harder. Brooklyn announced that guards Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. will be unavailable for the upcoming game against the Indiana Pacers, while rookies Joshua Jefferson and Tyler Bilodeau, along with Ben Saraf and Grant Nelson, remain on G League assignments.
For a team already searching for stability, the absences leave Jordi Fernandez with more lineup shuffling than he would like this early in the season. Fernandez has already addressed Browns play and the adjustments Brooklyn has had to make around its available personnel, and now the Nets will have to navigate another night without two more guards in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Backcourt Shakeup Shows How Fernndez Plans To Fix The Offense
Jordi Fernndezs latest backcourt adjustment is a clear sign he is trying to steady Brooklyns offense by changing how the ball gets organized, not just who is on the floor. Nolan Traor got the first-unit nod and brought a different tempo to the group in his first start, finishing with 15 points while helping the offense look more connected even if the assist totals did not fully tell the story.
The move also hints at a larger plan for how Fernndez wants the Nets to function across both units. With the starting group still searching for a more reliable rhythm, the coach is also looking at rookie Mikel Brown Jr. to guide the second unit and keep the offense balanced when the rotations flip, a setup that could shape Brooklyns guard rotation for a while. [Read more 🡒]