Is Brooklyn Nets' opening loss to Milwaukee Bucks cause for concern?
The Brooklyn Nets had trouble finding the net all night.
Kevin Durant had 32 points and 11 boards. James Harden went for 20, eight rebounds and eight assists. Heck, Patty Mills even poured in 21.
But the team's collective effort paled in comparison to the Milwaukee Bucks' in Tuesday's season opener. Brooklyn took a drubbing on the defensive end. After watching the Bucks receive their championship rings in a ceremony they certainly aspire to replicate a year from now, the Nets looked like they didn't belong on the same floor as the reigning champs.
Brooklyn fell behind early 28-12 as Milwaukee opened the night with the same firepower that helped the team eliminate Brooklyn last season in a gripping Eastern Conference finals on the way to seizing the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
By halftime, things looked much better for the Nets, as a comeback effort sparked by Mills and Durant brought them to 66-59 at the break.
But Milwaukee maintained a double-digit advantage for the better part of the third before opening a 25-plus-point edge in the fourth as the Bucks gradually flattened any chance of a rally.
Giannis Antentokounmpo went off for 32 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, and Khris Middleton posted 20 points and nine boards. Pat Connaughton also had a 20-point outing, and Jordan Nwora supplemented the bench group with 15.
It was a disappointing first affair for Brooklyn, which, despite the absence of Kyrie Irving, remains one of the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee is likely a team Brooklyn will have to get through should those hopes come to fruition, and though they were expected to give the Bucks a challenge with a vengeful effort Tuesday, the Nets couldn't keep it close for the most part.
That was cause for concern for Nick Wright.
"Does this remind you of anything?" Wright questioned Wednesday morning on "First Things First."
"This was ominous. KD plays great, and the Nets lose to Milwaukee. That's three losses in a row to Milwaukee, the team they are going to have go through.
"Another reason it's ominous: There is a very strong case to be made that the Nets lost the championship last year not because of injuries but because of bad coaching. Because Steve Nash did not prioritize the 1-seed in the regular season, which put them on a collision course with Milwaukee in Round 2. You have a coach who I think is over his head, a roster that doesn't have defense or size again, and you're just relying on KD to be utterly brilliant."
Skip Bayless had a similar criticism for Nash's troupe.
"I still believe this was more last night about what the Nets didn't, couldn't, wouldn't do," Bayless said Wednesday on "Undisputed."
"The Nets came out lifeless. They were disconnected, I don't know why. KD was not engaged early in this game. KD went LeBron from the free-throw line. He's a 90% free-throw shooter. He's just dinking free throws. He didn't shoot them with any conviction. It was clear to me from jump that the home team wanted this game more than the visiting team. They feed off KD's energy, and it wasn't usual."
Durant, however, was not worried in the slightest following the loss.
"It's one game out of 82," he said after the game.
"Look at it that way, like every team. I know the Bucks won today, but they're still trying to fine-tune what they do. I think every team is looking at their first few games, seeing what teams are doing and then making adjustments. We had good spurts, cut it to seven, cut it to eight a few times, but we just couldn't get over the hump. They had more possessions than us. They created more offense for themselves with offensive rebounds. We didn't turn them over. Possessions are a battle for us. All the other stuff — rotations, rhythm — all of that will come."
The Nets will get a second crack at the victory column at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday at Philadelphia.
