Nets

The scoreboard showed a 19-point deficit to the Pelicans. Kevin Durant was not on the floor. Nor were Kyrie Irving or Ben Simmons, their places filled by Cam ...

Another early season article of faith: It can take 15 to 20 games for a team to get a firm sense of its identity or its true potential. It was as if the Nets had indeed suffered the summer implosion that everyone expected [in the wake of Durant’s trade demand](https://www.si.com/nba/2022/07/01/kevin-durant-nets-trade-request-fallout-kyrie-irving). But some of the Nets’ frailties cannot be so easily dismissed, or remedied. They’re a team lacking in size and strength on the front line, and that showed up in every part of the box score Wednesday night—in the rebounding (where the Pelicans had a 61-39 advantage), in the paint scoring (62-46) and in second-chance points (36-4). Simmons’s presence and elite passing may yet change that, but that may take some time. Still, for the antsy fans at Barclays Center on Wednesday, it all probably looked way too familiar. McCollum (21 points) took turns strafing the Nets from everywhere else. Nets coach Steve Nash called it a “clunky” effort—“like we’re maybe overly excited or tense to start a new season”—which seems plausible enough, but not exactly the mark of a veteran-laden team with championship aspirations. Brooklyn’s offense will surely look more fluid with better shooting and spacing, and both Harris and Curry are willing ball-movers and playmakers. The debut of the Nets’ new Big 3 was, to put it lightly, a dud. But this surely wasn’t what anyone had in mind when the [Pelicans](https://www.si.com/nba/team/new-orleans-pelicans).

In his first game since 2021, Ben Simmons tallied just four points and five assists as the Nets lost by 22 to the Pelicans.

They’re looking for their first win in [pic.twitter.com/XZJuHL8Fw2] [October 20, 2022] [pic.twitter.com/NKfgRCJ64c] [October 20, 2022] [pic.twitter.com/IHp0iQn7LU] [October 20, 2022] To be fair, last night was Simmons’ first real game since June 20, 2021. In the first game that counted in his new uniform, the former first overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers recorded just two points, five rebounds, five assists, three turnovers, and six personal fouls in 23 minutes of the Nets’ 130-108 loss at home to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Few debuts have been more anticipated than the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving-Ben Simmons triumvirate. How opening night at Barclays went wrong.

[Pelicans](https://staging2.theathletic.com/nba/team/pelicans/), led by [Zion Williamson](https://staging2.theathletic.com/nba/player/zion-williamson-l6xjgWmi8X4OMdjm/) and his 25 points, won 130-108 by taking advantage of 16 Nets turnovers for 26 points. The Pelicans also destroyed the Nets on the boards, 61-39, and in second-chance points, 36-4. “Fouling out is not an option,” Irving told Simmons.