Brooklyn Nets waste Kyrie Irving’s spectacular debut; 3 takeaways

3. Second unit may need another playmaker

One of the not-so-secret secrets to the success of the Brooklyn Nets last season was a bench unit that averaged 48.2 points per game, second only to the LA Clippers in the NBA last season.

Led by Spencer Dinwiddie, the reserves were buoyed much of the way by DeMarre Carroll‘s double-digit scoring and spacing, with Ed Davis, Shabazz Napier and Jared Dudley stepping up at times for bursts of points as well.

So it was something of a surprise on opening night to see the Nets’ reserves outscored 32-21 by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Dinwiddie did his thing, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting. But the rest of the reserves — David Nwaba, DeAndre Jordan, Garrett Temple and Rodions Kurucs — were a combined 2-for-8 and scored seven points.

The starters played heavier minutes on Wednesday than they usually did last season and that is certainly a factor in the reduced punch off the pine. Dinwiddie led the reserves with 19 minutes, Temple and Jordan logged 17 each, Nwaba played 13 and Kurucs just seven.

One problem was that the second unit was far too reliant on Dinwiddie attempting to break down a defender off the bounce. There was not nearly enough shooting and having a secondary playmaker could improve the balance of that group as well.

So it was puzzling that we got so much of Nwaba and Temple together — 12½ minutes to be exact — at a less-than-encouraging net rating of minus-33.2 points per 100 possessions.

None of the starters were negative plus/minus players on Wednesday, with the lowest mark being Joe Harris’ plus-1. But no one on the second unit finished with a positive number, with the best being Dinwiddie’s minus-7. Kurucs managed a minus-16 in just seven minutes, while Temple was at minus-15, Nwaba minus-13 and Jordan minus-12.

If only Brooklyn had someone else capable of balancing the floor and making plays for the second unit. Maybe someone such as Dzanan Musa, who is 6-foot-9 with point guard passing skills and a much-improved jump shot.

Musa averaged 12.0 points per game and was 7-for-15 from deep in the preseason while committing only two turnovers in those 71 minutes on the floor.

Nwaba and Temple are — by themselves — solid wings who can defend and play hard. The problem is neither is much of a shot creator, for themselves or anyone else, but they are also not particularly great shooters.

Playing one of them makes sense. Playing two of them clogs the floor and makes the offense very Spencer-heavy. Giving Musa a shot at some of those minutes seems a way to get better spacing and playmaking.