Are early trends sign of what’s to come for Brooklyn Nets?

The Brooklyn Nets lost a crazy season opener in overtime to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Will it be a sign of things to come?

The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the season opener 127-126, in what was an entertaining overtime battle. To say it’s early in the season would be an understatement, but there are few things from the first game that are worth noting. Will they continue the remainder of the season, or was the opener just an outlier?

(Credit to NBA for GIF)

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving’s 50-point performance on 17-of-33 shooting (7-for-14 from 3) was the undeniable storyline. Kyrie was absolutely feeling it, scoring both in transition and in the half court in isolation. He feasted from his “Game 7” spot on the 3-point line and even added seven assists on zero turnovers.

His 50-point performance was the most any player has scored in their first game with a new team. Previous highs were 47 by Kiki Vandeweghe with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1984-85 and 43 by Wilt Chamberlain with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959-60.

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There will surely be more games when Irving is really feeling it, but this won’t be the norm. Irving’s 33 field goal attempts represent a number he’s only reached five times in his entire career (once last season). This means that some of Irving’s 33 shots will typically be distributed elsewhere and the guard will exchange some shooting for distributing.

When he’s hot, Irving can carry Brooklyn’s offense. It remains to be seen, however, how the offense will look and where the shots will come from on a typical night.

Fun Facts

Irving now has three career 50-point games, having scored 55 and 57 in 2015 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He now has five career games in which he’s made seven or more 3-pointers, including a career high 11 in 2015 (in which he scored 55 points).
Irving now has six career games with at least seven assists and zero turnovers.

Jarrett Allen

There was some concern among Jarrett Allen fans that DeAndre Jordan might take too many minutes from the budding third-year player. Through one game at least, this doesn’t seem to be a concern. Allen’s 36 minutes more than doubled Jordan’s 17.

He wasn’t very involved offensively (3-for-6, six points) and the center could be a prime option to pick up some of the offense slack on normal nights for Irving. Allen struggled a bit to corral Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns on the perimeter (36 points, seven 3s), but this is a tough matchup for any big man.

Fun fact

Jarrett Allen has only five career games in which he’s played greater than or equal to 36 minutes (36 in the opener, career high 43).

Taurean Prince

Taurean Prince carried over his hot shooting from the preseason, making 2-of-5 from long range on the night. With Wilson Chandler suspended, there has been some question as to how the minutes would be distributed at the 3/4 positions between Prince, Rodions Kurucs, Garrett Temple and David Nwaba.

Among this group, Prince certainly seems to have the confidence of head coach Kenny Atkinson. His 41 minutes trounced that of Kurucs (seven), Temple (17) and Nwaba (13). Early on, it looks like a lineup with Prince at the 4-spot alongside Irving (1), Joe Harris (2), Caris LeVert (3) and Allen (5) will be the “go-to” group for Atkinson.

Prince’s ability to be a stretch 4 on the offensive end could make the lineup elite offensively.

It remains to be seen whether Prince has what it takes to play the 4 position on the defensive end, but it’s encouraging that he stepped up as a rebounder in the opener, posting a team-high 11 rebounds. The Nets will need him to continue to fight on the interior when they play these lineups.

Fun facts

Taurean Prince now has three career games with 11 or more rebounds (career high of 12).
His 41 minutes were tied for a career high.

The 127 points Brooklyn gave up defensively suggest this end of the floor could be a concern, but it’s too early to tell.