Nets Crumble at Home to Atkinson, Cavaliers

The post-Dennis Schroder era has begun in Brooklyn, and it wasn't pretty.

Dec 16, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) dunks against Brooklyn Nets center Day'Ron Sharpe (20) and guards Tyrese Martin (13) and Ben Simmons (10) during the second quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

In their first game since dealing Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors, the Brooklyn Nets received a home shellacking at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers and their cast of familiar faces.

Sans Schroder, Jordi Fernandez expressed a desire to speed up the offensive tempo after handing the reigns to Ben Simmons.

"We're going to try to play faster," Fernandez said pregame via The Athletic. "The ball is going to fly."

Monday night, the ball was flying, just in all the wrong directions.

Dec 16, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert (3) looks to pass the ball against Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons (10) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Following an impressive sequence from Simmons seconds into the contest—a steal, slam, assist and strong rebound—Brooklyn completely unraveled and committed 14 first-half turnovers, resulting in a 25-point concession to Cleveland.

Spearheaded by former Nets Kenny Atkinson, Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert, the Cavaliers responded to an early 7-0 Brooklyn run with a 25-3 run of their own, and a separate 19-5 run shortly after.

While LeVert splashed six of his eight three-point attempts through just 11 minutes of action, Brooklyn only managed six made field goals in the second frame.

The hosts found themselves down 32 at halftime, their largest deficit of the 2024-25 campaign.

Despite getting thumped at home, there wasn't a lack of effort. Even without the leadership of Schroder, there's still no quit in these Nets. The scoreboard just reflected otherwise.

Out of the break, the Barclays Center blowout only continued.

Late in the third quarter, Dorian Finney-Smith and Day'Ron Sharpe orchestrated a 10-3 run to cut Cleveland's advantage to 21, but that was the closest Brooklyn got throughout the remainder of the evening.

Dec 16, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) controls the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Jalen Wilson and Sharpe proved to be the Nets' lone bright spots, as the former tallied 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting. The latter posted a season-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting, though both still ended with a negative plus-minus. They weren't the only ones, though.

Every single member of Brooklyn's roster who entered the matchup finished with a negative plus-minus, ironically a complete contrast from its opponent. Unsurprisingly, every single member from the opposite sideline finished with a positive plus-minus.

Although Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland only combined for 29 points, the Cavaliers boasted seven players with double-digits in the scoring column, led by a team-high 21 points from Evan Mobley.

This one was essentially over by the end of the first quarter, but the Nets' effort throughout the entirety of the contest was beyond commendable. In its first game without Schroder, a veteran leader and primary scorer, Brooklyn looked completely lost.

But that may all be part of the plan.

The Nets now sit at 10-16, good enough for 11th place in the Eastern Conference and just six-and-a-half games ahead of the worst-seeded Washington Wizards.

With the outing against the league's top team in the rearview, Fernandez's squad heads to Toronto to take on the Raptors this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. EST.

To access the final box score from the Nets' loss to the Cavaliers, click here.

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