After Jacque Vaughn’s departure, the Nets played their first game under the guidance of interim head coach Kevin Ollie, which resulted in a disappointing 93-121 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Despite Cameron Thomas’ impressive performance of 19 points and four assists in 30 minutes, the team couldn’t keep up with the Raptors. Thomas acknowledged the team’s slow start to the second half of the season due to the coaching change and requested patience from the fans. He believed the team started strong but lost momentum as the game progressed, which is a fixable issue that the team is working on daily under Ollie’s leadership.
Toronto capitalized on the turnovers, causing major problems for the Nets. The team needs to exercise more caution when handling the ball, especially with high-level floor generals like Dennis Schroder, Dennis Smith Jr., and Ben Simmons on the roster. Smith and Day’Ron Sharpe had shaky performances, leading the team with four turnovers each. The Nets missed opportunities to score, including Cameron Johnson, who went 0-6 from three. Coach Ollie and the team have ample room for growth and must improve in practice to succeed in future games.
