The Nets cried Wolf. This time, he was telling the truth.
Despite selecting a historic slew of first-round picks in 2025, the Nets had seen just two of those rookies, Egor Demin and Nolan Traore, crack Jordi Fernández’s rotation through the first seven games.
Injuries mounted alongside Brooklyn’s losses. Entering Wednesday night with a 1-6 record and coming off a deflating loss to the rival Knicks across the river, they were still winless on their home floor. Urgency kicked in.
Noah Clowney suffered a knee injury in the first half and was ruled out for the remainder of the night, joining Demin, Joshua Jefferson, Ben Saraf, and Drake Powell on the inactive list — five rookie-contract players forced to watch from the sidelines (or Long Island).