NBA Power Rankings: What exactly is wrong with the Clippers?

28. Brooklyn Nets

So far, the Nets haven’t totally fallen apart without D’Angelo Russell. Last week, per nba.com/stats, they had an offensive rating of 105.1 (good for 14th in the league) en route to a 1-2 record. So, while they aren’t winning, they haven’t fallen off a cliff just yet.

They also deserve some credit for playing the Kevin Durant-less Warriors tough on Sunday. Missing 12 free throws may have doomed them, but coming back from as many as 28 down to make it a four-point game in the fourth quarter is something. It was also a completely different effort from the first half, where they showed no fight and looked well on their way to a blowout.

“We were taken by the moment a bit. They were frozen for some reason,” Kenny Atkinson said after the game, per NetsDaily. “[The Warriors] are a great team. Maybe that was it. But we were on our heels. That’s not us. That’s not how we play. I can’t explain what happened in the first half — why we came out so spiritless and [with a] lack of energy.

Games against the Cavaliers and Trail Blazers this week should offer more insight into if they can maintain a good enough level of offense without Russell, who recently underwent surgery and has an unclear timetable for this return. Until he does, it’s time to enjoy the Spencer Dinwiddie show, I guess.