Nets Nightly

Brooklyn went 20-62 last season. The offensive rating was 108.2 and the defensive rating was 118.2, a net rating of -10.0. The Nets played at a pace of 97.6 and scored 105.9 points per game. Their effective field goal rate was 52.0 and their true shooting was 55.9. Randle carried the biggest load. He played 79 games at 33.0 minutes a night and averaged 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists. His plus-minus was +2.9, the only positive mark among the team's main rotation players. Porter Jr. averaged 24.2 points and 7.1 rebounds in 52 games and shot 36.3 percent from three. Clowney added 12.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 66 games. The core scoring is back. The defense is the problem that has to change.

Last season was a learning year for the backcourt. Demin averaged 10.3 points and 3.3 assists in 52 games. He shot 38.5 percent from three, the best mark among the regulars. Traore played 56 games and averaged 8.9 points and 3.8 assists, but he shot 31.8 percent from deep. Saraf averaged 7.5 points and 3.3 assists in 44 games and shot 21.1 percent from three. Powell played 63 games and averaged 6.5 points on 28.0 percent from three, with a -7.1 plus-minus. Ellis was steadier. He played 72 games, averaged 6.7 points and hit 36.3 percent from deep. Mann averaged 7.2 points and shot 36.4 percent from three. Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. now joins that group, so the minutes at guard will be contested from the opener on.

Brooklyn's most-used lineup last season was Porter Jr., Mann, Claxton, Clowney and Demin. It played 307.0 minutes over 19 games and finished with a net rating of 2.2. That group no longer exists, because Claxton is in Chicago. Every one of the team's top lineups by minutes had Claxton in it. The second-most-used group swapped Traore in for Mann and was -24.5 in 143.0 minutes. Another with Mann, Claxton and Saraf was -19.5 in 51.0 minutes. Clowney and Demin were in most of those lineups and remain on the roster. Sharpe, now in his fifth season, Wagner and Randle are the bigs who have to cover the minutes Claxton used to take. How the staff pairs them with Porter Jr. is the first lineup question of the year.

Brooklyn won its first three exhibition games. It beat Charlotte 124-90 on the road on Oct. 6, beat Philadelphia 114-108 at home on Oct. 8 and won 131-122 at Washington on Oct. 12. Then it lost 144-128 at Miami on Oct. 14 and fell 110-103 to Charlotte at Barclays Center on Oct. 21. The regular season opens Oct. 24 at Cleveland. The Nets host Indiana the next night, so the year starts with a back-to-back. They visit Boston on Oct. 27 and host Detroit in an Emirates NBA Cup game on Oct. 30. They close the stretch at Indiana on Nov. 1. The schedule has 80 regular-season games, and 4 of them are on national TV.

Tyler Bilodeau is the only Net on the injury report. The rookie forward is listed day-to-day with a shoulder and arm issue. His estimated return is Oct. 24, the date of the opener at Cleveland, so he could be available for the first game. Brian Lewis filed Nets notes on Oct. 22 that covered Randle, Wagner, Brown and Clowney. That gives a sense of where the attention sits as camp ends: the veteran forward, the backup big, the rookie guard and the young frontcourt piece. An Oct. 20 injury roundup also included the Nets. None of those notes changes the roster as it stands. Brooklyn goes to Cleveland with the group it has, and with Bilodeau's status the one item to watch.