The Brooklyn Nets finally snagged their first win of the season Sunday, knocking off the Indiana Pacers 98-90 on the road, but don’t let that single W fool you. This team has been floundering, starting the season with a miserable five-game losing streak that even included a home loss to those same Pacers. And now, star forward Michael Porter Jr. has pulled back the curtain on exactly why things aren’t clicking, pointing straight at the chemistry, or lack thereof, with veteran leader Julius Randle.
Randle’s Return Home Hits a Speed Bump
Julius Randle arrived in Brooklyn after major offseason moves aimed at bringing in experienced talent to bolster a young squad. He came over from the Minnesota Timberwolves, hoping to light up the offense like he did with the New York Knicks six years ago. Randle’s always been a scorer, and he’s expressed how stoked he is to be back in the New York area where his family lived for those five seasons with the Knicks. But this isn’t the same situation; he’s now a veteran leader on a young team, rocking different responsibilities. The initial plan was for Randle to raise the team’s floor, but that 0-5 start screamingly showed Brooklyn isn’t close to competing yet. Randle himself gets it. After Sunday’s victory, he admitted, “We’ve got a lot to improve on. I’m happy for the group. We’ve been working real hard. We’re sticking together in tough moments…But it’s just a start , we know we can be a lot better. We need to continue to grow and build off what we did.” A good start, sure, but what’s *really* going on?
The MPJ-Randle Connection Is Missing
Here’s the kicker: Randle and Michael Porter Jr. are the Nets’ top two guys, both dropping over 20 points per game this season. You’d think that would be enough to get the offense humming, right? Wrong. The crucial chemistry between them? It just hasn’t materialized in 2026-27. After the Nets’ fourth loss on Friday, Porter Jr. didn’t mince words about the adjustment. He said, “There’s definitely times out there that I’m going long stretches without touching the ball… But that’s not the plan.” He went on to explain, “When Julius gets the ball, he’s a really good passer. So we need to make ourselves available and be able to play off of him better. Sometimes he’s getting the iso and we’re just staring at him… I’ve got to figure out how to stay more involved sometimes.” Porter Jr. even took some accountability, adding that he needs to “do a better job of maybe telling the point guards or telling Julius and them.” This isn’t just a minor tweak; this is a foundational issue with your two best players struggling to play together.
The Nets got a win, a small sigh of relief. But the message from Porter Jr. is loud and clear: they need to figure out how to integrate their top two scorers, or this “slow start” is going to become the story of their entire season. It’s on Randle, Porter Jr., and the whole squad to turn those words into action if they want to build off that lone win and climb out of this early hole.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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