Is Nets' Impressive 3-Point Shooting Here to Stay?

Brooklyn didn’t win either of its first two games, but it showed some encouraging signs from beyond the arc.

On Friday night, the Nets dropped to 0-2 with a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at home. While a loss to the team that was the top seed in the East last season was expected, Brooklyn made Cleveland work for its win in the final minutes of the game.

While the Cavaliers were in control for most of the night, the Nets began to storm back in the fourth quarter, even cutting the deficit to one after trailing by 22 to begin the final frame. Egor Demin’s three off an offensive rebound to make it a one-point game in the closing minutes made Barclays Center erupt, and it might have given a glimpse at what’s to come for Brooklyn the rest of the season.

After a blowout loss in Charlotte on opening night, it would have been unsurprising to see the Nets get blown out again against the Cavaliers. While the game was heading that way for much of the night, the Nets showed off some impressive 3-point shooting.

Shooting 7-of-13 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter to spark the run, Ziaire Williams and Demin each hit three apiece in the final 12 minutes. Brooklyn couldn’t fully overcome the hole it dug, but that outside shooting gave Jordi Fernandez’s team a chance in the clutch time.

Finishing the game 19-of-45 from deep, the Nets are up to 38.8% from beyond the arc across two games this season, which ranks eighth among teams with multiple games played. If Brooklyn can continue to knock down its outside shots, it might have a formula to pull some upsets like it almost did against Cleveland.

While that outside shooting was an encouraging sign, finding a way to keep up that type of mark from beyond the arc across 82 games will be a tall task. While Demin’s ability to knock down big outside shots was encouraging, and he looks to be one of the Nets’ top players moving forward, getting that sort of consistent 3-point output from a rookie could be hard to come by.

Still, Fernandez seems willing to let his players put up plenty of shots from beyond the arc to set up moments like Friday’s fourth quarter. Sitting fifth in 3-point attempts through two games, if the Nets can continue to shoot at this volume and knock those shots down at a decent rate, Brooklyn has a chance to surprise the league this season.