Nets give peek at potential starting five in lopsided preseason win

The Nets rolled to a 123-88 rout of Hapoel Jerusalem in a lopsided preseason opener that revealed absolutely nothing.

There is little to take from a game this mismatched, other than generalities.

The Nets will defend and scrap, even in games and moments that don’t matter. They’ll be physical, maybe a little too much. The Nets were sloppy and foul-prone when they shouldn’t have been, against an overmatched team that couldn’t beat them off the dribble. But by and large, there were few nits to pick.

Coach Jordi Fernández went with a starting lineup of Ben Saraf, Cam Thomas, Terance Mann, Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton. That’s probably not too far off from the optimal Nets quintet, though point guard is a position in flux.

The Nets drafted three point guards in the first round in June — Egor Dëmin, Saraf and Nolan Traore — then traded for Kobe Bufkin, a 2023 first-rounder. But with Dëmin still sidelined with plantar fasciitis and Saraf having drawn more buzz than Traore from his offseason and early camp workout, the 19-year-old Israeli got the nod on Saturday against Hapoel Jerusalem.

Saraf — who was raised in Israel and played his first two pro seasons there — had nine points, six assists, just one turnover and finished plus-25, the assists and plus-minus both team highs. The five fouls in 17:56 — including three in his first four minutes on the floor — may have been a case of being too fired up, or maybe defensive failings.

Either way, it’ll bear watching against better competition when the Nets face NBA competition, playing the Suns next week in China.

It’s noteworthy that he got the start over Traore, and Bufkin — who was a combo guard in Atlanta — played almost exclusively off the ball, with eight points and a plus-12 in 11:26. Perhaps the Nets see him as an off-guard rather than a point.

Mann had 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Porter and Noah Clowney added 13. The latter shot 5-of-5, added four rebounds and was plus-19.

Dëmin, rookie Drake Powell and veteran Haywood Highsmith were the only Nets unavailable.

Fernández said Powell — who has been practicing full contact in his comeback from knee tendinopathy — is expected to suit up and make his debut next week in one of the two games against the Suns in China.

Dëmin is still recovering from a plantar fascia tear, and hasn’t been cleared for full contact practice yet. The lottery pick has downplayed the injury, and the Nets have claimed Dëmin should be ready by opening night. Highsmith has also pointed to that as a target date as he recovers from knee surgery.

Other than that, Fernández expects every healthy player to see action over the next couple of games. The Nets got 17 players on the floor Saturday night, with Fanbo Zeng the only healthy player who didn’t see action, a DNP-Coach’s Decision.

The Nets will see Steve Nash, who is now serving as a consultant for the Suns. Nash was Brooklyn’s head coach from 2020-22, fired on Nov. 1, 2022.