One Skill Each Brooklyn Nets Starter Needs to Improve Upon

Through four winless games this season, the Brooklyn Nets have rolled out the same starting five. We will likely begin to see this lineup change more often as head coach Jordi Fernandez and the coaching staff experiment with different groups.

Among five-man lineups across the NBA that have played at least 10 minutes together, Brooklyn's starting five ranks outside the top 50 for offensive rating. Unsurprisingly, its starting five has the second-worst defensive rating currently.

The starting five was expected to be a fast-paced offense that lacked on the defensive end, but the reality is that both sides of the ball are being poorly executed. Each player needs development if there's going to be better fluidity in the group.

Michael Porter Jr.

If there is one player in the starting five that you could knock for defense, it'd be Porter Jr. He is only averaging 0.8 stocks per game this season and has had trouble staying in front of his assignments without fouling.

At 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot wingspan, one would expect Porter Jr. to have a greater impact at the rim, but he has yet to block a shot this season. The Nets have been the worst shot-blocking team in the league this season, and having the 27-year-old contribute should help the defense improve as a whole.

Nic Claxton

Along the same lines, Claxton looks like a shell of his former self on the defensive end. He has yet to record a blocked shot this season.

Another thing plaguing Claxton from playing better defense is a career-high 3.8 fouls per game. The former anchor of the defense was once in Defensive Player of the Year talks, but now his lack of a strong defensive presence could make it harder for Brooklyn to trade him.

Terance Mann

Mann is possibly on the best statistical start to a season of his career. The only flaw that needs to be improved is a lack of consistency.

He was the team's leading scorer against the Houston Rockets with 21 points and also added six rebounds. On the flip side, Mann dropped a measly four points on 2-for-6 shooting in Brooklyn's near comeback win versus the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The oldest player on the roster called his own number to start the season, and he has largely shown out, but also tends to disappear in stretches.

Cam Thomas

Complaining about scoring with a player like Thomas seems crazy, especially when he's averaging 24.5 points per game thus far, but his inefficiencies from beyond the arc are concerning.

Thomas is shooting 33.3% from three on 6.8 attempts per game, his second-lowest percentage from three for his career. Brooklyn's new identity of fast-paced offense that gets up a high number of three-pointers only works if the engine of its offense either starts hitting from outside at a higher clip or looks for better shots inside the arc.

Ben Saraf

Saraf is only 19 years old, and he was the Nets' last pick of the first round. Despite these facts, Saraf has been tasked with facilitating the offense four games into the season. It will take time, just like it does for the majority of rookies, but his shooting splits need to improve.

Saraf is currently shooting 23.8% from the field, 20% from three and 66.7% from the free-throw line. In his most recent game against the Rockets, he showed promise from three-point range, going 2-for-5, but it's his short game that needs the most work.