Three Takeaways From The Nets' Hard-Fought Loss To The Hawks

The Brooklyn Nets (17-49) hit the road on Thursday evening for a matchup with the Atlanta Hawks (35-31).

The Nets would be without a litany of key players, as Michael Porter Jr., Nolan Traore, and Ziaire Williams all missed the game with injury. Earlier in the day, backup center Day'Ron Sharpe joined Egor Demin on the injured list, as he'll miss the rest of the season with a thumb issue. The Nets' reserves gave a great effort, but came up short in a 108-97 loss.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the Nets road loss to the Hawks.

1. Josh Minott Impressed Again

With five important players out for Thursday night's game, head coach Jordi Fernandez had to dig deep into his roster to find minutes. One of the guys who got more of an extended run was Josh Minott, who was impressive once again off the Brooklyn bench. The former Boston Celtic finished the night with a career-high 24 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two blocks in just 24 minutes.

Minott showed off a little bit of everything, knocking down threes and forcing important turnovers in a great overall showing. At just 23-years-old, he fits the timeline of the Nets rebuild perfectly, and could end up being an under-the-radar pickup from Sean Marks. He should get more run down the stretch this season, and could continue to establish himself as a part of the future core.

2. A Commendable Effort

Before tip-off on Thursday, Brooklyn had every excuse in the book to not compete in this game. Down five important guys, on the road, against a team that had won seven games in a row entering the night, almost everyone expected the Nets to drop this game. While that prediction ended up coming to fruition, it wasn't easy for the Hawks.

This young, scrappy group of guys, who have been overlooked and undervalued in their careers, gave Atlanta all they could handle. Even after falling behind early in the first half, Brooklyn never quit and came all the way to take a lead in the fourth quarter. While the rally ultimately came up short, Fernandez and the rest of the organization can be extremely proud of the effort this group gave.

3. Rebounding Was The Difference

In a tight game, you can usually look at who won the battle on the glass to determine who won the game on the court. Thursday's game was another pristine example of that. Atlanta dominated in the rebounding battle, outrebounding Brooklyn 51-39. The Hawks also hauled in an impressive 17 offensive rebounds, which led to numerous second-chance opportunities.

Without Sharpe for the rest of the season, this is a facet of the game that could give Brooklyn a lot of problems in the future. With Nic Claxton only playing 21 minutes, the Nets were extremely undersized in Atlanta, and it cost them the game. It's going to take a whole team rebounding effort to make up for Sharpe's absence.