Indiana also has a game to play before this one: a trip to Miami for its NBA Cup opener, with Andrew Nembhard (neck) and Aaron Nesmith (hamstring) both listed as probable. That game settles a couple of things for Sunday. It will show whether Zubac and Toppin are close to returning, and it will show how Rick Carlisle spreads the ball-handling minutes with this many guards out. Brooklyn's 0-5 is settled. The version of Indiana it will face isn't yet.
Brooklyn hasn't been sitting still. Jordi Fernandez moved Nolan Traore into the starting lineup over Keon Ellis for the Detroit game. Traore had averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 24.5 minutes over his previous 2 games on 60% shooting. Two-way player Chaney Johnson started next to him, Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle and Day'Ron Sharpe. No. 6 overall pick Mikel Brown Jr. scored 13 of his 17 points in the 4th quarter of the overtime loss to Boston. That includes the 3 that forced overtime, but he also made mistakes in the final seconds. Fernandez's line was 'We want to play with an edge, not anxiety.' The Detroit game showed how much of that is still a work in progress: Brooklyn led 28-21 after 1 quarter, then got outscored 71-38 over the middle 2.
Both injury lists are long, but Brooklyn's matters less. The Nets are without Egor Demin (bone bruise) and Tyler Bilodeau (shoulder), and they've been playing without Demin the whole time. Indiana has lost its primary creator and most of the depth behind him. The Pacers have already dropped a game to Philadelphia without Haliburton, and they've been outscored by Dallas and Milwaukee at full strength. This rematch is a test of whether Indiana's role players can carry a game against a team that has fallen apart in the middle quarters.
Watch the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Brooklyn has shown it can hang early and late, and the Boston and Cleveland losses were both decided by 4 points or fewer. What the Nets haven't done is get through the middle of a game without a run like the one Detroit put on them. Indiana is now short a playmaker and possibly its starting center. If the Pacers can't make their usual run in the 3rd quarter, this is the most realistic shot Brooklyn has had at a first win.