Last year, most people projected the Brooklyn Nets to finish with the worst record in the NBA. Despite those expectations, the Nets ended the season with a 26–56 record, placing 12th in the Eastern Conference and 24th overall in the league. This year, fans and analysts once again predicted the Nets would be one of the worst teams in the NBA. So far, that seems to be the case . The team has stumbled into an 0–5, with little promise shown from their rookies. Let’s break down what we’ve seen so far.

To start off, we have to talk about Egor Demin. As the 8th pick in the draft, he has definitely underperformed so far. This season, he’s averaging 7.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. In his defense, he’s only playing about 20 minutes a night. We have seen some upside from him in the shooting department, as he made seven total threes in his first two games. However, one issue is that Egor has attempted 22 three-pointers and hasn’t taken a single two-point shot this season. With the Nets starting 0–5 and little hope for success this year, it would probably be wise to give the rookies more opportunities to develop on the court.

With the rookies struggling, there might be a reason for it — Jordi Fernández. If you were to watch a full game of Nets basketball (assuming you don’t fall asleep), you’d notice that the same six players are always on the court. In fact, only six players on the roster average more than 20 minutes per game. Let’s compare that to a similar team, the Washington Wizards. The Wizards have nine players averaging over 20 minutes a night. On top of that, only one of the six Nets players receiving significant minutes is a rookie. The rookies can’t improve if they aren’t given a chance to play. We’ve learned in the past that having such a small rotation never works. For example, look at the Knicks last year — Tom Thibodeau was fired for this very issue. The only way for rookies to find success is by giving them more minutes.

Let’s hope to see improvement.