The preseason calendar is shrinking, the tuneups growing more critical and ever more revealing. The Nets may be a long way from establishing a firm identity, but it is coming into focus.
As expected, they can score. As expected, they may have difficulty defending.
Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez combined for 63 points Friday night, but the Nets lost their second straight game, falling, 106-96, to the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center.
Thaddeus Young eluded the Nets' defense all night, scoring 24 points for Philadelphia. Dorell Wright added 18 points, and the 76ers shot 49.4 percent from the field. They also outrebounded the Nets (49 to 41) and outplayed them down the stretch, turning a 1-point game into a 10-point margin in the final three minutes.
"We just got some things to work on, man," Williams said, adding: "We've only been together for three weeks. You hope things jell faster than they do. But who says they won't? Sometimes it just clicks."
Lopez led the Nets with another strong performance, with 23 points and 9 rebounds. Williams had his best game of the preseason, scoring 22 points. Johnson, after a sluggish start, finished with 18.
Friday's game was one of two chances the Nets had left to test themselves before the regular season, so Coach Avery Johnson treated it like a real game. He shortened the rotation, stuck with veterans and rode his starters to the final minute.
The Nets close out the preseason on Wednesday against the Knicks and will not play again until the Nov. 1 season opener against the Knicks.
"In a normal N.B.A. season, I have a pretty good gauge on what we're dealing with somewhere around that 20-game mark," Avery Johnson said. "We're not there yet. So we got some work to do." But, he added, "I was really encouraged by some of the things that I saw tonight."
Chastened by a 30-point rout at the hands of the Boston Celtics a night earlier, the Nets returned to the court with a clear picture of their flaws. Johnson viewed the rout as a teachable moment. The starting unit was better Friday, racing to an early 7-point lead. Lopez was especially active, with 10 points, 4 rebounds and a block by halftime.
Gerald Wallace, the starting small forward, spent most of his night at power forward, to match the 76ers' small lineup (specifically Young). That left Kris Humphries (13 minutes) on the bench most of the night.
"When teams are small at the four position to start games, we've historically had problems," Johnson said.
If this was Johnson's rotation, it was a bad sign for MarShon Brooks, the Nets' onetime sixth man. Brooks was the 11th man off the bench Friday and did not play until the third quarter. He did play some critical minutes in the fourth and finished the game with 6 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 11 minutes.
For now, Johnson prefers the defensive-minded Keith Bogans over the offensive-minded Brooks as his first shooting guard off the bench. Bogans played 11 minutes of the first half, helping to contain Nick Young (5 points).
Brooks missed a week of training camp, and three preseason games, with foot tendinitis, and he is still catching up. The Nets also need defense more than scoring, and Brooks can be an indifferent defender.
Brooks did get some good news before tip-off, when the Nets picked up his option for the 2013-14 season.
"It's the right decision," Johnson said. "He's a young guy; he's talented, still trying to find his way this year. Obviously, the foot injury set him back a little bit. But it's the right thing to do."
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