Jason Kidd is 0-1. Kidd's Brooklyn Nets were flat for much of his regular-season head coaching debut and ended up being blown out by the rebuilding Orlando Magic, 107-86, Sunday night at Amway Center.
Kidd, who missed the first two games because of his suspension for DWI, has reiterated time and time again that it's a marathon not a sprint. Well, the Nets didn't even show up for this race.
What it means: The Nets aren't going to be able to sleepwalk against supposedly bad teams and get away with it. They were out-of-sync offensively and defensively. They settled for too many jumpers and failed to close out on Orlando's perimeter shooters.
The Nets (1-2), who trailed by as many as 23, shot 38.2 percent from the field, went 4-for-17 from 3-point range, were outrebounded 54-42 and scored just 26 points in the paint. They were outscored 33-21 in the third quarter, a third quarter that began with a 17-4 Magic run.
Kidd might be best burying this game film, a la New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, and moving on.
Stars struggle: Deron Williams went just 4-for-12 from the field in a season-high 27 minutes. Kevin Garnett (3-for-11, minus-20) and Joe Johnson (1-for-5, 2 points) also struggled. Brook Lopez (21 points) and Paul Pierce (16 points), though, managed to make positive contributions offensively. Pierce had a throwback cross-over and one-handed dunk in the third quarter. Andrei Kirilenko (1-for-5, three points) played 11 minutes.
Not playing like a rook: Victor Oladipo, the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft, had his way against the Nets. He finished with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting in 21 minutes. In the fourth quarter, he stole the ball from D-Will and converted a 360 dunk on the other end.
Debutant: Mirza Teletovic made his regular-season debut in garbage time and finished 1-for-6 from the field in 7 minutes. He air-balled his first 3-pointer. Rookie Mason Plumlee also got his first burn as a pro (2 points).
Up next: Kidd's makes his regular-season home coaching debut on Tuesday night against D-Will's former team, the Utah Jazz.