Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks sat courtside watching his team warm up before Wednesday's matchup with the league-leading Boston Celtics. He did so with Brooklyn a heavy underdog while missing Kevin Durant for the 11th straight game, as well as Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren for the third straight.

While Durant's historic offense is the obvious missing ingredient during recent Nets struggles, his absence in Brooklyn's switch-heavy defensive scheme has been equally detrimental. That is an area Simmons and Warren have also proven impactful in their first season with the team.

Without that trio, Brooklyn has been forced to rely on undersized guards in Seth Curry (6'2″), Cam Thomas (6'2″) and Patty Mills (6'0″) for shot creation. That lack of size is the clear handicap of this current iteration of the Nets, one that is so glaring that head coach Jacque Vaughn offered a reminder pregame:

“What (Jalen) Brown and (Jayson) Tatum are capable of doing at that size just creates a different challenge for every team, especially for us if we are going to start Kyrie (Irving) and Seth (Curry),” Vaughn said.”So it becomes, how can we help those two guys? That’s where Joe (Harris), Royce (O'Neale), and Nic (Claxton) fit in.”

Vaughn's assessment rang true as Boston's star duo embarrassed the Nets in a 139-96 wire-to-wire victory.

If one thing was evident from the jump Wednesday, it was Brooklyn's lack of capable defenders. Swiss cheese, paper mache, EZ pass, whatever cliche you want to use, the Nets couldn't stop a soul. Boston abused Vaughn's squad in the opening frame, shooting 18-of-29 from the field and 8-of-11 from three on their way to a 46-16 first-quarter advantage.

For reference, the most points ever scored in a first quarter is 51, done by Golden State in 2019 and Charlotte earlier this year. The 30-point advantage is the largest first-quarter lead in Boston's 77-year history.

Tatum and Brown toyed with Brooklyn's undersized supporting cast from start to finish. The Duke product poured in 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the opening period on his way to 31 for the night. Brown finished with 26 points on 7-of-12 shooting from three.

Kyrie Irving was subpar again against his former team, scoring 20 points on 1-of-7 shooting from three with three turnovers. The guard has struggled to produce against Boston's length and athleticism in his last six appearances against the Celtics.

While shorthanded, the blowout loss serves as a reminder of the theme in every Nets-Celtics matchup dating back to last year's playoff sweep: Brooklyn's undersized guards cannot survive against this team. That means Seth Curry, that means Patty Mills, that means Cam Thomas, and it may even mean Joe Harris if he can't regain his athleticism following offseason ankle surgery.

Boston boasts ultra-long, physically imposing lineups that made last year's first-round matchup look like the Monstars vs. the Toon Squad. They are headlined by the wing duo of Tatum (6'8″) and Brown (6'6″), as well as a monstrous frontline of Robert Williams (6'9″) and Al Horford (6'9″), and three defensive-minded guards in Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon (all 6'4″).

If the Nets hope to compete come playoff time, Marks should be cooking up trades on his ride back to Brooklyn with two areas in mind.

The first is a backup big man who can shoot free-throws, and in a perfect world, three-pointers. This would allow the Nets to have adequate size against Boston without the looming liability of Simmon and Claxton's free-throw struggles and poor halfcourt spacing. Kelly Olynyk, Naz Reid, John Collins and P.J. Washington are names that are rumored to be available within Brooklyn's price range.

Next would be an adequately sized wing/shooting guard who can serve as a secondary shot-creator. As of now, Warren and Curry are the only players in Brooklyn's regular rotation who can generate their own shot alongside Durant and Irving. Curry's defense makes him virtually unplayable against Boston, and while Warren has had a solid start to the year, it is unclear whether he can be relied upon in a playoff situation.

Joe Harris has been incapable of creating off the dribble in any capacity this season. The seventh-year Net's athleticism has taken a noticeable dive after two ankle surgeries last season. Harris and Curry could be on the move at the deadline with Brooklyn having two first-round picks, as well as young prospects in Cam Thomas and Day'Ron Sharpe, at their disposal as sweeteners in potential packages.

Gary Trent Jr., Bojan Bogdonavic and Alec Burks fit the mold of what the Nets could be looking for on the wing.

Wednesday's loss marks Brooklyn's 10th straight versus Boston. The Nets are 4-7 since Durant went down on Jan. 8 in Miami. The former MVP could be nearing a return as Durant recently said on his podcast that he hopes to come back before the All-Star break.

“That would be a nice target point for me I guess, is the few games before the (All-Star game) to get my legs back under me,” he said. “That’s in an ideal situation, then slide into the All-Star break back healthy, back on the floor.”

ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski echoed that message Wednesday.

“KD remains hopeful that he can return and play on All-Star weekend,” Woj said. “He likes the way his rehab is going, how he looks on the court, and most importantly how he feels. I think for Kevin Durant to play and return and be a part of All-Star weekend you would expect he’d probably need to play a game or two before the break.”

Durant is scheduled to be re-evaluated on Feb. 7. The Nets have four games between that date and the All-Star break. Irving and co. will now return to Brooklyn for a five-game homestand starting against Washington Saturday.