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The Nets’ latest funk isn’t only one factor.
It’s every part.
“You identify it,” coach Steve Nash admitted, as his struggling group ready to host the Spurs on Sunday. “We’ve actually struggled since coming back from all of the COVID interruptions. We had been having an excellent yr. We truly performed effectively by the COVID scenario. Since we’ve gotten everybody again kind of we simply haven’t had the boldness, the spirit, the enjoyment.
“And you can see it: Too many lapses and never sufficient tempo and enthusiasm. We’ve received to search out that. We’ve received to get that again after this interruption, and be a bunch that goes on the market and is tough to play towards.”
The Nets have been all too simple to play towards recently, placing up little resistance. Protection, rebounding, physicality, spacing, it’s all taken a success.
“It feels prefer it’s every part, truthfully,” James Harden stated. “We are able to’t get stops persistently. Offensively, it’s a little bit tough, our spacing isn’t nice most possessions. It’s a little bit of every part, and it feels prefer it’s all piling on one another.”
The Nets have dropped 4 of their final 5 video games, together with a 121-109 loss to the Bucks on Friday night.
“I imply, there’s a mess of [issues],” Kevin Durant stated. “Offensive rebounds, despite the fact that I don’t suppose that damage us [Friday], that’s damage us over this little stretch, that’s been hurting us. Not staying in entrance of the ball, like giving up straight line drives, and groups come right here flattening 3s.”
The Nets have allowed at the very least 10 3-pointers and 110 factors in all 5 of these video games. They’ve did not run foes off the road. Whereas that they had overcome being shorthanded all season by remaking themselves as a defense-minded group, their “care degree” has taken a dip ever since their roster has gotten nearer to complete recently.
“I’d be a hell of a coach if I knew [why],” Nash stated. “We’ve received to get to work. We’ve received to search out the resolve, discovering the on a regular basis are available in and do the fitting issues, put money into the group and attempt to decide your teammates up. And if we might have that character the place we’ll do every part we are able to individually and likewise decide our teammates up, we’ll get again to taking part in good basketball.”
The Nets had performed good, first-place basketball during the vacations.
They had been perched atop the Eastern Conference with a 23-9 file on Dec. 29, a recreation forward of the Bulls and two away from the Bucks. They’d gotten there by guarding, with a defensive score that was fifth-best within the NBA (106.4).
However since then? Their defensive score of 119.2 is third-worst within the league. They usually have fallen 2 ½ video games behind the Bulls and right into a tie with the Bucks.
“Our physicality is the beginning of it. Being up into the ball, be certain that our man feels us, that’s the start proper there. That’s the place it begins,” Harden stated. “After which as a possession, because the shot clock will get decrease and decrease, we’ve received a greater likelihood of locking in on the ball, whether or not it’s pick-and-roll or iso, and that provides a greater place at rebounding the basketball.”
A poor rebounding group even at their greatest, the Nets relied on the league’s second-best field-goal protection (42.7 p.c) earlier than hitting their slide. They’ve been simply twentieth because the skid started.
“There’s a couple of widespread threads,” Nash stated. “We’re not into the ball. We’re not combative sufficient to begin video games. We’re not clear sufficient with our communication on the degree of the ball. There’s not sufficient of a presence. We are able to do higher in transition as effectively getting organized. It’s basic stuff that’s taken a dip since all of us received again collectively. We are able to see it clearly. We now have to work at it now. We now have to take it to coronary heart and we now have to rebuild.
“We’ve simply received to proceed to get again to the place we had been being much more bodily, much more decisive in actions and get that swagger again defensively.”
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