Unless The Brooklyn Nets Roll Up Their Sleeves, They'll Remain Championship Pretenders

This image is a derivative of 2013 Brooklyn Nets 1 by Michael Tipton (CC BY-SA 2.0)

With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving both in uniform, the Brooklyn Nets entered the season as a popular pick to make some serious waves in the Eastern Conference, more so if new coach Steve Nash could hit the ground running and replicate what his mentor Steve Kerr pulled off with the Warriors in his first season.

Speaking of Golden State, the NBA felt so strongly about the Nets they pitted the two together on opening night, with Brooklyn brushing the former heavyweights aside by 26-points, and with Durant and Irving combining for 48.

The Nets glistened on the big stage, backing up their impressive win with an even more comprehensive performance a few nights later on the road against the Celtics.

In a couple of games Brooklyn not only looked like the pick of the Eastern Conference, but appeared to be legitimate championship contenders. 

If only one stopped watching the Nets at that point in time. 

They’ve since lost 4 of their last 5 matches with their lowly caliber of opponent and a pronounced sloppiness prompting of a re-evaluation of their place within the championship pecking order. 

Their four losses to Charlotte, Memphis, Atlanta and Washington have come against teams who went a combined 102-175 last season and whom are all in various stages of serious rebuilding projects.  

All of the positives the Nets flashed in those first two games have seemingly vanished, replaced by a lack of offensive imagination, and a complete reluctance to get its hands dirty. 

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Their opening night 20 turnovers ought to have been a red flag, with the Nets turning the ball over on 14.3% of their their possessions this season which is the 8th-worst figure in the league. 

While the Nets do boast the 7th most efficient attack, it's certainly not being fuelled by egalitarianism, with their 3rd-most productive scorer (Joe Harris) contributing just 13.9 points per game, and with with just 59% of their made field goals arriving via an assist which ranks just 17th in the league.

While it's understandable the Nets might have a few early-season jitters revolving around chemistry and offensive scheming under a new coach, what’s most handicapping the Nets is having opponents take full advantage of their total reluctance to do the small things. 

As it stands, Brooklyn’s foes are helping themselves to a jaw-dropping 14.6 offensive rebounds per night which is not only easily the league’s highest figure, but is a number the NBA hasn't seen in 16years. Allowing opponents so many second bites at the cherry is resulting in Brooklyn conceding a league-high 20.3 second-chance points per night, up significantly form the 13.2 it was shipping last season.

The harsh reality for the Nets is that kind of sloppiness is simply an area legitimate championship aspirants can’t get away with, no matter how much talent they're packing. 

Sure the Lakers won their 17th NBA championship off the back of having LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but they signed off on all the little things as well, ranking 5th overall for allowing second-chance points at just 12 per night, and which dropped to 10.8 in the playoffs. This season’s championship favourites have already prioritised mitigating cheap, second-chance opportunities, with the likes of Milwaukee (9.5) leading the league, and with the Clippers (10.4) and Denver (10.5) also occupying a top-5 position.

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For now, the Nets are being cautious with Durant and have been reluctant to throw him into the fire where competing for rebounds are concerned. While his otherworldly offence has seamlessly returned to his 10-time All-Star level, already contributing 28.2 ppg and hitting the three at a career-high 45.5%, his defensive rebounds per-36 minutes are at a ten-year low.

Kevin Durant this season:

28.2 PPG - 6.2 RPG - 4.4 APG - 1.4 SPG - 1.0 BPG - 51 FG% - 50 3P% - 90 FT% - 33 MPG

Love seeing KD back and absolutely balling. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Gt5dHhfDK8

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 3, 2021

While not sending Durant into the cauldron so early is more than reasonable, what’s not is the Nets insistence on keeping DeAndre Jordan in the starting line-up. Durant’s great friend is struggling mightily this season and having precious little impact outside of his blocking ability. Jordan’s overall rebounds per-36 minute numbers are as low as they’ve been in eight years, while he’s fouling at a troubling 4.9 indiscretions per-36 minutes which represents an unwelcome career-high.

In Jarrett Allen, the Nets have a more than capable starter staring them in the face and who can help solve so many of their problems. Prior to this season, the 2017 first-round pick out of Texas had started 144 of 150games, yet appears to have been pushed aside so Jordan can more regularly share the court with Durant. For the Net's new coach, this conundrum represents Nash's first major dilemma, as Allen not only scores at a rate that's twice as effective as Jordan, but he rebounds like a madman too, with his 16.9 per-36 minutes this season actually the second healthiest figure in the league outside of Cleveland’s Andre Drummond. 

So far, Durant and Irving have shared 92 on-court minutes with Jordan producing a +10.4 point differential. While Allen has combined with the super-star duo for just 65 minutes, their time together has produced an outlandish +29.5 point differential, while that trio is winning the defensive rebound count at +9.1 as opposed to +4.2.

These are obviously the league’s early days, and while their illustrious star power is the envy of the league, no team can hide from the kind of blue collar work rate which always underpins championships squads, regardless of the sport.

If the Nets are going to compete wholeheartedly for this season’s Larry O'Brien Trophy, Nash will need to insert himself into the equation, while Durant will have to remind everyone of the fundamentals which defined his own two championships in the Bay Area. Irving too could benefit from casting his mind back to the lessons he learnt in Cleveland playing alongside James.

While sure, Durant and Irving will help the Nets win games in their sleep, unless they’re wide awake to all of the small things which contribute to post-season success, their ambition will amount to very little. 

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