Here are five thoughts from the Nets’ 118-108 loss to the Pacers on Wednesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis Pick and Roll
The Pacers ran some of this action on Wednesday night and I like it a lot.
Brogdon is a big guard, an above average ball handler and reads coverages well. He can pull up and hit shots from deep and is a good passer.
Sabonis is a modern big man. He can exploit the switch as well as bully in the post. He is also a good three point shooter. He was two for four from deep on Wednesday.
“We face many different pick-and-roll coverages and this is just another one,” said Sabonis. “We had practice (Tuesday). We worked on it, how to attack it and we just came out and executed.”
Sabonis talked about what his role on the team is while Victor Oladipo rehabs an injury and what the absence of Myles Turner could mean. Turner was injured during Wednesday’s game.
Coach Kevin Durant
Durant is sidelined for the season as he continues to rehab his surgically repaired Achilles’ tendon.
While a player is rehabbing it can be isolating and it’s tough to bond with your teammates.
That’s especially tough for KD as this is a new team and it’s critical that they began to build camaraderie if the ultimate goal is a future championship.
KD is staying close to his teammates and coaches while he rehabs. He is visible during practice. Doing parts of his rehab out on the practice court.
During pregame warmups at the arena he’s on the bench watching various teammates warm up and offering encouragement.
He is active on the bench during games. When a timeout is called he’s often in the coaches huddle listening and offering his input, mainly to the assistants.
When he’s not with the coaches he can be seen encouraging teammates and offering his perspective on a play or game situation.
The Nets would prefer to have KD on the floor doing what he does best. But, while they await his return, having him engaged this way is the next best thing.
Defense
The Nets defense has been atrocious through four games. Aside from a brief stretch against the Knicks last week, just about anyone can score on this team.
There is not enough pressure at the point of attack and that starts with Kyrie Irving at the point. Now, he wasn’t terrible Wednesday night, but he wasn’t good either.
The team’s rotations and switches have also been terrible.
Opponents get at least six wide open threes a game and missed assignments have led to easy back door layups and dunks.
At the center position, it’s been worse. Neither DeAndre Jordan nor Jarrett Allen had an answer for Sabonis. He finished with 29 points and 8 rebounds.
It is “early” but now is when habits start to form for teams. Really, that happens in training camp.
However, this is a new team. Players from different systems are trying to get on the same page under head coach Kenny Atkinson’s system, and that will take time.
Check back after 20 games and if we’re seeing the same problems, then there should be concern.
Atkinson talked about the team’s three point defense and their pick and roll defense following the game.
On the pick and rolls, he said, “The guards are having trouble on the high pick and rolls. We’ll have to look at the film and see how we can help them.”
Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson after loss to the Pacers in Brooklyn’s three point defense. #NBA #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/SjfPLzTEWw
— Jarod Hector (@jshector) October 31, 2019
Kyrie Irving’s “Mood”
Much has been made about Kyrie Irving’s “mood swings” and temperament in general the last few days.
On Monday, ESPN’s Jackie McMullan published a piece about the Nets and their culture now that they’ve added two superstars in Kyrie and Kevin Durant. She wrote:
“Yet Irving’s infamous mood swings, confirmed by his ex-teammates, which followed him from Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn, are the unspoken concern that makes Nets officials queasy.”
The impetus being that Kyrie has been known to be a “moody” player. Often retreating inward and not communicating with his teammates when things are bothering him. That moodiness impacts his teammates and the organization and is not conducive to winning.
Of course every news site picked up that section of the article and ran with it. Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson was asked about it on Tuesday at practice and again pregame on Wednesday. He refutes the claim and grades Kyrie’s mood as an “A+.”
Kyrie was asked about it after the game.
Kyrie Irving postgame after the @BrooklynNets loss to the @Pacers on Jackie MacMullan’s ESPN article about his “mood swings” #NBA #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/tfogbYKqNn
— Jarod Hector (@jshector) October 31, 2019
More from Kyrie on whether he needs to change the perception that exists about him. #NBA #NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/pZckjhT91G
— Jarod Hector (@jshector) October 31, 2019
Kyrie has been insightful in his postgame comments and has been good with the media thus far.
It is clear from these comments and from other interactions that Kyrie is his own man and has his own way of going about things. There is nothing wrong with that.
He seems to understand the level of scrutiny that comes with being a public figure at the top of his profession, though he may not always like it.
Caris LeVert
He finished with 15 points on 18 shots. He had four turnovers and was a -9 for the game.
The positive is, he was two of four from deep.
LeVert seems to be pressing. The shot isn’t falling in the 0-10 ft range. He can get there off the dribble with ease but has been ineffective at finishing.
Analytics suggest mid range shots are inefficient and I tend to agree, unless you are elite. But this isn’t the mid range. These shots are basically in the paint.
LeVert is shooting 48.9% on two point field goal attempts. As a raw overall percentage that is good.
But if you look at the shot breakdown and percentages, they tell a different story.
LeVert takes 48.5% of his two point shot attempts from 10 feet and in. That’s a good thing. Logic being, the closer you are to the basket the easier it is to score.
However, he’s only shooting 46.8% on those attempts.
Now you might be thinking, maybe he’s going up against bigs and can’t finish. Not so.
He’s getting past the initial and often second line defense and is missing layups, or floaters, and the jump hooks or short jumpers inside the free throw line are not dropping.
What seems to be happening, at least sometimes, is LeVert is hesitant for a split second on whether he should pull on a catch and shoot. That slight delay causes the defense to close out an inch or two closer, he is then slightly rushed on his dribble move even though he gets by his defender and is slightly off balance on these easier shots.
It’s early. But this is something to keep an eye on.