Here are five thoughts from the Nets’ 116-97 win over the Kings at the Barclays Center on Friday night.
Cohesion and connectivity
The Nets played their fourth straight game without Kyrie Irving on Friday and they looked good.
We don’t want to get carried away. The game was against the Kings, but there was a cohesion on offense and a connectivity on defense that’s been lacking.
They say necessity is the mother of invention. That may be what’s going on here.
In the early part of the season, head coach Kenny Atkinson has been trying to identify the right lineups and get all the new guys up to speed on how the team likes to play.
It has been a struggle. The team has been disjointed on defense and stagnant on offense.
The addition of Irving hasn’t been seamless. When you add a singular talent like Irving, there is a big adjustment process for everyone. It’s easy to get caught ball watching his brilliance and not doing things to make the game easier for everyone with movement.
The Nets are also missing LeVert who was their best player in the playoffs last year. But the team is used to playing without him as he missed a chunk of last season due to injury.
Without that singular star, and dynamic player, the Nets have to work as a collective on offense, and they did that on Friday.
The ball was flying around the perimeter and everyone was touching the ball and there was excellent player movement. Missing that one guy who can get to his spot whenever he wants, made them more effective as a whole.
Defensively, having players like Garrett Temple, Taurean Prince, and Iman Shumpert on the floor gave the team the aggressiveness and “want to” on the defensive side of the floor.
Jarrett Allen finished the game with 11 points and 9 rebounds and talked about the team’s performance with key guys being out.
The @BrooklynNets defeated the @SacramentoKings 116-97 Friday night. @_bigjayy_ on the team’s cohesion and connectivity in the win. #NBA #NBATwitter #WeGoHard pic.twitter.com/o4kePwKRLW
— Jarod Hector (@jshector) November 23, 2019
Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, and Garrett Temple
The trio combined for 73 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds and a + 42 rating.
This was a nice performance by this collective. They didn’t rush or force shots and everything came within the flow of the offense.
They shot a combined 56% from the field and that was with Dinwiddie missing all five of his three point attempts. As a team, the Nets shot 36% overall from three.
This group set the tone and the rest of the team followed.
Back of the rotation player development
David Nwaba, Nicolas Claxton, Theo Pinson, and Dzanan Musa are all seeing critical minutes in the early part of the season.
The injuries to Irving and LeVert, plus Rodions Kurucs’ apparent demotion to the G league (for now) means there are available minutes.
There are going to be points in any season where a team will need to rely on its depth. 82 games is a grind. If your goal is to make the playoffs and ultimately be a legitimate contender your bench unit has to be able to play well for stretches.
Of course there is going to be a drop-off from your starting five. But you can’t go from NBA level players to G league level. That’s not a recipe for success.
In addition, these young guys are trying to stick it in the league and reach their full potential so they can maximize their earning power.
Kyrie Irving update
As mentioned, Irving missed his fourth game with the shoulder impingement.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported that he hears things “aren’t going well” with Kyrie and the Nets.
Our sources have not been able to confirm that there is any friction between Irving and his teammates.
“I am not hearing good things about Kyrie in Brooklyn.”
—@stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/puUPKQmeqC— First Take (@FirstTake) November 21, 2019
Nets center Jarrett Allen came out and refuted the idea that there was any friction with the team and Irving, in an AMA on Bleacher Report.
He acts like a normal teammate. People say that he has mood swings, but that’s a complete lie. He wants to see us succeed and do well if anything.
Following the game the Nets announced Irving will miss the upcoming three game road trip at New York, at Cleveland, and at Boston.
Some eyebrows were raised given the timing of the injury as this would have been Irving’s first return to Boston after his complicated two year tenure with the Celtics.
No doubt the fans would have vociferously yelled and got on the point guard.
Former Celtics player and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins went so far as to say, Irving “didn’t want the smoke” from the Boston crowd.
Kyrie looked at the schedule before the season started and planned this whole injury thing because he didn’t want to go back to Boston this upcoming week!!! He didn’t want that smoke in the Bean Town. Smh
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) November 23, 2019
Bench Mob a little light…
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Caris LeVert were all “missing” from the bench on Friday night.
KD has been present on the bench during all home games so far this season, and during his injury stretch, so too has Kyrie Irving. LeVert, still recovering after thumb surgery has not.
Players are not required to be on the bench while out with injury. But when they are there supporting their teammates it makes the fans believe all is well and harmonious in the locker room.
With the “controversy” surrounding the Nets, it’s easy for the fanbase to get alarmed.
However, this is not a sign of any team chemistry issues or fracture in the locker room. Irving was receiving treatment in the building, and hugged Atkinson after the win.
We were told, Durant and LeVert were also in the arena during the game.
