Can Anyone On The Nets Make A G-D Layup?
With all the chaos surrounding their active roster this season on a nearly daily basis—from injuries to COVID-19 protocols to Kyrie Irving’s part-time status—the Nets often have had little margin for error during games.
Hard to believe, considering the team’s original vision for this season, with superstars Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden on the floor surrounded by sweet-shooting wing Joe Harris and walking bucket LaMarcus Aldridge, portended an offensive display of historic proportions. Unfortunately, that quintet has yet to set foot on the court for a single second in the first 49 games this season, nor will it be seen for at least the first few weeks in February with KD, Harris and Aldridge all currently sidelined.
Instead, Brooklyn Head Coach Steve Nash has filled gaps with rookies and shooting-challenged veterans, to varying degrees of success. In their current slide of 11 losses in their last 17 games, it’s actually been the Nets defense that has let them down more than their offense, with Brooklyn ranked 27th in defensive rating in that span after starting the season with the league’s fifth-most efficient defense through December 27. However, some of those defeats, including Saturday night’s four-point loss at Golden State, might have turned around with only a small improvement in one basic offensive category—making layups.
The Nets, who are shooting just under a league-leading 50% from mid-range areas, per NBA.com, are the fourth-worst team when it comes to scoring from inside the restricted area at 61.6%. In these last 17 games, the split has tightened, with a 50.5% mid-range clip compared with a ghastly 59.8% on restricted area shots. For context, the mean for restricted area shooting for all NBA teams is 64.6%.
I can’t tell you how irritating it’s been to watch the Nets execute a quality possession only for it to end with a missed bunny. Not all restricted area shots are created equal, with degrees of difficulty dependent on the level of defensive contests. Still, we’re really talking about layups here. The Nets simply can’t afford to squander as many opportunities as they’ve had.
Against the Warriors, the dreaded tally from NBA.com was 19 misses on 33 restricted area shots for an incomprehensible 42.4% conversion rate. It was everyone—the only Net who saw action and did not blow a layup was Cam Thomas, who never attempted a shot at the rim. The usual suspects—Bruce Brown, DeAndre’ Bembry, and James Johnson—combined to go 5-for-13, but the Nets were also hurt by a pair of misses each by centers Aldridge and Nic Claxton. Even Irving, the king of magnificent finishes around the basket, couldn’t get either of his two attempts to go, including a wild reverse from the opposite side that could have drawn the Nets within a point with a minute to go.
For all the communication breakdowns on defense, Nash’s failure to challenge the Stephen Curry lean-in on Nets rookie Kessler Edwards inside two minutes, and the overall talent disparity between the two clubs with Harden out with a hand injury, Brooklyn still could have won that game with just a little better touch on two or three relatively easy shots around the basket.
Why has this been happening so frequently? You can certainly blame the lineups with multiple non-shooters that Nash has been forced to use, allowing opponents to pack the paint. Harden in particular has been caught crashing into trees too often, with the new rules emphasis causing refs to be more hesitant this season in rewarding him with free throws even on some obvious hacks. He’s shooting 54.5% at the rim, the lowest since his rookie season and almost nine percentage points below his conversion rate last season. Some of it can be attributed to factors beyond Harden’s control, but there is a significant component that can be traced to his own poor decision-making.
The Nets are also playing smaller with Durant out of the lineup, which isn’t as conducive to attacking the paint. Still, that doesn’t explain Blake Griffin’s brutal 55% restricted area percentage on 98 attempts this season. His ineffectiveness can be directly traced to lost explosiveness. Almost every layup attempt is accompanied by contortions, even when his defender isn’t challenging the shot (nine of the above 98 attempts were blocked, which isn’t as bad as rookie Day’Ron Sharpe, who has been rejected 11 times on 90 restricted area attempts).
It's not going to get easier from here, at least until KD returns. The Nets visit Phoenix and their second-ranked defense on Tuesday night and then hit Sacramento on a back-to-back before finishing their road trip with games against Utah (possibly in time for the Jazz’s stifling center Rudy Gobert to return from injury) and Denver.
With Harden expected back and Irving in tow, I still believe the Nets have enough to get out of their funk. Please, just cut down on these self-inflicting wounds.