Three-Game Skid Shows How Nets Best Defense Must Come From Their Best Offensive Players
“They only got two shooters!”
That tip, which was reportedly communicated to the Clippers on the court during their 120-116 comeback victory over the Nets on Saturday after Brooklyn guard Patty Mills fouled out of the game, has been evident for quite some time, though it seems like the league has finally caught on over this last week.
As a result, the Nets are now carrying a three-game losing streak into Wednesday’s road trip to Indiana, the possible stage for Kyrie Irving’s season debut, after Memphis trounced them, 118-104, at Barclays Center on Monday night.
With reigning NBA three-point king Joe Harris sidelined since November 14 with a left ankle injury that required surgery and the unvaccinated Irving just coming back to the team for road games only, the Nets have routinely been utilizing lineups with two or three non-shooters, forcing them to be overly reliant on the scoring of Kevin Durant and James Harden. Opponents have adjusted, much to the frustrations of Brooklyn’s two superstars.
Mills has been an effective floor spacer for most of this season, but he may be feeling the strain of a heavier minutes load (34.4 minutes per game since Harris went down, whereas he has never averaged more than 25.7 minutes per game in any of his 12 previous NBA seasons). Over Mills’ last six games, he’s had three-point shooting nights of 2-for-14, 1-for-8, and, on Monday, an 0-for-5. The Nets lost all three of those games.
The somewhat ironic trend of this skid, though, is that the stacking of more defensive-oriented players onto the court hasn’t even translated into better defensive performances. The Nets rank 25th in defensive efficiency in their last three games, with, as just one example, the duo of James Johnson and DeAndre’ Bembry surrendering 120 points per 100 possessions in their 45 minutes sharing the floor over the three games, per NBA.com.
It's one thing when the Grizzlies, a talented group that eats on the offensive glass, torched Brooklyn for 40 points in the third quarter and built their lead to as much 28 points before the Nets’ young guns ignited a rally over the final nine minutes of garbage time to make the final score somewhat respectable. But to have the Clips, who were down Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Marcus Morris, put up 71 points in the second half? That was unconscionable.
It just seems like Brooklyn’s offensive struggles are creeping into the other end, whether it’s the additional opponent transition opportunities allowed or on effort plays. Harden is already known to take defensive possessions off—when he’s frustrated on offense, the indifference tends to be more glaring. And though KD has contributed stellar defensive plays during this difficult stretch, he’s also been guilty of laxity on closeouts and under the defensive boards on several occasions.
Nets Head Coach Steve Nash insisted after Monday’s “embarrassing” loss that he wants to see his team establish a defensive identity, which is laudable, but he might not be able to do it playing so many guys who don’t have to be guarded outside the paint simultaneously. The best teams at most play one player of that ilk, often their center. The others on the floor are all dangerous three-point shooters.
That means Nash should be more attuned to mixing and matching his lineups, minimizing the time on the court where, say, James Johnson and Nic Claxton clog up the spacing. And the group (KD, Harden, Johnson, Bembry, and Bruce Brown/ Claxton) that was on the floor when the Clips outscored the Nets, 20-9, over the final 4:47 should be tossed into the trash.
I’d like to see more of a reserve role for Cam Thomas, who just came out of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, going forward. The hit-or-miss rookie should have been the player Nash subbed in for Mills instead of Johnson in the middle of Monday’s third quarter when the game got out of hand.
How will Irving’s return impact the rotation? Obviously, it will give Brooklyn another elite shot-creator to take some of the burden off their other two stars (likely the true impetus behind the organization’s change of tact with Irving’s part-time status request, not the team’s COVID-19 outbreak as had been stated). Irving’s presence should allow Mills to revert to a sixth man role to which he is more suited.
However, it won’t alleviate Nash’s need to keep one of his non-shooting perimeter defenders in the starting five. That puts more of a spotlight on his choice at center. Though offensive-minded Lamarcus Aldridge missed Monday’s contest with a sore right foot, the good news is that Blake Griffin has made 3-of-his-last-6 three-point attempts after starting the season 15-for-76 (19.7%). If he can recover his competent stroke from last season (38.3%), that would make a huge difference to the rotation.
What of Claxton, you say? The third-year center’s mainstream stat numbers may be rising (13 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks over his last four games), but he has been wilting a bit in second halves as opponents adjust. Nash has had no choice but to play him alongside one or more of the Nets’ better perimeter defenders, so opponents were able to safely send extra bodies into the paint to both converge on all penetrations and protect against lobs to Claxton at the rim. And though he is highly-regarded for his one-on-one defensive skills against all comers, which enables Brooklyn to switch every ball screen, Claxton somehow sports the worst defensive rating on the team.
I know--I too did a double-take when I saw the Nets’ NBA.com listing. You’ve been watching the games, seeing how superstars like Memphis star guard Ja Morant passed off several times rather than attack Claxton in a one-on-one setting, and wonder how that’s possible. In that pivotal third quarter on Monday, Morant scored 12 of his 18 points that frame in the final 4:07—after Claxton was subbed out for Griffin, who needs to play drop coverage on pick-and-rolls.
Unfortunately, Claxton, like his other non-shooting teammates, has been such a drag on the Nets’ offense lately that it has contributed to the team’s defensive woes when he’s on the court.
Something has to change. Assuming Irving is back but Aldridge is still out on Wednesday, here’s my best Nets rotation for the game against what could be a COVID-depleted Pacers squad:
Starters:
KD
Harden
Irving
Brown
Griffin
Bench:
Claxton
Mills
Thomas
Johnson
By monitoring the matchups, Nash should be able to minimize the minutes where two of the three non-shooters in this group stifle the offense, maybe even limiting those times for when Indiana goes with its own bench mob.
Of course, this will have to be a fluid situation. Aldridge and Harris will eventually return and Irving isn’t likely to be playing home games any time soon. Other injuries will assuredly create chaos to the rotation.
That doesn’t change the underlying principle. The Nets got away with certain lineups who embraced a defensive ethic in the first third to this season by feasting on inferior/decimated teams. It appears that formula, unfortunately, has a short shelf life.
Like I wrote in my last post, Nash may strive to have his club embrace a defensive mentality, but in order to compete at the higher levels, their best defense might have to come from their best offensive weapons.