What Happened To The Nets’ Defense?
As the Nets play out their final 20 games, fans are well aware of what to expect from a team with a dearth of offensive ability—lots of missed shots, lots of turnovers, and lots of losses.
That’s fine for even those who are not among the most ardent of the pro-tank contingent of Brooklyn’s fan base. What shouldn’t be negotiable for any fan, however, is the team’s commitment to and execution of its defensive principles. The roster may turn over completely in the next few years, but the way to play can still be instilled during this lost cause season.
Head Coach Jordi Fernandez has received many platitudes for drilling his doctrine into his players all season and then the Nets showed us on the court how it should be done during a 7-2 stretch last month, leading the league in defensive rating in that brief span, according to NBA.com.
If you recall, the Nets offense during this period was still pretty lousy. They succeeded, however limited in sample size, through dogged efforts and a more aggressive approach to their pick-and-roll coverage. Sure, the schedule also had something to do with it, but the Nets did hold Cleveland, the NBA’s most efficient offense, to about 13 points per 100 possessions below their season average. Heck, there was talk then that if the Nets could bottle this formula, they could potentially qualify for the Play-In Tournament.
Then a funny thing happened. The Nets went to Washington, home to the NBA’s worst team. Wizards Head Coach Brian Keefe, a former Brooklyn assistant, figured out the solve to the Nets’ hard hedging at the level of ball screens. Washington was able to hit the screener in the pocket off the short rolls, which forced a Nets wing to move over from the corner to help. That left three-point shooters wide open all over the arc, and the Wizards knocked down 10-of-16 of them in the first half en route to a 67-59 lead. Per NBA.com’s tracking, only one of those attempts was contested.
Fernandez did adjust to more switching of screens in the second half, but the team’s offense went cold during crunch time to ensure a pitiful defeat and a harsh reminder of what this season is about.
But since scouts and film ensure that nothing in the league stays a secret for long, the Nets’ underlying defensive problems persisted. Over Brooklyn’s last six games, including Thursday night’s 121-119 loss to visiting Golden State, they have allowed their opponents to shoot 53.2% from the floor, the league’s worst in this span, and 40.3% from deep, the third-worst rate. Despite forcing the most turnovers (19.5 per game) in this stretch of six consecutive losses, the bottom line is points allowed per 100 possessions, where Brooklyn ranks 26th at 121.6.
As opposed to switching or drop coverage, in order for the hard hedging scheme to work, the Nets need their perimeter defenders to not only apply ball pressure going into the screen without fouling, but they also have to work to get back into the play after taking the hit to disrupt the pass out of the hard hedge. Ziaire Williams and Keon Johnson, a pair of disregarded players, are pretty good at this, but they haven’t been as effective during this losing streak.
And when Cam Thomas and D’Angelo Russell returned to action from injuries earlier this week, the defense, as most NBA watchers would expect, took another nosedive. San Antonio, a bottom-10 offense which was playing without All-Star Victor Wembanyama, put up 127 points on a 54.7/46.2 shooting split on Tuesday, the first game the Nets’ duo shared the backcourt since Thomas was felled by a strained hamstring on January 2. In their tiny sample of 51 minutes together this season, Brooklyn is surrendering 124.8 points per 100 possessions, which, if maintained by a team over the course of a season, would be the league’s worst by about 6 points.
Now, it’s tough to take anything away from games against the Warriors, whose style is far different than what normal NBA teams run. There’s some standard pick-and-rolls, but their edge comes from off-ball screening and cutting when defenses are trained to track superstar Stephen Curry, the best shooter in the sport’s history. On a bunch of possessions, like Curry’s second quarter buzzer beater from the halfcourt sideline, there is absolutely nothing a defense can do to stop him.
However, while Curry’s 40 points and overall brilliance dominated the postgame headlines, the Warriors did more damage when he was off the court. Golden State scored about 1.5 points per possession during those 12 minutes. It included a 22-13 run over the first 5:38 of the second quarter that helped the Warriors get back in the contest after a horrendous start. The Warriors went to a simpler bully-ball mentality, taking advantage of Russell’s and Thomas’s insufficient physicality to roll up points in the paint and at the free throw line.
All of this presents a new challenge to Fernandez, who has faced nothing but adversity since accepting the job in the offseason. He’s already withstood a 5-23 slump. But whereas then he had to apply the proverbial duct tape to send out lineups that could attempt to compete in NBA games, now, with everyone getting healthy (sophomore big Noah Clowney practiced 5-on-5 this week and could return shortly), Fernandez has to find combinations that will play to the standards set last month.
That also means Fernandez might have to be a bit more variable in his defensive calls depending on his (and his opponent’s) personnel on the floor, which can be tough to do this late in the season when practice time is limited. Oh, he can also ditch the zone defenses off opponent’s out-of-bounds plays. I may not have the stats, but the eye test has seen too many quality looks surrendered off these plays, even when the shot clock is already down to two or three seconds. On Thursday, the miscommunication between Nic Claxton and Keon Johnson freed up inbounds passer Curry in the left corner for a “night-night” 3 with about a minute to go.
In the end, defense comes down to effort and execution, which was on point during Thursday night’s first quarter, especially after Russell and Thomas exited at the 4:39 mark. Brooklyn then went on a 14-0 run to take a 22-point lead. Thereafter, Golden State righted its ship, and the Nets had no answers.
To go forward with the current scheme, Fernandez has to make sure all his players commit to the activity and physicality it requires and know where to rotate after a screener receives a pass on the short roll. Everyone’s hands have to be up to make the next pass more of a loop than a dime to the opposite side while centers Claxton or Day’Ron Sharpe have to hustle back to the paint to rim protect and rebound. Analysts call it “playing on a string.” There can be no shortcuts.
That’s the minimum fans should expect as the Nets Tank crawls to the finish line.