Ten days ago, a brutal loss to the Detroit Pistons forced the Brooklyn Nets to refocus. Since then, the Nets have been a wave of wins, the last 109-98 win over the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night.
Brooklyn has taken a step toward solving its defensive puzzle and is in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
“That [Detroit loss] it was a minimum for us, and it sparked some conversation and a kind of dedication to what we’re trying to do, “said Nets coach Steve Nash.” I’m proud of the way they’ve responded since then, obviously taking care of business. “
The Nets ’122-111 loss to Detroit on Feb. 9 was ugly. But after allowing the Pistons to shoot 56% from the field in that game, the highest percentage of field goals they have allowed in a game this season, Brooklyn has narrowed defensively. The Nets ’five straight wins mark the longest winning streak of the season.
“It’s time we turn the corner defensively,” Irving said with a smile. “No team will win anything in this league if they can’t stop. It’s time. And we’ve heard them clearly in the last few games.”
In the 13 games the Nets played from Jan. 16 to Feb. 9, the Nets played 85.5 percent of the paint shots, according to Second Spectrum tracking. This ranked 28th in the NBA. Against the Pistons on Feb. 9, Brooklyn played only 78.6% of the shots in the paint, its second-worst shooting percentage in any game since acquiring star guard James Harden in a mid-January deal. .
But since Feb. 10, the Nets have played 91.1% of paint shots, the sixth-highest rate in the NBA.
“I think after our game against Detroit, it was obviously a game where we fought really badly on defense and it wasn’t a breaking point, but it happened pretty repeatedly so far,” Joe Harris said. . “I think after this game the level of focus, attention to detail and intensity on the defensive side have increased.”
Brooklyn has kept opponents at less than 100 points three times since Operation Harden, and two of those cases have come in their last five games, including against the Lakers. On the other side of the ball, Brooklyn shot on Thursday 18 of 39 from the 3-point range and is now adding 42% of the league from beyond the arc since Harden joined the team.
Irving finished with 16 points against the Lakers. Harris added 21 points and James Harden added 23 points and 11 assists.
“It’s scary there when other teams are doing their best to stay in the game defensively and we continue to take on a more offensive execution,” Irving said.
He added: “We know this doesn’t happen often when you gather a large collection of guys who have been outstanding guys in their roles on their respective teams and you have guys coming off the bench who are owners of other teams . “