After a 125-113 loss to the Knights on Friday night, the Brooklyn Nets leave their trip to Cleveland 0-2 and have a number of defensive flaws to consider in their next film session.
“These were two humiliating losses,” Nets goalkeeper Kyrie Irving said after Friday’s game.
The score was not a problem for the Nets, even without Kevin Durant, who was left after playing more than 50 minutes in the loss in the double overtime of Brooklyn on Wednesday. In the defensive end, the Nets could not slow down the Cavaliers in the paint.
In Wednesday’s loss, the Nets gave up 64 points in the paint. They dropped another 70 in Friday’s loss, with Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen finishing with 19 points on the bench to go along with 19 points from center Andre Drummond and 25 points from guard Collin Sexton. The 134 points in the paint are the most allowed by Brooklyn in a span of two games in the last 25 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
“There are a lot of points in the paint,” said James Harden, who finished with 19 points and 11 assists. “There are offensive recoveries, layups happen, good things don’t happen when the ball enters the paint and tonight I allowed that too much.”
Brooklyn was also outscored 50-29 on Friday. The Nets’ recovery rate of 35.6% was the weakest in a game in the last two seasons.
Allen, who was traded to Cleveland as part of the package that landed Harden in Brooklyn, was an anchor for the Nets’ budding defense. In his last two games against his former team this week, Allen challenged 23 shots and kept Brooklyn from shooting just 26 percent, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Brooklyn failed to resort to defensive urgency – 40% of the Knights’ total goal attempts in the last two games were undisputed by the Nets defenders. Allen and Taurean Prince, who were also part of the transaction for Harden, combined to shoot 64% in the last two games.
“You don’t want it to be against you,” Joe Harris said of Prince and Allen’s shows, “but you’re obviously happy for those guys.”
Now, the message of the Nets coach, Steve Nash, is to go on the ropes not to panic, but also to urgently improve at the defensive end of the floor.
“We just have to find a way to play harder,” Nash said. “We dig deeper. We are not a defensive list. We have to take more pride, challenge more shots, fight, stay, claw and that I think is missing as much as any schematic we break down.”
Nash added: “I think the bigger message is that just the show at the gym isn’t good enough.”
The Nets plan to sign the Norvel Pelle Center after deleting the league’s coronavirus testing protocols, his agents, BJ Bass and Tod Seidel, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday. However, Nash has repeatedly said that Brooklyn cannot rely on signing reinforcements to strengthen its defenses. Instead, he begged the Nets to “look inside and take responsibility and make it a priority and try to grow defensively.”
DeAndre Jordan, who is the only active center of the Nets, said he believes his job is “a defensive force” and a defensive spark plug for the team. Jordan had his hands full with Drummond and Allen, who were 7-for-11 on the field when he was defended by Jordan in the last two games.
“We can’t do too well or panic early,” Jordan said. “Even though a lot of people want us to panic. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Championship teams weren’t built in a day. They went through battles. So we need to be able to approach this chin and learn from it and finally come back and answer tomorrow and for the rest of the season. “