After the fire clock expired Tuesday night, consolidating another disappointing game for the Brooklyn Nets, coach Steve Nash begged players to look inside and wonder “what kind of team they want to be.”
“I don’t think we go out every day of our lives and sacrifice the time to get used to anything,” Kyrie Irving said after Brooklyn’s third straight loss. “And we look very ordinary. And we have the talent that the eye test shows that we should master.”
Brooklyn has developed a pattern this season of playing incredibly hard – and often beating – teams at the top of the standings, but losing to the bottom tenants of the league. In fact, with the 122-111 loss to Detroit on Tuesday, the Nets are now 7-11 against teams with a record below .500 – the most such loss in the league.
Jerami Grant tied his career with 32 points for the Pistons. Irving, who was playing with a index finger, finished with 27 points and seven assists. James Harden added 24 points and 12 assists.
Brooklyn remains without Kevin Durant, who is on NBA coronavirus follow-up protocols until at least Friday, after being exposed to a team employee who tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
Detroit jumped to a double-digit lead early and controlled the game for almost the entire 48 minutes. In the first quarter, Harden seemed to have a witty conversation with DeAndre Jordan about the team’s defensive effort. During the game, Nash withdrew Jordan several times.
“I don’t think they necessarily chose him,” Nash said. “It’s an emotional sport. We find ourselves in the hole and then we get a little excited.”
Jordan, who said he can’t remember what Harden specifically said, acknowledged that he needs to be better defensively.
“I have to be better for us, defensively,” Jordan said. “We all need to be better. But I take a little more ownership of this end of the ball, because that’s something I love and a big part of why I think they’re there for us. I have to be better, but I take a lot of it. “
Since the Nets traded with James Harden in mid-January, they rank last in terms of defensive efficiency, according to ESPN Stats & Information. And while the Nets managed to reduce the Pistons’ lead to a single figure, they were never able to get over the hump.
“A lot of teams come out very comfortable against us,” Irving said. “And then, for the rest of the game, we feel that we are playing catchup and that it is not just the way to play as a competitor.
“We just have to turn that corner. And we haven’t done it yet, but we will. And I tell you the league will be at hand when that happens.”