The Brooklyn Nets are must-watch television right now. You never know what you’re going to get when you tune in to their games, as they can either put up a scoring clinic of unprecedented proportions or be completely blown out in the defensive end of the floor. Maybe even both.
It’s not a secret that there were going to be some growing pains when they decided to pair James Harden with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Thus far, it’s worked out perfectly in terms of scoring but they’re allowing way too many easy buckets.
So, when asked about just how good the Nets can be on defense, Steve Nash said that it’s become their main priority going forward:
“We’ll see. The No. 1 goal is to be on the same page and to be solid. If we can be fundamental in our approach and be solid with our schemes, that’s No. 1. Or No. 2, really. The No. 1 is the pride and competitive spirit,” Coach Nash said, as quoted by Mark Medina of USA Today.
“If we bring that every night, we may not profile as a great defensive team. But we can be a solid defensive team at minimum and take care of the things we can control,” he added. “And they have to guard us as well. So I think we have a lot of work to do on that end of the floor. But I don’t want to make any sort of predictions.”
The Nets have struggled to close out games since the start of the season and that’s a worrying trend, for sure. It seems like everybody’s putting up career-highs against them and that’s not going to get the job done in the playoffs.
Then again, they’re just too good and too talented and great players often figure things out. Hopefully, they’ll click on defense and become at least an average defensive team so we can witness as they fulfill their true potential.
