NBA Brooklyn Nets

Lottery More Likely Than Playoffs For Brooklyn Nets Right Now

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By @Bigwoolf5

Brook Lopez, Brooklyn Nets

Anthony Gruppuso-USA Today Sports

The Brooklyn Nets have been in the news for all of the wrong reasons recently. It started when Joe Johnson called out the team for selfish play, and since those comments the team has lost four straight games to bring their record to 4-6.

Monday night the Nets lost to the Miami Heat by a score of 95-83, and the Heat were without Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts. This loss comes two days after losing to a Portland Trail Blazers team that was without LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum. You could understand the loss to the Blazers as that was the last game of a west coast trip, but this loss to the Heat exposed some major issues.

The defense was always going to be an issue for the Nets as they tried to adapt to new Head Coach Lionel Hollins‘ system, but on Monday night it was atrocious. The pick and roll defense has regularly been bad and there have been way too many wide open shots for their opponents.

There is no one culprit for the defensive woes of the Nets as many of their players are known for their solid individual defense, but as a team they can’t seem to figure it out.

The biggest mystery of the young season for the Nets, though, is Brook Lopez. Lopez is the Nets’ best offensive player, but has not been getting the minutes to produce the way he needs to. His defense leaves something to be desired, and he is still working his way back from last years foot injury, but the Nets need him to play and be productive.

Lopez came into the game averaging only 28 minutes per game, and logged only 22 minutes Monday night. His shot has been off so far this year, but he is expected to be rusty after missing the final 65 games last season. Hollins needs to let Lopez play and shoot himself out of his slump.

Lopez is far from the only issue though. The Nets haven’t gotten consistent play from anyone other than backup point guard Jarrett Jack and Deron Williams. Johnson has had his share of shooting woes, Alan Anderson seems to turn the ball over every time he touches it and Mirza Teletovic has been his usual streaky self. Rookie Bojan Bogdanovic has shown flashes of brilliance but has predictably been inconsistent on both ends as he makes the adjustment to the NBA.

The Nets came into this season with the lowest expectations they have had since moving to Brooklyn, and so far they are playing down to those lowered expectations. The talent is there on this All-Star laden roster, but they are on their fourth coach since moving to Brooklyn and the cohesiveness is still not there.

This team still may end up becoming a good one that makes some noise later in the season. But in order for that to happen they are going to have to turn things around quickly in the vastly improved Eastern Conference. If the defense remains this dismal, and the offense continues to be inconsistent, look for the Nets to be in the lottery (where they don’t even control their pick), not the playoffs.

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