Nets' issues remain despite new coach Kevin Ollie
Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie watches his team during second-half NBA action against the Raptors in Toronto on Thursday. Credit: AP/Chris Young
TORONTO — The Nets finally were healthy. They faced a Raptors team that also has struggled. It seemed like a recipe for a bounce-back after the All-Star break.
It didn’t happen in Thursday’s 121-93 loss. The Nets looked as disjointed as ever with 20 turnovers. Any talk of defensive progress seemed like just talk as the Raptors raced up and down the court for 46 fast-break points.
It reminded observers why the Nets’ issues remain deeper than who’s coaching them, even if there was understandable confusion with interim coach Kevin Ollie’s new sets on offense.
“It’s our first game, first game actually running everything against somebody different,” Cam Thomas said. “But I think we'll get used to it and we'll figure it out quickly, you know, because we have to, honestly.”’
The Nets rushed shots late in the shot clock. There still were spacing issues as lineups with Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton were a minus-17. They allowed the Raptors to shoot 14-for-31 (45.2%) on three-pointers, their best three-point display in five games, and 30 of those shots were classified as wide-open or open by NBA.com.
Sound familiar? It should. The Nets rarely have made teams react to them, and a change in leadership can't change that. As Simmons said postgame, it’s about having pride as much as execution.
“At the end of the day, you know, we got to play hard,” Ollie said. “We got to be aggressive. We got to do the things we have to do to affect winning.”
The Nets looked as if they still were finding their way against the Raptors. Ollie frequently substituted players to try out new lineups in the first half. Cam Johnson, who’s still on a minutes restriction, came off the bench for the second consecutive game.
Johnson had six points and two rebounds and shot 1-for-7 in 21 minutes. Ollie didn’t say if he will continue as a reserve, but one fewer shooter in the starting lineup threw off the Nets’ rhythm.
Dennis Schroder is still figuring out his way four games into his tenure. Ollie said he missed one of the Nets’ two practices this week for personal reasons, so it further set him back.
It’s yet another challenge for a team that has spent more time trying to jell than imposing its will on opponents. Now the Nets have to learn new strategies while trying to fix issues that won’t disappear with a new coach.
“You just got to learn fast and get ahead of it. You can't complain about it,” Mikal Bridges said. “I know it's tough on us, but we got to just lock in, whatever we got to do, figure it out and learn [the] offense quick.”
It doesn’t ease worries that fans should have Saturday when the Nets face the Timberwolves, who are tied with the Thunder for the Western Conference’s best record (39-17). The Nets have been too busy adjusting instead of asserting themselves, and to reach the play-in tournament, that has to change quickly in the next 27 games.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
