Nets still have lots of questions, but this feisty team is worth watching
Nets guard Dennis Schroder celebrates after scoring against Golden State during the second half of an NBA game in San Francisco on Monday. Credit: AP/Jed Jacobsohn
SAN FRANCISCO — It’s been one month of the NBA season and the Nets’ rebuilding plans have either stalled or gone to plan, depending on perspective.
They’re currently eighth in the Eastern Conference at 8-10. They’re 5-1 against the West but have a loss to the struggling 76ers. They’re more competitive than expected but nowhere close to the elite or above average teams in the league.
So how should fans judge? Maybe just staying in the moment. The culture that coach Jordi Fernandez is instilling has paid off so far without hurting the hope of being bad enough for a 2025 lottery pick.
“I think the league knows when they play against us, it's not going to be sweet,” said Dennis Schroder after his team-high 31 points Monday. “So at the end of the day, we're going to compete. It don't matter who's on the floor.
“We respect everybody, but when we get between those lines, we want to compete on the highest level, pick up full-court. And I think that's how we are going to win games.”
Some Nets fans might pause hearing that. Winning games was supposed to be hard this year. This team was supposed to sputter, trade its best players then welcome a potential savior with a high draft pick.
Well two things are true. First, that plan could still happen. Second, it’s possible to also root for the Nets to lay a solid foundation while rebuilding
It’s hard not to admire a team that won a tough road game Monday with four starters out. The Nets won their last two games with tough fourth-quarter play after they had collapsed in the fourth at Philadelphia to start this trip. Rebuilds aren’t just about tearing things down. It’s also about replacing it with something else. So what are these Nets now? Playing not just with grit but shooting a lot of threes, defending the three-point line and relying on balance as much as Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson or Schroder.
Remember, the roots planted during a rebuild are just as important as who comes next — or who returns from this group — to add to it. Good habits matter because bad habits can't be easily swept away with new talent.
“We always want to play the right way and play the best way to help us win,” Jalen Wilson said. “And we've been drilling that the entire season. It just comes to pay off in games like this, when people probably counted us out and checked us out for the game. And we just continue to play our way.”
Fast starts don’t guarantee late success. Just remember last season. The Nets were 13-10 after a win in Phoenix but only won 17 more games. Fast starts don’t guarantee late success.
The Athletic reported earlier this month that teams expect the Nets to be sellers by the Feb. 6 trade deadline. So things can change over the next two months that convinces fans this rebuild looks like what outsiders expected.
For now, embrace what the Nets have done so far and how they look. It doesn’t supersede the greater team plan but it’s just as important for it as any potential player movement.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
