Nets look lost on both ends of floor during five-game skid

Lonnie Walker IV was not under any illusions.

He is not tasked with saving the Nets’ season.

His role, is to provide enthusiasm to a frustrated team.

“Energy,” Walker said after shootaround before Friday night’s game against the Thunder at Barclays Center.

The Nets entered the day fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 15-20 record, a half-game ahead of last-place Toronto (14-20). Moreover, they were ninth in the Eastern Conference.

“We have a lot of great players,” said Walker, who returned to the lineup after recovering from a left hamstring strain that cost him 17 games. “It’s a long season, you have your ups and downs, trying to find ways to play the right way. So I think just bringing that energy, trying to really prioritize the defensive side of things and trying to play as hard as I can and as far as scoring and shooting, obviously add that to the team, but just trying to play the right way.”

It probably was a coincidence, but in Walker’s return, the Nets looked like a different team, taking a 75-47 halftime lead over a very good Thunder team.

Walker rejoined a squad desperately in need of anything that can be construed as positive.

Dating to Dec. 8, the Nets had lost 11 of their previous 15 games, including five straight before Friday night.

The nosedive has coincided with an almost unfathomable across-the-board defensive breakdown. On a per-game average, opponents are scoring 16.7 fast-break points, 12.1 second-chance points and 12.1 points off turnovers and have made 14.8 three-pointers on 35.1 attempts (42.1%) in their last 15 contests.

Those are, to be charitable, suboptimal numbers. Which prompts a question: How do they correct those flaws?

“We have to talk to each other more and help each other out, and step up for one another,” Mikal Bridges said when asked what he and his teammates have seen on video about their defensive play. “One person gets blown by, we’re messing up coverage. We just have to help each other out.”

Especially when factoring in that their defensive breakdowns are concurrent with an offensive slump.

Dating to the 144-122 loss to Milwaukee on Dec. 27, the Nets have scored 520 points in their last five games, 104 points per game.

And they have not been getting nearly enough production from those individuals counted on to produce points.

Bridges was averaging 15.0 points and shooting 38.8% in the five-game window. Spencer Dinwiddie was shooting 30.0% from the field. Which was an upgrade on Cam Thomas, who had missed his last 20 field-goal attempts.

Correlation does not always imply causation. But in the Nets’ case, correlation and causation appear to be inexorably entwined.

“I think our defense messed up our offense,” Bridges said after Tuesday night’s 112-85 loss to the Pelicans in New Orleans. “I feel like we don’t get any stops and then we kind of just laid down on both ends, especially offensively. So it’s really just getting stops. You know, offense will come. You work hard enough, you make shots. We just have to find the right guy. I had four turnovers today. I got to be better at taking care of the ball, but it really starts defensively. You can’t, even if they go on a run, you can’t let it mess with our energy on both ends.”

To that end, the Nets hope the return of Walker and Dennis Smith Jr., who sat out Wednesday’s 112-101 loss to the Rockets in Houston with lower-back soreness, is something akin to a panacea.

“You’re part of an organization, you got your brothers and your teammates — one leg, no legs, no matter. You’re going to try and be on that court giving your all if there’s an opportunity to play,” Walker said. “So I’m just happy to be back. I’m blessed to be back.”