Nets' struggles to start fast has been a problem even before this road trip
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas, top left, shoots against Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
SALT LAKE CITY — As the Nets conclude their five-game road trip Monday night against the Jazz, it’s been a tough swing where lessons are being learned painfully through defeat.
Two of the Nets’ three losses have been blowouts, although one was predictable facing the defending champion Nuggets on the second night of a back-to-back. Losing at Golden State on Saturday was a gut punch after rallying from an 18-point deficit.
The common thread has been slow starts in first quarter. Yes, the Nets (13-12) have shown fight, but it’s harder to fight when you have to exert more energy playing from behind.
Mikal Bridges acknowledged as much after the Nets trailed by 16 at halftime in San Francisco.
Bridges said a positive takeaway is that the team fought till the end, "but we got to just start off better and keep us in the game in the beginning and second quarter so it doesn't have to be like that in the third and fourth, [where] we have to battle.”
The Nets scored 18, 21 and 25 first-quarter points in their first three losses this trip. The 18 points against the Kings last Monday were the second-fewest they’ve scored in a first quarter this season, ahead of the 13 points they had in an eventual win over the Clippers on Nov. 8.
It’s a combination of things, such as lack of energy, poor execution and not being able to set a tone.
“Sometimes it happens, man. Sometimes it happens,” Cam Johnson said. “It's more of a thing of how we can fix it tonight rather than looking back and kind of evaluating these other games. I think we know what it is. And I think we have, you know, an idea of how we can improve upon it game to game.”
Dorian Finney-Smith saw it as the Nets still not playing a complete game this season for 48 minutes. It’s not so much what other teams are doing defensively but something they have to control by coming out stronger.
“It's always us versus us,” said Finney-Smith, who sat out Saturday’s loss with left knee soreness. “Just got to do a better job of starting games and [the] coaches challenged us last game to pick up on our energy and physicality and they did.”
It’s been a problem even before this road trip. Starting on Nov. 16 at the Heat, the Nets have trailed in the first quarter in six of their last seven losses. The most glaring example came on Nov. 22 at Atlanta when they scored 33 points in the opening period but gave up 45 to the Hawks.
That’s part of the reason the gap between them and the top teams in the East and West remains wide. They don’t have the depth of All-Star or All-NBA caliber talent of those teams and it’s why the margins for error are slimmer in those games.
Finney-Smith said the Nets have to improve with hustle plays. Whether its fewer turnovers or crashing the offensive glass for rebounds, they have to play with more edge early rather than relying on their grit to make up for first-quarter mistakes.
"Once we fix that, I feel like we’ve been battling back,” Finney-Smith of getting more hustle plays early, “Like I said, our margin for error is little. We ain’t one of those teams that can play around. We’ve got to come out with our head on straight.”
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
