The Brooklyn Nets finish preseason going 1-3, with their only victory being a blowout against the fellow-tanking Washington Wizards. In previous seasons, this would be a legitimate concern; however, in a rebuilding season, the losses are welcome. Despite it being clear that the Nets are in a rebuild, there still needs to be good basketball philosophies ingrained within this team. It cannot be blind losses. There has to be player development, defensive effort, and good offensive schemes. While there is some concern about the overuse of veterans and the lack of opportunities for some of the younger players on this roster, coach Jordi Fernández did a great job introducing his mentality and setting a precedent for these players.
In preseason, the Nets posted the 8th best offensive rating in the league, a surprising accomplishment given that the Nets struggled in the half-court. This is likely due to the high volume of 3-point attempts, with the Nets being 14th in 3PA, despite only shooting 32.3% from 3PT as a team. Their ability to score in transition was respectable as well, ranking 13th in the NBA in fast-break points. They were also able to turn defense into offense, ranking 12th in the NBA in points scored on turnovers. A good indicator of the mentality Fernández wanted to implement was the Nets' ability to score on offensive rebounds, ranking 9th in the league in 2nd chance opportunities. The aggressiveness was there as well, with the Nets ranking 7th in free throw attempts.
A major issue with the offense was the Nets' ability to generate good looks in the half-court. Despite having good ball movement leading to quality looks from 3, the lack of on-ball creation showed. In the half-court, they either attempted to use Dennis Schröder or Ben Simmons to generate offense for the team, or they would use the bigs as offensive hubs to run Dribble Handoffs, which led to some awkward possessions. Despite being their leading scorer, Cam Thomas was off the ball for most of the preseason, rarely running pick & rolls or isolating. Given coach Fernández's comments in a previous interview on having Thomas take fewer dribbles, the off-ball role is not a surprise. However, the Nets require Thomas to expand his offensive game in order to further develop him as a player, something hopefully Fernández realizes early in the regular season.
Defensively, despite the effort being there, the Nets ranked 19th in defensive rating. When analyzing the stats, this can be explained by the Nets' transition defense, their lack of rim protection, and poor defensive rebounding. The Nets ranked 11th in opponents' fast-break points, 7th in opponents' points in the paint, and 30th in defensive rebounds per game. Although the team defense struggled, individual players such as Ziaire Williams showed off their defensive versatility, being able to navigate screens while flashing some rim protection in small-ball lineups. As a team, the Nets were 10th in opponents' turnover percentage, being able to get into passing lanes and get out in transition.
Coach Fernández showed that he was willing to call out his players when they did not meet his standards, calling timeouts early in the quarter when the Nets made defensive mistakes, and setting a precedent of working hard and putting up a fight. The Nets are rebuilding, and it is difficult to build winning habits in a season where the Nets are going to lose far more than they win. However, if coach Fernández can balance the rotation and give his young players ample opportunity, he can build a winning culture in a losing season.
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