The Nets just finished a 3-1 preseason that was encouraging, but had some warning signs and red flags.
asserted
that → finish → signs
Brooklyn spent the summer bolstering their attack and scored their way to three preseason wins.
asserted
Brooklyn → spend → wins
But sieve-like defense is a worry that could undercut any hope of a surprise season.
uncertain
that → undercut → season
Offensively we’ll be able to score with the best of them,” Michael Porter Jr. said.
asserted
Jr. → score → them
“I think offensively is not a problem.
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I → think → ?
[But] if we want to be good, then defensively we’ll have to lock in.”
asserted
we → want → ?
That’s been the focus since they got shredded in their preseason finale in Miami, and that’s where it will stay right up until Wednesday’s opener against visiting Charlotte.
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it → shred → Charlotte
But they had to overcome a horrid defensive first half to escape in Washington, and couldn’t buy a stop in Miami.
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they → have → Miami
“There’s been two games that we were an aggressive and ball-pressure defensive team where I thought we were pretty good,” coach Jordi Fernández said.
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Fernández → think → ?
“We’ve got to decide who we want to be, and the things that we can control … and do it every game.
asserted
we → get → it
Don’t rely on shot-making, on things that don’t really matter.
asserted
that → rely → things
Rely on things that are going to make you a winning team.”
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you → rely → things
That ball pressure has been the deciding factor in when they’ve been stout vs. shredded.
asserted
they → decide → ?
The Nets finished the preseason second worst in the league in opponent field goal percentage (.498) and effective field goal percentage (.588).
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Nets → finish → percentage
The Nets forced 47 through the first two games, allowing an average of just 99 points.
asserted
Nets → force → points
And they harassed Washington into another 15 in the second half of Monday’s win, holding the Wizards to 50 points.
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they → harass → points
But when foes held onto the ball?
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foes → hold → ball
“The team that we were in the first two games where we pressured the ball, we created turnovers, that’s what good defensive teams do,” Fernández said.
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Fernández → pressure → what
“But in the Washington game that we allowed 70 points in the first half and 50 in the second, that was terrible.
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that → allow → second
Then in the Miami game, the whole game — all the quarters 32-plus points, one of [43] — it’s just not good enough.”
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it → ’ → 43
“So, if you think about it, for 10 quarters out of 16 we were good and six were really bad.
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six → think → 16
So we want to stay on the [good side].”
asserted
we → want → side
The Nets forced just eight turnovers in that first half at Washington, and allowed 72 points.
asserted
Nets → force → points
And when they only forced 15 in Miami, they allowed 144 points and 58.5 percent shooting.
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they → force → points
After trading Nic Claxton, shot-blocking was going to be a problem.
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blocking → trade → Claxton
But the rim protection has looked even more dire, especially when Day’Ron Sharpe got into foul trouble in Miami.
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Sharpe → look → Miami
“[Fernández preaches] just executing our staples on defense, controlling that, controlling what needs to be controlled, and doing everything with a purpose, but doing it also hard,” Sharpe said.
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Sharpe → preach → it
“So that’s the main thing he preaches.
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he → ’ → ?
If we could do that for four quarters, we’d give ourselves a good chance to win.”
uncertain
we → do → chance
Brown insists it was less about effort or personnel and more about attention to detail.
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it → insist → detail
“Coach always preaches that we can play hard, but we’ve also got to play smart and attention to detail.
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we → preach → detail
That’s something that we’ve been inconsistent at, but we’re going to continue to work at it every single day and fix it,” Mikel Brown Jr. said.
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Jr. → ’ → it
“It’s just little mistakes we could correct.
uncertain
we → ’ → ?
It’s not that we’re just completely blowing up on coverages; it’s just about having the right mindset, staying consistent throughout the game for all 48 minutes and keep applying that same pressure, that physicality that coach is talking about.
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coach → ’ → that
It’s just the little things when it comes to that point.
asserted
it → ’ → point
We clean those things up, we’ll be fine.”
asserted
we → clean → things
The Aporia
