The first round of the Battle of New York went to the New York Knicks. Now, the Brooklyn Nets are left trying to figure out how they can pick up the pieces are start stringing together some wins. The Nets were simply dominated in the 113-83 loss at the Barclays Center. Quickly turning into the laughing stock of the NBA considering the $190 million payroll and the 5-14 records, the Nets must attempt to right the ship.
Brooklyn lost on defense. They entered with the worst 3-point defense in the league and the Knicks took advantage of it all night. New York hit a season-high 16 3-point shots, shooting 57.1 percent overall throughout the game. They outscored Brooklyn 34-16 in the third quarter and never looked back.
"It hurts big regardless of who we're playing," Joe Johnson said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "This loss here is not more significant than another loss. We just can't seem to get a win in our building. It's been embarrassing at this point."
Boos reigned down from the fans in the Barclays Center. The expectations surrounding the Nets in the offseason were extremely high after they traded for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. However, Pierce is out with a hurt hand and Garnett is struggling to find his shot and identity as a role player. The veteran says the effort being demonstrated is simply unacceptable.
"It's not ideal. It's not ideal," Kevin Garnett said. "Nothing just went our way from the giddy up. They came out fast. The first quarter it seemed like they made everything [70.6 percent], and it seemed like we were playing catchup from that minute on."
So how does Brooklyn start to turn things around? It all starts with getting healthy. Against the Knicks, the Nets were without Pierce, Deron Williams, Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko. The loss of two starters plus the lack of bench support has really slowed the team down. Head coach Jason Kidd is confident that if the Nets can get the health of everyone to improve, they will be much better.
"We all feel confident we have enough to win," Kidd said. "This team was built with depth [to withstand injury]. We've asked guys to do a little bit more. They've accepted their challenge in that locker room, that confidence that we can win and we can turn this thing around. It's just a matter of getting healthy, but at the same time the guys that are playing are getting better and we're closer than maybe the public thinks, but we really think we have a great opportunity."
