Getty Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, and Jalen Brunson during a matchup against the Washington Wizards.
The Brooklyn Nets’ latest loss came at the hands of the New York Knicks on February 13. Six Knicks players scored in double figures in their 118-142 victory, including their star big man Mitchell Robinson who notched a stat line of 13 points and ten rebounds in 26 minutes of play. After the game, Robinson sent a now-deleted tweet aimed at Nets starting big man Nic Claxton, making it clear that he is the “best center” in New York City.
“Fun fact: [I’m] the best center in New York and I’m standing 10 toes on that,” Robinson tweeted on March 2 (H/T @NBACentral).
Deleted tweet from Mitchell Robinson:
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Cam Johnson Calls Out Nets’ Defense
The losses are piling up for the Nets, and as a result, they are falling deeper and deeper in the Eastern Conference standings. But their latest loss to their crosstown rival New York Knicks may be among the most embarrassing of the season. Brooklyn gave up 81 points in the first half and allowed all five starters to score in double figures.
With a Nets roster now devoid of All-Star level talent following the trade deadline departures of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets will have to rely heavily on their defense if they want to remain afloat in the playoff race. And Nets starting forward Cam Johnson knows that to this point, their performance on the defensive side of the ball has not been up to par.
“It is a surprise. Philly barely got to 100 in the first game and there has been some regression statistically. Some of these teams are just hitting shots, you know, and sometimes you got to give credit to them,” Johnson said after the loss via YES Network.
“But like I said earlier, that’s when you got to step in and be like, what kind of shots are they hitting? And how can we make them take different shots? How can we make them do things that are a little more uncomfortable for them? But yeah, and it’s not something that sits well with our group because we know we should be at the very minimum, a very good, top half of the NBA defensive team.”
Cam Johnson: Nets Principles ‘Complete Opposite’ of Suns
The Nets have just two wins in their last ten games, but to be fair, they have played talented teams during their recent stretch. The Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns (pre-Durant trade), Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks were all on the Nets’ schedule in February. But from an effort standpoint, the Nets have not held an opponent under 100 points since November 27 and have given up 118 points or more in their last four games.
Johnson, who is one of the Nets’ best perimeter defenders, admits that even he has been off his usual game because he is still getting acclimated to his new team. But he is also confident that the improvement will come the more familiar he gets.
“Not to make any excuses, but for four years I’ve had a coaching staff who was very adamant on certain defensive principles. And after day after day after day of working on them, they get ingrained in your head. So, some of the principles we have here in Brooklyn are the almost complete opposite,” Johnson said on February 28.
“Once we kind of iron out those instances where you’re reacting a quarter of a second later, I think our defense will be a lot sharper. There are a couple of rotations that I know personally over the last five games that I’ve missed just because I’m caught in a middle ground where my mind is reverting to old habits.