No one expected things to get easier for the Brooklyn Nets on the court after they traded away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. But, perhaps, no one expected their struggle to come on the defensive end.
And yet, while the last first game out of the All-Star break showed how inconsistent the offense will be going forward, forward Cameron Johnson suggested defense has been tougher.
“Defense in the NBA is a lot of ways to do it, and it’s all kind of on principles – principles, principles, principles,” Johnson said via the team’s official YouTube channel after the 129-127 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on February 26. “And, not to make any excuses, right? But for four years…I’ve had my coaching staff who was very adamant on certain principles. And it was on us to execute them at a high level. And after day after day after day of working on them, they get a little ingrained in your head, right? So, some of the principles we have here in Brooklyn are almost complete opposite.”
Johnson’s comments are interesting because the Nets boast a defense that ranks in the 100th percentile with a 97.7 rating when their new starting five consisting of Johnson, fellow former-Sun Mikal Bridges, former Dallas Mavericks Spencer Dinwiddie, and Dorian Finney-Smith, as well as holdover big man Nic Claxton, per Cleaning The Glass.
That same group’s offensive rating (105.1) ranks in the third percentile but, thanks to that defense, their net rating ranks in the 90th percentile.
“When we start playing with pace, playing aggressive defense – switching, making it hard on the other team – then we can get on a roll,” Johnson said.
“Defense is defense,” he clarified. “You got to stop the other team. But 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. Once that becomes instinct, once we’re planning on that there’s a couple rotations that I know personally over the last five games that I’ve missed just because I’m kind of caught in the middle ground where my mind is reverting back to old habits. But I think it’s getting better.”
At 3-6 since Irving demanded out, there clearly a ways to go.
Nets Still Ironing Out the Kinks
“There’s things we still need to clean up for sure,” Johnson said. “But I think one thing, anybody can shoot in those final minute and a half, two minutes – which is kind of what we ran into the problem with Philly. Every team kind of has late-game offense, late-game sets they go to and things of that nature. And that game against Philly, you could see us bogged down in those last four minutes of, ‘What are we doing?’ I think today we kind of just kept our flow in those moments. And, if you’re open, shoot it, attack them, spread them out. And it was able to generate some points late so I think that’s something that we can build off of and understanding what we want to execute on the stretch.”
Johnson said that being aggressive on defense will help cover for their lapses in the offense. His 27 points against the Hawks are the most he’s scored as a Net and he also knocked down 3-of-8 looks from beyond the arc, another good sign after he connected on just 9-of-32 coming in.
CJ from deeeeep
The Nets need to see all they can from Johnson over the final 22 games. He is heading for restricted free agency next summer. Typically a scenario rival teams avoid, the 26-year-old Johnson could generate interest. At the very least, he could force the Nets into a tough decision down the roster as they continue this makeover in earnest.
Johnson could command $20 million yearly which would put the Nets in luxury tax territory without further maneuvers.
Are they willing to pay that for a team that does not have the look of a title contender?
Next Up for the Nets
“I think when we’re the aggressor on the defensive end that covers for a lot,” said Johnson. “When we’re the aggressors, that covers for a lot of that indecisiveness. So, it’s a work in progress and it’s something that I think we’ll be able to build off.”
After a much-needed day off, the Nets will host the Milwaukee Bucks in one of just two home games in their next nine outings.
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Nets’ Cameron Johnson Admits to Unexpected Challenge Amid Slide