Inside Nets’ league-leading defensive turnaround: ‘Another level’
For much of this season, any fleeting success the Nets found came at the offensive end. But their best form of the season has come over the past two weeks, and it’s come riding the best defense in the league.
With their 97-89 win Monday night over the Hornets, a fellow lottery aspirant, the Nets have won five of six and suddenly are playing withering defense, with coach Jordi Fernandez’s teachings seeming to have finally taken hold.
The Nets held the Hornets to 89 points, after smothering Miami to 86 on Friday. It marked the first time they’d held consecutive opponents under 90 points in over a decade (Dec. 2014).
“The consistency, the work the coaches put together with finding what our priorities are,” Fernandez said before the game. “The 3-point line was an issue, and our pick-and-rolls were very inconsistent. So finding time and ways to get that work done, and then getting the reps.
“We’ve had a lot of different lineups, and it’s hard to find consistency when those guys don’t play together for long stretches. Now, those guys have done a great job. They’ve played together for a little bit and now you can see some results. So credit to the coaches, to the players and we’ve got to keep taking positive steps.”
The Nets had bottomed out with a Jan. 27 loss at the hands of the Kings, running their season-worst losing streak to seven.
They snapped that skid with a 104-83 laugher at Charlotte two nights later, starting this turnaround.
Entering Monday, they’ve led the entire league in a host of metrics, including defensive rating (105.2), field goal percentage allowed (40.7), field goals allowed (35.2) and blocks (8.2) since then.
“It’s our pressure, intensity, physicality. We buy into what Jordi wants to do defensively, helping each other, not worrying about our guy, just buying into the game plan. We go out there and play hard,” said Day’Ron Sharpe, came into the night with a 94.2 defensive rating the past two weeks and helped key this run.
“Our physicality, but also our focus is being consistent. That results in positive things,” Fernandez said. “There’s no perfect system. The only way is when everybody pushes in the same direction and everybody’s trying to do the same things.”
Before this, any success was: 1) offensive smoke and mirrors; 2) through vets not long for this roster; 3) both.
This run has been spurred by defense, and it’s a subtly different defense than what Jacque Vaughn and Kevin Ollie ran a season ago, one that they’re still learning.
“Our system has to keep developing and have more things to do in our arsenal, so this way we can adjust,” Fernandez said.
“While we’re out there, we play hard, but we still have to be able to do the things we need to do while we play hard. We just can’t play hard and just be doing whatever,” Sharpe said. “You have to be in control or a controlled way of playing hard. Stay focused on the game plan. [With the plan] they present us with every game, I feel like we’re gonna win.”
That game plan still doesn’t switch as much as in years past. Sharpe and Nic Claxton hedge aggressively, but still know when to sink back.
Both centers have been much louder and better communicators, quarterbacking the defense.
“Jordi is just challenging us to be defensive anchors,” Sharpe said. “Me and Nic, we’re taking that challenge … talking the whole game, being able to touch on the screens, making the second effort, sinking. Just buying into that and trying to help the team win.”
The Nets have done a better job closing out on shooters and have funneled foes to the sidelines.
“We all started focusing on the little things on the defensive end, just listening to what Jordi is preaching step-by-step,” Tyrese Martin told The Post. “When you’re not guarding the ball, making sure you’re in the right spot in your stance, closing out the proper way, rebounding better. It really took our defense to another level.
“Just having Nic and [Sharpe] on the backside, it helped a lot. We can really climb into the ball and up our pressure,” added Trendon Watford. “When Nic and Day’Ron [talking], we’ve got to be the loudest in the gym. … I feel like we can pretty much guard a lot of teams in the league.”
