The Brooklyn Nets are 5-8 and trending in the wrong direction, having lost six of their last seven games. And coach Lionel Hollins seems very willing to hold players accountable for that slide, even in public settings.
Starting center Brook Lopez is averaging just 5.4 rebounds in 29 minutes, and lately, he’s found himself benched in fourth quarters, including Saturday’s 99-87 loss to the Spurs in San Antonio. Both Lopez and Hollins have been visibly frustrated by things.
Via Brian Lewis of the New York Post, Hollins explained his frustration after Monday’s practice:
“[He’s] the same Brook. He can score,’’ Hollins said. “He needs to be better defensively, he needs to be better rebounding, he needs to be better passing the ball to his teammates.
“If you saw, if you had been able to see practice today, you would’ve seen some really nice passes. It’s just being aware and trusting that your teammates are going to make plays, and understanding the game better.”
“There’s people that come into this league and their whole life they’re only asked to do one thing. And when you get to this level it takes a little more to win. I’m trying to ask him to do those things.”
Lopez, who on offense still posts a respectable 15.3 points per game, has particularly found trouble against opposing bigs with enough of an outside jumper to draw him away from the basket.
Hollins says he believes Lopez can make the needed improvements, but the Nets may be running out of time. Lopez, who has a $16.7-million player option on the final year of his contract for 2015-16, can become a free agent in July 2015 if he chooses, potentially leaving the Nets for no compensation.
Therefore, if Hollins and Lopez can’t get on the same page in the next month or two, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Brooklyn explore potential Lopez deals by the February trade deadline.
In the meantime, the Nets return to action Wednesday against the 0-14 Sixers in Philadelphia, potentially giving Lopez and the team an opportunity to at least temporarily right the ship.
DALLAS ‘EMBARRASSED’ AFTER HOME LOSS TO UNDERMANNED PACERS
The Pacers entered Monday at 5-8 and starting a lineup of Donald Sloan, Rodney Stuckey, Luis Scola, Solomon Hill and Ian Mahinmi. In all, zero of the five starters from last year’s Eastern Conference Finals team even suited up.
Meanwhile, the Mavs were 10-4, boasting one of the league’s top point differentials. They were also rested and playing at home.
So what happened when the two teams met in Dallas? Somehow, the Pacers won by double digits. Needless to say, the Mavs weren’t happy about it.
From Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas:
“There’s no way around it — this is an embarrassing loss,” Mavs small forward Chandler Parsons said. “There is no excuse for this. We have to come out and play harder.”
“A horrible loss. Horrific. Awful,” power forward Dirk Nowitzki said after the 10-5 Mavs’ second straight loss. “I can’t find any more words.”
“I said it before the season: This team is going to be challenged defensive-wise and rebounding-wise,” Nowitzki said. “If we don’t bring it every night, we’re going to get lit up.
“We were just a step slow. When you start the game off slow and let guys get their confidence, then all of a sudden, they’re throwing in shots that they probably wouldn’t make if you play from the beginning. You know, it’s another reminder that we’re not good enough to coast against anybody.”
It’s the second straight baffling loss for the Mavericks, who blew a 6-point lead in the final three minutes at Houston on Saturday night to a Rockets’ team missing both Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones.
The real issue in Dallas, as Dirk diagnosed, is on defense. Though the Mavs remain the top-scoring offense in the league at 109.3 points per game, they rank just 15th in defense at 99.6 allowed. On Monday, Indiana guard Donald Sloan had a field day against Jameer Nelson and Monta Ellis, scoring a game-high 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
The Mavs are fine defending the interior with the addition of Tyson Chandler, assuming he stays healthy. The questions come on the perimeter. Out of Nelson, Ellis and Chandler Parsons, are any capable of stepping up on a consistent basis to cover dynamic scorers on the opposing team? It’s worth noting that rival Houston, which returned an identical starting lineup to 2013-14 except for the switch from Parsons to a better defender in Trevor Ariza, has surged from 23rd in points allowed (103.1) a year ago to 2nd in points allowed (91.7) this season.
The good news is that Rick Carlisle’s offense has been elite enough on some nights for defense to not even matter. But if the struggles continue, Dallas might need to consider bench options (Al-Farouq Aminu) for more extended playing time or even consider trades to find additional defensive help.
OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE NBA
The Knicks are 4-11 now, but Derek Fisher’s squad deserves credit for their effort. Even after losing Carmelo Anthony to back spasms, they managed to grab a 6-point, fourth-quarter lead on the road over depleted Houston (missing starters Dwight Howard, Terrence Jones and Patrick Beverley) on Monday.
That lasted, of course, until James Harden checked back in. After Harden returned with 8:48 remaining, the Rockets outscored the Knicks 19-4 over the next eight-plus minutes to put the game away, helping Houston move to 11-3.
But Amar’e Stoudemire wasn’t willing to give much credit to Harden and the Rockets in the locker room after the game. In fact, he seemed to chalk it up to divine intervention.
“James Harden was getting miraculous calls down the stretch, as if an angel came down and started calling calls for him.”
Harden, who scored 12 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter amid “M-V-P” chants, got six of those at the line in the final 1:13 of the game, with one a shooting foul whistled against Stoudemire.
No word on whether Stoudemire, who has averaged just 23 minutes/game for three years running due to ongoing knee issues, also credits angels for his contract that will pay him over $23 million in guaranteed money this season for only part-time production.
Anthony, by the way, is listed as doubtful for the team’s next game on Wednesday in Dallas.
One veteran NBA coach, under the premise of anonymity, appears fairly critical of the job first-year NBA coach David Blatt is doing with LeBron James and the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers (6-7).
Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes that Blatt, a longtime European coach, is still building relationships and trust while trying to adjust to the NBA game.
“I think Blatt is struggling a bit,” said one veteran NBA coach. “The offense is not very imaginative. Spoelstra did good job of blending guys, creating ways to get guys isolated. I don’t see that right now. They’re going through the motions of an offense that isn’t clicking.”
The coach, who did not want to be named while critiquing a rival, said Blatt’s offense relied on “a lot of European stuff that isn’t going to work” in the NBA. “It’s too simple. I just don’t think he hits the right buttons.
“Their talent is taking over and will win some games,” the coach said. “But going against elite teams, that’s not going to work.”
Cleveland lost back-to-back games over the weekend against rival Eastern Conference contenders Washington and Toronto, including a blown 18-point lead at home vs. the Raptors.
The Houston Rockets are considering signing veteran forward Al Harrington, according to Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders.
Now 34 years old, Harrington averaged 32.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in a brief stint in China this year. He was recently cut in order to allow him to pursue a return to the NBA.
Harrington, who at 6-foot-9 and 245 pounds is primarily a power forward these days, averaged 6.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 15 minutes per game last season coming off the Washington bench, shooting 34% from behind the arc.
He would be a welcome addition in Houston, which could be without Terrence Jones for a while longer.
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for both SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.
1. As someone who has followed the Nets very closely, I can say that the under-performing of Brook Lopez has been the biggest reason for their poor play.
Brook IS coming of surgery to his right and left feet, but he’s shown that he can play 44 minutes in a game (3OT vs Bucks), and is jumping well enough to finish alley-oop dunks. His problem is more mental, and listening to his coach. Earlier in his career (before suffering from Mono), he was the main offense of the team, and he got comfortable with attempting a score when he got the ball (not passing). He also got comfortable with not defending and rebounding (especially after the Mono), with the likes of rebounding Kris Humphries and Reggie Evans playing next to him.
Brook is constantly out of position, running out on defense, trying to cover quick guards – even raising his arms, as they fly by him. Hollins wants him to cover his man. He’s also been seen running back on defense, rather than make an attempt for an offensive rebound. Brook is slow (at 7’2, 280 lbs), but he has long legs, so he should be able to run back quickly.
On offense he tries to set picks 20 – 24 feet from the basket, leaving Nets without a Big underneath the offensive boards. Often when he gets the ball, from 18 or more feet from basket, he doesn’t even think about passing. When he does pass, he often telegraphs his pass.
Brook thinks he is hot stuff because of his often great shooting touch. However, he needs to trust his teammates more, as on many of his misses, there is noone to rebound.
2. The 2nd biggest disappointment has been the failure of Hollins to play Kirilenko significant minutes. AK47 is STILL one of the best defensive players in the league. He creates chaos to the opposing team, which often leads to scores. This problem could be ending by Hollins just agreeing to play him (I’m expecting Prokhorov to complain).
3. Mason Plumlee has been a disappointment. He can’t even get reproducible arc on his FT attempts. He has been trying low post moves, but has no legs/patience/skill in his offensive game. He still fouls too much on defense.
4. Finally, Alan Anderson has been awful, and trying to do too much.
The Nets are fortunate to have been 100% healthy for most of the season (15 players on roster), which itself creates a problem of some players being unhappy (Kirilenko has been the main casualty.