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Before the season, many had the Brooklyn Nets as title favorites along with the likes of the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Phoenix Suns. However, after around 50 games, the Nets are in a dire spot. They are 29-23, and only occupying the sixth spot in the standings. They are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak and the squad looks lost. Kevin Durant is out due to an MCL sprain, Kyrie Irving plays only away games due to his vaccination resistance, and James Harden has never truly gelled with the squad. Still, they have a pathway to come back to the contention status everyone expected. Thus, here are two solutions for the Nets amid a brutal losing streak.
Nets losing streak solutions
2. Trade James Harden
Trading for James Harden was supposed to bring the Nets to that next level. Having two stars in Irving and Durant, complemented by a fairly deep squad, did not do the trick, so the Nets traded a lot of their future to get the former MVP, who was visibly disgruntled in Houston. However, the situation smells like it was a mistake by the organization. Of course, it was a blunder that no one could have seen coming, but that does not make it easier for the Nets to accept that Harden hasn't been making the impact they thought he'd make on the team.
With rumors about a potential exit by The Beard looming over the squad, it is counterintuitive to keep him there. Obviously, Harden is an exceptional player and any team in the NBA would love to have him. However, the Nets can't have any distractions. Durant must not be liking what he is seeing from his costars or his team and while he did sign the maximum extension with the squad, he will not be happy playing from a play-in or starting the postseason from the sixth spot. In other terms, with so much attention on the star-studded Nets, a James Harden saga is the last thing they need.
Gauging what is possible to get for the former Houston Rocket is fairly difficult. He is a great player, but this would be the second franchise in a row where he pushed to be out. With a player option for next season, any team that trades for him would need to have guarantees that he is not leaving in the summer. The only option circulating right now is a trade for Ben Simmons, but that could spell further trouble for the Nets. Simmons is a distraction all by himself and due to immense pressure that he plays well from the get-go, keeping Harden at that point just sounds smarter.
The ideal trade for the Nets would probably be prying someone like Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers, but that is highly unlikely. When it comes to other options, there is not much out there for GM Sean Marks. Regardless, he should be entertaining the idea of trading the All-Star guard simply to keep some resemblance of peace in the house. Peace in the organization is the first step in the road to improvement, which is what the Nets desperately need.
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1. Getting their defense in check
Interestingly enough, for the first couple of months of the season, it was the Nets' defense that surprised many. Just in December, the Nets were ranked sixth in defensive rating. Right now, however, the Nets are just 19th in that regard. That is a huge drop and while Kevin Durant's injury clearly affected that area, his absence is not the sole reason why the Nets are getting worse defensive numbers.
The main reason is that effort levels have been falling off. Around the start of January, even though they were still the eight-ranked defense in the league, the Nets lost motivation to play the championship level defense they were playing just a few weeks back. The 19th spot in the league is very poor, not only from the standpoint of the excellent start they had defensively but also from the standpoint of the defensive specialists they have on the roster. Jevon Carter and Bruce Brown both saw their minutes slashed in the last seven the Nets lost, and both are incredibly important for the Nets' defense. De'Andre Bembry is also a defensive stud, but he is having trouble replicating the defensive impact he had on the squad earlier in the season.
It has always reigned true in the NBA that defense won championships and the Nets looked right on track. Without Joe Harris and Kyrie Irving, the defense improved massively and even though James Harden is still seemingly refusing to play D, the squad was playing great in that regard. However, the loss of Kevin Durant clearly had an impact, both on the court and psychologically, but it cannot be the only reason. Coach Steve Nash must find a way to get his defensive specialists involved more, get them their minutes on the court back, and get his defense back on the championship level.
