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The Brooklyn Nets might have given themselves a pass when they first learned they would be without the services of Kyrie Irving. It wouldn't have been surprising if they had a slower start to the season than we've seen so far.
Instead they find themselves in first place in the East at 16-7. The roster was devised to squeeze in three-max salaried All-NBA talents in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. That left precious little cap space for the rest of the roster. So for the Nets to lose one of their Big 3 indefinitely, it's a pretty massive drop off to the next player off the bench. However, that hasn't prevented head coach Steve Nash from feeling optimistic and proud of his squad.
The team has certainly struggled at times. Brooklyn’s 16 wins have come against teams with a combined 128-180 record. They feast on the lesser teams, but their losses have come at the hands of teams who have won almost twice as many games as they've lost. They were spanked by contenders like the Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat. They tend to struggle against elite teams, and that has made some of the players like Durant or Harden sound a bit frustrated at times during postgame press conferences.
In fact, Durant admitted that the recent loss to the Chicago Bulls (who have now beaten the Nets twice) was a tough one.
But ahead of the Nets matchup versus their next opponent the 11-11 Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, Coach Nash was asked about the possible “doom and gloom” vibe that can hover after losses. And Nash pushed back on that narrative.
“Yeah, I don't feel doom and gloom,” explained Nash. “I'm extremely proud of our group. You know we've faced a lot of things already this year and we sit at the top of the East. So we've had a lot of change, ten new guys, Kyrie [Irving] not being with us, some injuries and what not. And so for us to put it together and be able to compete has been fantastic.”
It's that point about not having Irving which has been the biggest bombshell to the season. But Nash also points out that the team has ten new players so it makes sense that integrating those different personalities and skill sets is another challenge.
“I'm proud of them. I'm proud of the way they've defended,” continued the head coach. “I'm proud of the way we've been able to find solutions and win games and I think were knocking on the door of elevating our play into a little bit of a higher category and that's the process that we have to undertake this year we have to stay with it.”
Nash mentioned the defense. Few would have expected this roster to play the way they have defensively. They allow just 105.6 points per 100 possessions, tied for the fifth best defensive rating in the entire league. So they've clearly adapted to the situation and have earned the pride of their signal caller. He hinted that they may be inching towards another gear, and perhaps that could mean scary times ahead?
But it's difficult to overstate how much they miss Irving. There have been a couple rumors about the latest with him recently. The latest per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk:
“We just focus on our group and getting better every single day and if we get the gift of his return, we’ll be ecstatic but we can’t count on it,” Nash said. “We can’t wait for him. We have to get to work, and get better.”
Beginning Jan 15, NBA players who are not fully vaccinated will not be able to enter Canada and play games vs. Toronto Raptors 👀 pic.twitter.com/djF31uxL2S
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 7, 2021
One key date to watch is December 15th, when many newly minted players from around the league are eligible to be traded. If the Nets don't feel like waiting on Irving through the trade deadline, or waiting for plant-based vaccines, they might start making more calls soon. But the way the team has played in light of this challenge has certainly impressed coach Nash.
