The Brooklyn Nets took on a new identity when they traded Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith. Unlike recent years, they suddenly found themselves stacked with long, athletic defenders while falling short on isolation scoring.

This led many to believe an elite defense would be the lynchpin of the new-look Nets. Five games in, that has been far from the case. Brooklyn ranks 29th in defensive rating (125.3) while allowing 118 points per game during that span. Those struggles have been amplified in two appearances since the All-Star break with the Nets allowing 30-plus points in seven of their last eight quarters.

The Atlanta Hawks poured in 129 points against Brooklyn Sunday. Despite that, a late offensive rally had the Nets in position to force overtime with seven seconds remaining. All they needed was one stop. They couldn't get it as Trae Young drove, stepped back, pump faked, and drained a game-winner at the buzzer.

Some may question the Nets' decision not to double Young, who finished with a game-high 34 points. Head coach Jacque Vaughn said you simply have to tip your cap.

“We got one on one coverage. We had some shell defense around him. You just give him credit for the shot he made with a contest from behind by Spencer (Dinwiddie),” Vaughn said postgame. “So just a good shot, give him credit.”

Brooklyn allowed Atlanta to get hot from three early in the loss. Some of that was a product of tough shotmaking, but a portion was the result of miscommunications in the Nets' switch-heavy scheme. And Vaughn pointed to changes in defensive terminology when speaking on his team's struggles.

“We talk about the offensive terminology, there’s a defensive terminology also,” the coach said. When you’ve been raised in a system like the two kids from Phoenix, they’ve been raised in that system, so that’s all they know. So the terminology is different, my communication is different with them. What we’re trying to accomplish is different. It just doesn’t happen in five games like that.

The other two are coming from a different organization too where some of their switches are different than ours. The way do them, the ability to keep guys in front, why we do them. So it’s still explaining the why to our guys right now. I think it’s gonna click, I believe it’s gonna click… There’s some defensive terminology and some stuff scheme-wise that we’re still getting a grasp of.”

Cam Johnson played his best game as a Net Sunday, scoring a team-high 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Johnson was asked postgame whether it has been more difficult to adjust offensively or defensively since being traded to Brooklyn. The 26-year-old answered without hesitation:

“It’s the defensive end,” he said. “Defense in the NBA, there’s a lot of ways to do it and it’s all based on principles. Not to make any excuses, but for four years I’ve had a coaching staff who was very adamant about certain principles. And after day after day after day of working on them, they get ingrained in your head. So some of the principles we have here in Brooklyn are almost the complete opposite.

There’s a couple of rotations that I know personally over the last five games that I’ve missed just because I’m caught in a middle ground where my mind is reverting back to old habits. 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.”

If there's a silver lining for the Nets, it's that they found a way to produce offensively down the stretch Sunday. Brooklyn shot 49.4 percent from the field and 36.0 percent from three on 39 attempts in the loss. Trailing by eight with 1:17 remaining, they were able to tie the game with a driving layup from Dinwiddie and back-to-back threes from Finney-Smith and Johnson.

The Nets had four players score 20-plus: Johnson (27), Bridges (24), Thomas (22), and Dinwiddie (20). It marks the second time this season they have accomplished the feat.

The conversation surrounding Brooklyn's growing pains has shifted from offense to defense five games into the new era. However, with 22 games left in the regular season and the Nets battling for a playoff spot, all parties are aware that the grace period must be short-lived. Brooklyn falls into a tie with New York for fifth place in the Eastern Conference following back-to-back losses. Things won't get any easier with an upcoming three-game slate that features Milwaukee, New York and Boston.