Brooklyn Nets: A closer look at their league-leading pace

The Brooklyn Nets lead the league in pace to start the year.  Will the absence of D’Angelo Russell show how integral he was to that statistic?

The Brooklyn Nets lead the league in something!  Better yet, it’s not turnovers or ejections or even losses. Thirteen games into their season and the Nets lead the NBA in pace for the second year in a row.

Pace essentially looks at how many possessions a team has per 48 minutes. The Nets have a league-leading 107.7 pace, which means they average 107.7 possessions every 48 minutes. To put that number in perspective, the “Seven Seconds Or Less” Phoenix Suns team in 2005-06, which featured one of the most dynamic fast break teams the league has ever seen, averaged 98.1 possessions during their revolutionary season.

The game of professional basketball now is so much faster than anything we’ve ever seen before, and while that Suns team “only” averaged 98.1 possessions, they were one of the most efficient run and gun teams of all time.  This Brooklyn team is not, so take the pace statistic with a grain of salt.

But how the heck does a team like the Brooklyn Nets lead such a dynamic league in pace? Well, we can break that down into two parts: timing of shot selection, and D’Angelo Russell.

Efficient or not, Brooklyn seems to feel the most comfortable operating early in the shot clock.  It could be on fast breaks, slower transitions or even inbound plays. Whatever the scenario, we’re seeing Brooklyn’s comfort zone offensively is early in the shot clock. More specifically, they like to work when the shot clock is between 22-18 seconds. Take a look for yourself.

When the shot clock is between 22-18 seconds: Brooklyn

• 25.9 points per game (2nd in the league)
• 22.1 field goals per game (2nd)
• 8.9 3-point attempts per game (3rd)
• 3.6 3-point makes per game (4th)

The Nets shoot early, and they shoot often. This team is young, likes to run, and doesn’t care about efficiency numbers.

We’re seeing inconsistent Nets performances this year because playing 107 possessions a game with lower third efficiency statistics is very, well…. inefficient.  But that hasn’t seemed to deter them from this style of play. It sure as hell hasn’t stopped D’Angelo Russell.

Watching Russell play this season has been quite a joy because we’re starting to catch glimpses of what he’s really capable of — glimpses that were few and far between in Los Angeles. Maybe he’s being fueled by the fresh start he’s getting in Brooklyn. Or maybe he’s being fueled by the chance to finally silence Magic Johnson‘s criticisms and whatever strange obsession he still has with Russell. Whatever the reason, we’re starting to see D’Angelo finally develop.

Russell is the heartbeat of this Nets team. He is this team. If Brooklyn led the league in points, it would be because of him. If they led the league in most ice cream cones sold in the Barclay’s Arena, it would be because of him. Right now, they lead the league in pace because of him.

When D’Angelo operates with the shot clock between 22-18 seconds he produces:

• 4.3 field goals per game (5th among all NBA starters)
• 55.9 percent of his assists  (12th)
• 33.3 percent of his points (17th)

via GIPHY

You could watch any Nets highlight video and find multiple examples, but here are a couple. Off a turnover, all D’Angelo has to do is find the open man Allen Crabbe in transition and boom, there’s a 3-pointer four seconds into the shot clock.

via GIPHY

Off a rebound in transition, Russell finds himself in a 2-on-3 situation down three points, pulls up three seconds into the shot clock and nails his shot.

The Nets score 12 percent of their points in transition this year, which is seventh in the league.  They’ve started this season living or dying by this fast-paced style of play. That is, until this past Saturday. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Russell is likely to miss some time with a left knee injury.

Let’s not speculate on the length of the injury until more information is provided over the next few days, but the Nets without Russell are obviously completely different team.  Their pace will drop and they’re going to have an identity crisis.

Next: 2017-18 Week 5 NBA Power Rankings

The border plate “next man up” motto will apply if Brooklyn wants to compete moving forward, but here’s what to look for. The 107.7 possessions per game Brooklyn Nets will take a dent without Russell, but their inefficiency might shine brighter than ever for a team that already led the league in pace last year without him.