Brooklyn Nets: Strong team defense ends the month-long losing streak
The Brooklyn Nets finally earned a win during the month of February, snapping their dreaded eight-game losing streak with effective team defense.
The last Brooklyn Nets win before Monday night’s home matchup with the Chicago Bulls took place on Jan. 31 against the Philadelphia 76ers. This upset victory was followed by eight consecutive defeats that had each opponent average over 100 points per game, further diminishing the Nets’ already dismal playoff hopes.
Brooklyn found its spirit and energy with the return of forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to the lineup from injury. His presence helped the team refocus, eventually coming up big against the Bulls in Monday’s 101-80 victory. The win not only snapped the losing streak, but also gave the team its first victory during the month of February to avoid the dubious distinction of a winless month.
Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson shared with reporters that he was pleased with his team’s effort, especially on the defensive side of the floor.
"“I thought our defense was really good. I thought our activity was good. I thought we got into them. Spencer [Dinwiddie] starts the first play of the second half, gets the deflection, DeMarre [Carroll] gets the deny and we just kept getting stops and that’s the real story. I think defensively, really good game by us and then 31 assists on the offensive end. I thought we really shared it, really moved it around.”"
The sharing of the basketball was key on the offensive end to complement the great defense, which led to easy fast break points. The biggest highlight play of the night was the intense dunk by rookie center Jarrett Allen over fellow first-year big man Lauri Markkanen.
Allen boasted about the highlight reel dunk during his postgame interview with reporters, giving plenty of praise to D’Angelo Russell for the nice setup pass.
"“They were missing on the pick-and-roll, so I just tried to get out earlier and D’Lo made the perfect pass to set me up. I had to jump over him to dunk it, I get juice. Everybody gets juice. You heard the crowd roar, the team, you can look at the bench. You saw the clip of it. They went crazy, so not only do I get juice, but everybody else does.”"
The victory was complete and satisfying for the many in attendance at Barclays Center, but the fact that the Nets defeated an obviously tanking Bulls team still can’t be overlooked. Chicago has made it clear it is focused on the upcoming lottery in May and the Nets shouldn’t be too proud of the victory. It was only their 20th win of the season and needs to be digested as an effort to stop the bleeding of the losing streak.
The next two months will be focused on the young talent under contract through next season, along with more possible hidden gems like Spencer Dinwiddie who deserve a chance to get more minutes. Allen may have opened more eyes with his performances lately, but will continue to platoon for minutes with fellow center Jahlil Okafor in an effort to see which player will remain in the franchise’s future plans.
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The defensive effort was encouraging but needs to be more consistent and intense, especially in the team’s next matchup with LeBron James and the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers. A win in that game will really make the noise Atkinson and company need heading down the season’s home stretch.