Brooklyn Nets: 5 biggest disappointments from 2017-18 NBA season

BOSTON - APRIL 11: Brooklyn Nets' head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the second quarter. The Boston Celtics host the Brooklyn Nets in a regular season NBA basketball game at TD Garden in Boston on April 11, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON - APRIL 11: Brooklyn Nets' head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the second quarter. The Boston Celtics host the Brooklyn Nets in a regular season NBA basketball game at TD Garden in Boston on April 11, 2018. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images /

3. Shooters shoot?

To say the Nets as a whole had a quick trigger would be an understatement, especially behind the 3-point line. As a whole, the Nets attempted the second-most 3s of any team in the league at 35.7 per game. For context, only the astronomically-high Houston Rockets‘ average was higher.

Although Brooklyn fired off a ton of 3s, not many went in; they finished 20th in overall 3-point percentage as a team, converting 35.6 percent of their treys. When considering that six of the 10 teams below them were tanking teams, their shortcomings are exposed even more.

As a result, the entire offense was hampered; Brooklyn finished with the 10th-worst offensive rating at 104.3 points per 100 possessions. The volume was there, as was the shot selection.

This was, of course, by design; coach Atkinson’s system implored players to shoot when they were open, and justifiably so. The shots simply didn’t go in. The intent –€” dare I say, the process — was competent; the results were not.