The good (rebounds) and the bad (turnovers) so far for Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets have had an up-and-down season thus far, with significant strengths like offensive rebounding counteracting weaknesses like turnovers.

With a record of 4-6, the Brooklyn Nets have been in the middle of the pack of the NBA this season (20th in net rating, 15th last season). Rather than being merely average across all statistical categories, Kenny Atkinson’s squad has achieved its mediocrity with a combination of significant strengths and significant weaknesses.

This is illustrated by the team ranking sixth offensively compared to only 26th defensively (19th and 15th last season). The trend continues as one digs deeper into the team’s offensive statistics, particularly the Four Factors.

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The Nets currently rank second in the league in offensive rebounding percentage (behind the LA Clippers), grabbing 30.5 percent of available offensive rebounds. On the other end of the spectrum, the team ranks only 25th in turnover percentage, turning the ball over on 16.8 percent of possessions.

Brooklyn has also really struggled to force turnovers.

Offensive rebounding

In terms of Brooklyn’s strong offensive rebounding, a lot of the credit can go to the team’s big men, Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan. Allen is tied for 11th in the NBA at 3.0 offensive boards per game, while Jordan is 27th (2.4).

Another big man in rookie Nicolas Claxton looks poised to make this even more of a strength. In his first two games of action, Claxton snagged an impressive five offensive rebounds in 12 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers and added another in 12 minutes against the Phoenix Suns.

The team has struggled defensively with Jordan on the court, so it’s likely the rookie will continue to receive opportunities to fare better when Allen sits.

Turnovers

In terms of the team’s high turnover rate thus far, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly who is to blame, so it appears to be a team effort.

Nets with good assist-turnover ratios (greater than 1.0) include Theo Pinson, Kyrie Irving, Garrett Temple, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jordan and Caris LeVert. Those with a ratio below 1.0 include Joe Harris, Taurean Prince, Allen, David Nwaba and Rodions Kurucs.

Based on turnover percentage, the worst culprits are Kurucs, Nwaba, Dzanan Musa and Allen. Although not awful, LeVert, Jordan and Prince could stand to improve their turnover rates as well. It’s worth praising Irving, who while handling the ball in plenty of difficult situations still has the lowest turnover rate on the team (7.3 percent).

Conclusion

Even if where to place the blame is unclear, the team as a whole needs to find a way to turn the ball over less. It’s worth considering whether the team’s quick pace (fifth in NBA) could be contributing to the turnovers.

The benefits this style of play might bring offensively (i.e., getting shots before the defense is set) might be partially offset by turnovers resulting from the team rushing to make plays. Since the team has performed as well as it has thus far offensively, however, it appears the benefits have outweighed any costs.