Joe Johnson knows the Nets struggle in the third quarter. The sun rises in the East, water is wet and the Nets get in third-quarter ruts. But Johnson thinks the problem is more mental than from coaching adjustments or non-adjustments. He defended coach Jason Kidd Monday and said the Nets’ third-quarter failures start above the shoulders.
“Yeah, I think so,” Johnson said when asked if the misery after halftime was mostly mental. “Coming into halftime, we shouldn’t even say nothing. Seriously. I think we come into halftime every game, if we’re up five or 10 we always say, ‘Well, who are we going to be in the second half?’ It’s every game. So I think from here on out, if we come in at half down or up, that shouldn’t even come up.”
On Sunday, after another colossal collapse in the third quarter, Paul Pierce criticized the Nets’ failure to adjust in second halves. That was seen by some as a shot at Kidd.
“I don’t think it’s that. I think our coach is doing a great job. You can’t tell me it works great one half and in the second half it doesn’t. I’m not buying it,” Johnson said. “We’ve just got to put more into it and believe in it. That’s it.”
If Kidd was offended by Pierce’s remarks, he didn’t show it.
“We do have to make some adjustments. Third quarters have been our worst so far, so I think the comments are as a whole, from players to coaches. We’re all in this together,” Kidd said. “We’re the Brooklyn Nets, so it is a team thing.”
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Kidd presented a rather unique solution for avoiding a halftime malaise that leads to the third-quarter flops: “We can stay on the floor and not go into the locker room.”
As Brook Lopez will be a scratch again Tuesday, Kidd did not commit to who will start: “We haven’t even talked about the lineup.”
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While some reported the Nets were interested in Minnesota forward Derrick Williams, the team denied any interest. The Timberwolves, according to reports, agreed to deal him to the Kings Monday for Luc Mbah a Moute.
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As bad as the Nets have it, they admitted it could be worse when Derrick Rose was brought up. The Bulls’ star is lost for the season after undergoing knee surgery.
“My prayers go out to him,” Johnson said. “He’s a great player, he’s been great for the game of basketball. It’s been unfortunate for him the past year, year and a half. Man, that’s a tough one, but I’m sure he’ll get to work, get back strong and try and come back whenever he can.”
Said Deron Williams:“It’s tough. I have been feeling sorry for myself with my injuries. I don’t know what he is going through right now. Take a year off, rehabbing, get back, he looked great out there, go down again with another season-ending injury. It’s got to be tough for him. Praying for him, wishing him the best.”
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Through it all, the Nets insist better days await: “We are going through some things right now but I think we’ll be able to overcome it,” Johnson said. “We’ve dug ourselves a deep hole and the only people that can get us out of it is ourselves. So we’re still a confident group, we’re going to keep working hard day in, day out.”