After Wednesday’s blowout loss at the hands of the crosstown rival Knicks, the Nets should expect to begin the playoffs on the road when they begin in two weeks. And, given how they’ve played away from home recently, they’ll need to change some things to avoid going home early.
While there are several reasons why the Nets have transformed since the start of 2014, their home record is a big reason. Including their current 14-game home winning streak — a franchise record and the best mark in the league this season and one they’ll try to improve on against the Pistons in Brooklyn Friday night — the Nets have gone a remarkable 20-2 at home since Jan. 1.
The road, however, is another story. The loss to the Knicks was the third straight away from Barclays Center for the Nets, who have lost five of their last seven on the road and gone 10-11 away from home since the start of the new year.
“We just haven’t been a good road team,” Deron Williams said after Wednesday’s 110-81 loss to the Knicks at the Garden. “It’s something we definitely have to address.”
Of the 21 road games since Jan. 1, nine have come as the second half of back-to-backs, in which Brooklyn has gone 3-6. When the playoffs begin, though, the Nets will always have at least a day between games.
Nets coach Jason Kidd didn’t take solace in that fact, though he pointed out before Wednesday’s rout that they lost their previous two games on the road — at New Orleans and Charlotte — in overtime.
“You have to play 41 of them,” Kidd said of road games, “and you’re not going to win them all.”
That may be true, but the Nets are now one big second-half comeback in Dallas last Sunday away from losing five straight on the road, and they’ve lost their last four games away from home against teams with losing records.
Giving away those games — to the Knicks, Bobcats, Pelicans and Celtics — likely will mean the Nets, barring major collapses from the Raptors or Bulls against soft closing schedules, will open up the playoffs on the road against one of them.
Paul Pierce chalked up the difference between the team’s home and road form in recent weeks to the Nets’ inability to capitalize on the “little things” that can be the difference between a win and a loss.
“Before this game, I thought we did a great job of really competing,” Pierce said. “We had two overtime losses, one game in New Orleans we shouldn’t have given up a big lead, and another overtime game, and it comes down to the little things.
“If we can have that sense of urgency, especially in these road games, and take care of a lot of the little things, the 50-50 plays, taking care of the little things, defending, boxing out, we’ll be a better road team coming down the stretch.”