NBA

Nets still need time to find chemistry

OK, Nets fans, come off the ledge. Put away all the sharp, pointed objects. A 2-4 start is not reason to trash the NBA and follow professional bocce.

True, 2-4 is not the 7-0 of the Pacers, who added to Nets misery at Barclays Center Saturday. But the Pacers were the very first to tell you: it takes time. The Nets imported a championship pedigree in the offseason with the acquisitions of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry, plus the hiring of coach Jason Kidd. All won rings as players.

But that guarantees nothing. In the rush to award the Nets elite status, some no-doubt-about-it facts were overlooked.

Time can be the cruelest four-letter word of all. And it does take time — beyond a training camp and six games to gain familiarity. Indiana pounded home that fact before and after the 96-91 victory over the Nets.

“We’re much more experienced and our starting five, another year together, I feel like we’re better than last year,” Pacers star Paul George said.

“We’re just learning to play together,” Deron Williams said. “We didn’t have everybody healthy for training camp and we’re all coming together and trying to win a championship and it doesn’t happen overnight.”

“It’s frustrating, but I don’t think you put a timetable on [it],” Garnett said. “I don’t even know if you can put a timetable on something like that, although you’re trying to cut down on mistakes and trying to form chemistry and trying to be consistent.”

Funny, when a Pacer says it takes time, it sounds like an explanation. When a Net talks time, it sounds like an excuse. Bottom line, it’s reality.

So as repetitious and boring as it sounds, it is true. Chemistry usually doesn’t come quickly.

One truly notable exception featured Kidd joining the Nets — as a player. One half-hour into practice, it was as if the team had been together for eons. It’s not like these Nets have years to get this right, unless they want to win the NBA Old Men Walkers Cup. But figure they need more than six games.

“We’re still a team that’s kind of learning on the fly and in game-time situations,” Joe Johnson said. “These are the times, during the games, that are our teaching times. There are a lot of things that we have to work [on]. … We’ll get there sooner or later.”

Like the Pacers did. Last year, they had to suffer the sting of a Game 7 Conference Finals loss to Miami. But they learned.

At the time, they wanted to down a quart of bleach. Now they look back and talk of the benefits gained. And they see, in these Nets, a team that promises to be a force.

“That team is a lot better than [its record]. Even the games they lost they’re competing at a really high level. … They play with playoff intensity,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said.

“They’re a good team. It’s early. It’s going to take a while for them to adjust,” Indiana center Roy Hibbert said. “When we come back [to Brooklyn], it’s going to be a tough environment. They’re a tough contender right there. I don’t see them having to continue the slow start.”

NOTES – The Nets reassigned Toko Shengelia to D-League Springfield. He was called up for Saturday’s game but didn’t play. … The Nets are off until Wednesday, when they play at Sacramento to start a three-game road trip.