Much has been made of the Nets turning things around since the start of 2014 because of the success of their small-ball lineup. And while it’s certainly true the lineup change has helped quite a bit, taking care of business inside Barclays Center hasn’t hurt, either.
That was the case again Monday, when the Nets never trailed on their way to a convincing 108-95 victory over the Suns, a win that pushed the Nets’ home winning streak to nine games, and one they will look to improve upon when they face the Bobcats in Brooklyn Wednesday night.
“As a whole, it’s just the process of getting to know each other,” Nets coach Jason Kidd said of his team’s improvement at home. “I think that’s where it all starts, whether we’re playing at home or playing on the road.”
Outside of back-to-back losses to Toronto and Oklahoma City in late January, the Nets have been perfect at home, beginning 2014 with a six-game winning streak before starting their current nine-game run with a win over the Sixers on Feb. 3, when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was in attendance the day after winning the Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium.
That’s 15-2 since the start of 2014 in Brooklyn. The nine-game home winning streak is the longest the Nets have had in their two seasons at Barclays, and it ties the longest winning streak for the franchise since the Nets won nine straight at home when Kidd himself was the point guard in 2006. That, in turn, has led to the Nets getting the kind of vocal support from their fans they weren’t getting in November and December, when they began the season 6-9 at home, including a blowout by the Knicks.
“My thing is to try to focus on that play, or the play coming towards us defensively,” Kidd said, smiling, when asked about the crowd’s impact on recent games. “The crowd has probably been great. Early on, they let us know what we were doing wrong, but it’s always good to be at home.”
During their recent run of eight wins in 10 games — including going 7-2 while Kevin Garnett has been out with back spasms — the Nets have swept all four home games against teams with winning records, and have bounced back from each loss with emphatic home victories, including beating Phoenix after giving away Saturday’s game in Washington.
It’s a sign of growth from a team that seemingly couldn’t get out of its own way for most of the opening two months of the season, and a sign that hasn’t been lost on the players as the Nets have turned things around over the last 10 weeks or so.
“It shows resilience,” Deron Williams said. “I think it’s just that time of the year where when you lose one, you don’t want to lose another one.
“You don’t want to start a losing streak. You want to bounce back and get back on a winning track.”
Thanks to their recent home improvement, that hasn’t been hard for the Nets to do.