At several points during the Nets’ 105-96 win over the Bobcats on Saturday, the ball found its way into the hands of an open Gerald Wallace.
But, outside of getting fouled on an attempted layup after Deron Williams found him wide open under the basket, Wallace didn’t attempt a single shot.
Wallace confirmed afterwards what seemed to be the case to anyone who had watched the game: that six weeks of struggles since the All-Star break in mid-February have sapped the veteran’s confidence in his shooting stroke.
“My confidence is totally gone,” Wallace told The Post Saturday. “I’m just at the point now … I’m in a situation where I feel like if I miss, I’m going to get pulled out of the game, you know what I’m saying? So my whole concept is just that you can’t come out of the game if you’re not missing shots.
“I think I lost the confidence of the coaching staff and my teammates. So my main thing is those guys can score, so instead of thinking about it so much, just trying to focus on defense, try to move the ball and get those guys shots.”
Wallace did a good job of that Saturday, recording five assists — including four to Williams. But as the Nets close in on their first postseason since 2007, it is going to be crucial for them to try to get Wallace back on track.
Over the first few months of the season, Wallace — who signed a four-year, $40 million dollar contract to return to the Nets last summer — was a serviceable scoring option, hitting 35.1 percent of his shots from 3-point range.
But since the break, his numbers have plummeted across the board. In his last 22 games, Wallace is 7-for-47 (14.9 percent) from behind the arc and 12-for-62 (19.4 percent) on shots outside of 10 feet from the hoop, according to NBA.com’s stats tool. His overall shooting percentage was 43.2 percent before the break and is 33.8 percent since.
“I’ve been working and I’ve been shooting, but it’s hard,” Wallace said. “Regardless of how much work I’m doing on my shot, the fact of the matter is it is what it is.
“I’ve been in the league 12 years. Am I mad about not being out on the court? Am I mad about not making shots? Yeah. But my main thing is I’m trying to stay on the court. I know I can play defense, make plays for the other guys and try to do some things to help me stay on the court.”
The Nets are undoubtedly going to need Wallace, and need him to play a lot, once they reach the playoffs. Even if he is struggling to make shots, he is a good ball-handler and passer, something the Nets take advantage of by having him run the offense at times to free up Williams to play off the ball.
Wallace also is the team’s best defender on the perimeter, one of the few Nets capable of matching up with Chicago’s Luol Deng or Atlanta’s Josh Smith in the first round and — if the Nets get that far — Miami’s LeBron James in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The 6-foot-7 small forward deservedly has earned the nickname “Crash” — and become a fan favorite wherever he’s played — for his willingness to throw his body around to help his team win games. But Wallace, who has been a frank and honest voice in the locker room since arriving to the Nets in a deadline-day trade last season with the Trail Blazers, is just as hard on himself during his shooting struggles over the past several weeks.
He said he’s never found himself in the kind of prolonged shooting slump that he’s in now.
“I’ve never been in a situation where the coaching staff didn’t have confidence in me and my teammates didn’t have confidence in me,” Wallace said. “But, to the point of saying that, I’ve never been a shooter, either. I’ve always been a slasher, a guy who gets to the rim, gets to the basket.”
Because the presence of Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez — all of whom are elite offensive options — there are fewer shots to go around to the other players on the team, Wallace included. And, because of the space Johnson and Lopez, in particular, take up, it has relegated Wallace to being a spot-up shooter.
After averaging double-digit shot attempts each of the past seven seasons, Wallace has seen his shots drop to just under seven per game this season, while shooting a similar number of 3-pointers.
That means Wallace has fewer chances to play to his strengths — namely using his athleticism to take the ball to the rim and posting up smaller defenders. This has not been lost on interim coach P.J. Carlesimo, who said the Nets are going to try to put Wallace in some more comfortable offensive situations.
“We have to post him up, we have to get him some other things, on the wing, on the fast break, move him without the ball,” Carlesimo said, “in addition to when he’s got the 3, taking the 3.”
Wallace welcomed those ideas, as he searches for something to get his shooting stroke back on track.
“That’s my game, getting out in transition, kind of posting up the smaller guys and running … I’ve never been a spot-up shooter, I’ve never been just that dead-eye shooter,” Wallace said. “My game has always been penetrating, slashing, getting to the basket, offensive rebounding. … I don’t even go to the offensive boards because Joe and those guys are most of the ones taking shots, so I’m back just trying to balance the floor.
“It’s basically a different style than I’m used to, and the main thing that I’ve got to do [is] make shots, and I’m not making them. That’s not to blame the coaching staff, that’s not to blame my teammates, that’s all on me.”