Coach Avery Johnson and the Nets are preaching patience with the “process” that soon, very soon, will have a starting backcourt of Deron Williams and MarShon Brooks. But for the present, remember one-third of the team wasn’t around at the start of training camp. Throw in three rookies and guys are as familiar with each other’s moves and habits as they are with the domestic economic policies of medieval Belgium. Words like “crisp” and “fluid” haven’t exactly been part of the daily Nets vocabulary.
Unfortunately, “losing” has been.
It was again for a fifth straight game last night when the Pacers, entering as the league’s worst shooting team, unleashed 13 3-point shots in 21 tries and shot .526 overall to dump the Kris Humphries-less Nets 108-94 in Newark.
“Just another loss, I want to get a win,” said a weary Williams (22 points, eight assists).
That’s going to be tough if the Nets continue their recent habits. Indiana’s perimeter onslaught came one night after the Cavaliers unleashed 16-of-26 beyond the arc.
“These are teams that play like that,” said Williams, who dropped to the floor last night after taking a shot to the side in the second quarter (X-rays negative), said of Indiana and Cleveland. “We knew that coming into this game. Coach said it right before the game that it was going to be a lot of similar stuff.”
And it was. A lot of stuff is getting similar for the Nets, especially frustrating stuff. While one area works, another fails. Fix that, a leaks pops up over there. Defense had been a plus. Then came the Cavaliers and Pacers.
“We had a much better offensive second half, but they really were stroking the ball pretty good,” Johnson said. “We put out some fires, and then another one erupted.”
And another and another and another.
But Nets fans seem to except the reality of the situation. They cling to the hope of perhaps seeing Dwight Howard after the All-Star break or at least Brook Lopez (fractured foot) by February. They have the continued brilliance of Williams and the excitement generated by the rookie Brooks (21 points, seven rebounds). When hope was lost, after the Pacers who had five double-figure scorers, led by Paul George (21 points) and Danny Granger (15), swelled the lead to 19, a few of the faithful started the “We want Howard” chant.
The Nets already were in a huge hole when they learned Humphries would not be available because of a sore left shoulder suffered Sunday in a fall at Cleveland. He’ll go for an MRI exam today and is not expected to play in Boston tomorrow. Shelden Williams started and gave the Nets an active presence at the rim, collecting three of their 10 blocks. Johan Petro had four more off the bench.
But in their second home game, as in their first, the Nets never led. Brooks played early — entering in the first quarter, starting the second half. And the crowd ate it up.
“Just playing with energy,” Brooks said. “Got a couple good looks. Deron found me on a couple threes. Once that happened, I started playing more aggressive.”
It all unraveled late in the third quarter when the Pacers, using 3-pointers from Granger and George as a catalyst, delivered a 12-2 sledgehammer when the Nets were within 65-60. In the fourth, after a Brooks’ three-point play got the Nets within 77-67, Indy ran off eight straight points.