The Nets' performance has been too bad in recent times. They had previously ranked first in the Eastern Conference, but in the past 20 games, the Nets have only achieved a record of 7 wins and 13 losses. The team is currently suffering a 6-game losing streak. In recent sluggish performance, this has also caused the Nets to fall from the top of the Eastern Conference to the current sixth place in the Eastern Conference. At this stage, the Nets are only 1.5 wins ahead of the Hornets, the seventh place in the East. If the losing streak is not terminated, the Nets are likely to fall into the playoffs.
Maybe many fans will say that the main reason for the Nets' record to decline sharply is Durant's injury. Indeed, after Durant was injured, the team's record did decline. After the team lacked a stable offensive strong point, they played passively in the game. The team lacked vitality and energy, and overall performance was poor.
At critical moments, no player was able to stand up and take over the team's offense. Durant was injured and absent, which did have a lot of impact on the team's record. However, in my opinion, Durant's injury and absence are not the main reason for the sharp decline in the Nets' record. There are currently many shortcomings and problems that need to be solved within the Nets.
First, the Nets' overall condition has been very unsatisfactory in recent times. The players are not working hard enough on the court, and they are not playing actively enough on the offensive end or defensive end. On the defensive end, the team often makes low-level missed mistakes, and the team's inside defense can easily allow the opponent to score in the paint area. The defense intensity of the outside team is not enough, and the players are always slow.
On the offensive end, their running position is not active enough. They only hope that the core players will complete their individual singles, and then the other four players will watch from the side, not actively covering the pick-and-roll without the ball, and then look for opportunities to take the opportunity to take action at an open position. Compared with other teams, the Nets are not energetic and hardworking enough. Before Durant was injured, this situation had already occurred, and the team lost many games as a result.
The second is the head coach's problem. The Nets' recent record has been poor and their ranking has declined sharply. Nash needs to bear certain responsibilities. His ability to adapt on the spot is not good. When his opponent launches a high-quality counterattack, Nash rarely requests a timeout. After the timeout is over, the effect will not be very good and cannot limit the opponent's counterattack. In addition, the team is too monotonous in terms of offensive arrangements, and it relies more on core players to play singles. Other players do not participate in offenses many times. At the last moment of the game, Nash did not have a lineup that clearly ended the game, and players had to adapt to the matchmaking of different lineups at critical moments. Nash's lack of coaching also led to the Nets' record being unsatisfactory.
The last and most important thing is the performance of the core players. Although Durant was injured, the Nets also have All-Star players Harden and Irving, and the team's lineup is not bad. And they have lost continuously recently, and the sluggish performance of Harden and Irving is the key. The two players did not have good chemistry in the game and rarely exploded on the court at the same time. In the game against the Kings, Harden scored only 4 points in 2 of 11 shots, and also made 6 mistakes. Irving scored 14 points in 5 of 15 shots. As the absolute core of the team, the two players teamed up to only 18 points, which was difficult to help the team win. The team has performed poorly recently, and Irving and Harden have not performed at their true level, which is a very critical factor.
The Nets now have many shortcomings. Although the team's lineup is luxurious, it lacks vitality and motivation. At the same time, head coach Nash cannot use the lineup flexibly. Coupled with the sluggish performance of Irving and Harden, this has also caused the Nets' current record to fall to 6th in the Eastern Conference. If the Nets cannot adjust in subsequent games and the team still plays the game in such a lifeless manner, then their prospects for winning the championship this season are not optimistic.
