Communication lacking, mistakes mounting thus far
NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving had a simple message for Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot: Put some respect on Bradley Beal’s name.
Beal is a lethal scorer with deep range, averaging over 30 points per game early into this season. As the Wizards’ star advanced the ball, Irving motioned to TLC with two fingers: Move up and pick Beal up at half-court.
That fleeting moment was a microcosm of one issue with the Nets, off to a 3-4start to the season. Players in Brooklyn are having issues effectively communicating with oneanother, and they’re either veering from or not grasping the defensive gameplan in place.
They also barely have on- court chemistry, mirroring an issue from last season’s team.
The Nets totaled 20 turnovers against the Wizards on Sunday, many a byproduct of miscommunication. Three-point shooters weren’t in the right spots, players made cuts into crowded spaces, and Brooklyn — the trend continues — did not look like a team, just a collection of great, good and average players.
One turnover occurred with time winding down in the third quarter when
Irving threw the ball to Jarrett Allen at half-court. With only seconds left on the clock, Irving was expecting a give-and-go, which would have allowed him to beat his manin a foot race, get the ball and get a dribble or two off before hoisting a last-second shot.
Allen, though, never saw the pass and didn’t know to hand it off, either way. The YES Network camera crew caught Irving accepting the blame, then teaching Allen the ways of the give-and-go buzzer-beater.
The cameras also caught Kevin Durant talking through a play with Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris.
“Don’t help me,” Durant could be seen saying. Just earlier in the week, he had preached that the team was over-helping on defense.
Durant said in the specific moment, he had to remind Harris that he is a more-than-capable defender. Durant said the player he was defending picked up his dribble and that there was no need for Harris to shift over and help.
“It’s always good to hold each other accountable, but we’re gonna try to tone it down throughout the game because we want to react off of instinct and mentally be on the same page too, so we don’t have to talk about everything after each possession,” Durant said. “But it’s a good balance to have between communicating and just flowing with the game. So we’ll only get better from here.”
Turnovers, explained: The Nets committed 20 turnovers Sunday, including 11 combined from Durant and Irving. Durant accounted for six of those turnovers and explained the common denominator.
“Yeah I just think we’re trying to be aggressive to make plays, and sometimes we’re a little overzealous, make a pass and sometimes, you’ve gotta find a balance between when to shoot and when to pass,” he said. “It’s tough whenyou’re controlling the offense a lot.
“I can live with two or three, but six of them are too much for me, and I’ve gotta just tone it down if we want to be successful.”
Allen finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but he also turned the ball over three times.
“I think some of us — not some of us, all of us — a lot of us are trying to make the pass. We’re not trying to make the simple pass; we’re trying to make the pass,” Allen said. “Me today, I was trying to get a couple of backdoors, I threw it out of bounds. I was trying to make the high-level pass instead of a simple dribble handoff the other way.
‘I think it’s just us slowing down, taking our time and making the right plays.”