USA TODAY International Edition
BUMPY START FOR NETS SHOULD BE NO SURPRISE
Revamped teams often need time to come together
Assembling multiple NBA AllStars on a roster is tantalizing.
Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Brook Lopez — who have combined for 35 All- Star appearances — and a bench with Andrei Kirilenko ( a one- time All- Star), Andray Blatche and Jason Terry on one team equals championship contender.
You want to jump straight to the postseason and see the Brooklyn Nets against the Miami Heat or Indiana Pacers in a seven- game series.
If it only were that easy. The Nets are 2- 4. They have lost the past two games and haven’t won on the road in three tries. Garnett might have said it best recently, “It’s not as simple as hitting a button.”
“Patience” is the operative word right now. “We can’t get frustrated,” Pierce said. “We’ve got to stay together, and we’ll figure this thing out. … We’re a veteran team that’s going to show a lot of patience. We’re going to stay positive until this turns around.”
The Nets — and not that they didn’t know this coming in — are learning what other star- laden teams have discovered: Playing as a cohesive team is not easy. At the least it doesn’t happen overnight.
Look no further than the Heat in 2010- 11. They had just assembled a roster that featured Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. They started 9- 8, and the experts were saying it wouldn’t work.
But they won their next 12 and 21 of their next 22 and were sitting at 30- 9 in early January. It began a run of three consecutive NBA Finals appearances and two championships.
Brooklyn isn’t the only place where this is an issue this season. The Houston Rockets have paired stars James Harden and Dwight Howard; they entered Monday 4- 3 and struggling defensively. Rockets forward Chandler Parsons and guard Jeremy Lin were bothered by the team’s communication after Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“We have to talk better,” Parsons said. “We can’t keep having these mental lapses. We were doing it all game. In this game, it was obviously exposed more on the last play, but it was happening all night long.”
That same frustration has not enveloped the Nets. At least they’re not saying it publicly if it has. While the roster looks good on paper, they have accepted that growing pains are inevitable, even with a talented veteran team. Players have used the word
“We don’t want to pile up the losses right now, but I definitely know we’ll figure out something.”
Nets forward Paul Pierce
“process” over and over.
If one player isn’t on the same page, the offense or defense falls apart. Where does Pierce like the ball? Where does Garnett like to set screens? When does Terry drift into the corner for a three- point try? When does Garnett help defensively on Lopez’s man?
“Obviously you have to have some type of patience with that process,” Garnett said. “But all in all, losing is losing, and it sucks.”
It has been a disjointed start for reasons beyond chemistry, too. Firsttime head coach Jason Kidd is learning on the go. He also has a roster that can go 12 deep, adding Alan Anderson, Shaun Livingston, Reggie Evans and Mason Plumlee to the mix. Kidd has not settled on a rotation.
“Once we get down to a lineup where we feel that closes games out, the chemistry will come,” Pierce said. “It’s a long season. We don’t want to pile up the losses right now, but I definitely know we’ll figure out something.”
Williams, the man who has to run the show, missed most of the preseason while rehabbing an injured right ankle. He hasn’t had extensive time to work with his new teammates. After Friday’s loss to the Washington Wizards, Williams said, “I’ve been playing for two weeks. ( My game) will get there.”
Incidentally, Garnett and Pierce, along with Ray Allen, formed a new trio with the Boston Celtics in 200708. Boston started hot ( 20- 2) and finished hot ( beating the Lakers for the title). That team might be the exception.
It has helped that no team other than the 8- 0 Pacers is off to a strong start in the Eastern Conference. Entering Monday’s games, 1 1⁄2 games separated second place and 15th.
“It is different for all teams,” Pierce said. “I’ve been on teams where it’s happened fast. Sometimes it takes awhile. You just never know. But when it happens, it’s all good.”