The nice-guy Nets need an attitude adjustment.
After consecutive preseason performances defined by a lost and lackadaisical defense, Avery Johnson expressed disappointment in the “personality” of the team, indicating it needs more punch.
“This team does not have the personality that I thought it would have at this point,” Johnson said. “That has been somewhat of a disappointment. Are they trying? Yes. Is anybody panicking? No. But we should have a little bit more physicality.”
The Nets, riding high off three wins to start the preseason and hype generated from their move to Brooklyn, were smacked back to reality in Thursday’s 115-85 preseason loss to the Celtics. Their response in Friday’s 106-96 loss to the 76ers was disappointing, especially on defense, where they allowed Philadelphia to connect on 22 of 32 field goal attempts at the rim.
For a coach who spent the majority of training camp focusing on defense, the efforts were eye-opening.
“We don’t have a hit-first mentality, and if you don’t have a hit-first mentality, you’re going to get hit,” said Johnson, who was encouraged by Sunday’s practice. “So it’s not about a turnover or a guy forgetting a play. No, I’m talking about defensively. We haven’t done a good job — I don’t care if we’re fatigued, I don’t care if we didn’t practice. We haven’t done a good job protecting the paint. For us to go where we want to go, we have to be able to protect the paint a lot better than what we have.”
Noting that responsibility falls on the entire team, Johnson wouldn’t single out players, although gentle giant Brook Lopez is always a person of interest when aggression is called into question. The 7-footer’s lack of it has frustrated Johnson since he took over two years ago, and attempts to motivate Lopez into being an assertive defender have largely been unsuccessful.
Lopez’s rebounding numbers have improved this preseason, but he has just two blocks over the last three games — when the opposition scored a combined 100 points in the paint. Lopez, who has just one flagrant foul in his career, prefers to play it safe on defense, and the results are often uncontested lay ups.
“A lot of it is that attitude,” Lopez said. “Avery has said repeatedly he wants a blocked shot, a hard foul or a charge when it comes to people attacking the paint. So that has to become a mentality for myself and the team.”
Added Deron Williams, “(Lopez) is not going to be an enforcer or anything like that, but it’s just more about just not allowing easy baskets. If you see guys coming to the basket, you get a good foul on him. Nothing dirty. You just want to make sure he doesn’t get an easy basket.”
But Lopez isn’t the only culprit. Johnson made that clear after Sunday’s “physical practice,” calling it “the hardest we’ve had so far.”
“It has to be a little bit more in our DNA as a team,” said Johnson, who praised guard Joe Johnson’s hard foul against Boston’s Paul Pierce last week that resulted in a flagrant. “If it’s not we’re fooling ourselves. I think it’s there. I think the bodies are there. I just think we have to play defense with a little bit more of a purpose and physicality. And that’s what I need to say.”
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