The Nets took the floor at the Barclays Center on Friday night with their 17th different starting lineup of the season, and don't expect the shuffling from head coach Steve Nash to end any time soon.
Much of Brooklyn's lineup shuffles have been forced by a COVID-19 outbreak that led to three postponements and as many as 10 players being placed in health and safety protocols, but Nash is also consistently trying to find playing time for his deep bench.
"Probably the whole year," Nash said when asked how long he anticipated the rotation experiments to go on for. "It's just the way it is. We have so many guys that are about the same. It's really difficult to land on who we want to go with.
"Sometimes it's an experiment, and sometimes it's forced when guys are out of the lineup. It's difficult because a lot of guys are very similar in their role and level, and it's impossible to play them all."
Friday's 121-109 loss to the Bucks was the team's sixth straight game with a different starting lineup, and the starters will continue to be altered given Kyrie Irving's current situation, which will only see him in action in road games outside of Toronto. With Irving ineligible to play on Friday night, Patty Mills took the starting spot alongside Kevin Durant, James Harden, David Duke Jr. and Nic Claxton.
"We're gonna go through different iterations of the group and different experimentation," Nash said. "It's important for our guys to understand that it's not simple and straightforward, and not everyone is gonna be happy all the time. You have to be here for something bigger than yourself, to commit to the group and stay ready."
With the constant changes in rotations and starting lineups, the Nets have had to get used to playing alongside lots of new faces over the course of the season. Recently, Brooklyn hasn't looked in sync, losing four of the last five games, but the team isn't using its ever-changing lineups as an excuse for its recent performance.
"I don't believe that's an excuse at all," Kevin Durant said. "It could play a factor, but I don't think it's playing a factor with us right now. We've been together four or five months now. We know the business of the league. There's gonna be different lineups, and we have to face different challenges as players…sometimes we've been good in those situations, and sometimes we haven't."
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