The Nets’ freefall continued with a new low on Wednesday night, dropping their sixth in a row, the latest to a Kings team that had previously been riding a seven-game losing streak.
But even as Brooklyn slides down the Eastern Conference standings and drops to 2-7 since Kevin Durant’s injury, the team is insisting that there is no need for anything drastic to turn the tide.
“The first two games and the first half tonight we were getting better,” head coach Steve Nash said. “We were doing the things that they were asking. We didn't contain the ball in the second half and we didn't make any plays offensively. Some of that can come down to legs, but I think our guys have been great at keeping their spirits in, their focus in. They're staying together.”
Nash specifically said he didn’t think James Harden had his legs, as Harden finished with just four points and six turnovers, missing all six of his 3-point attempts while shooting 2-for-11 from the floor. Harden insisted his sprained hand wasn’t a factor, but didn’t downplay Brooklyn’s challenges this season, like currently playing without Durant and Joe Harris, while Kyrie Irving remains only a part-time contributor.
“You know just as good as I do,” Harden said. “We just got a lot of different things internally - lineups, we haven't had no continuity yet. So it's just one of those things where you got to just keep going. There's nothing else to do but keep going, keep pushing forward.
“It’s definitely frustrating. It’s definitely difficult, but we have to find our way out of it as a group.”
The Nets are limping towards the All-Star break, when they hope to get back to full strength and back to first place in the East, where they were just two short weeks ago. Now, they sit in sixth place, and just two games ahead of the rising Celtics, who are now ninth in the conference. A continued slide could put Brooklyn out of a play-in tournament spot, but they refuse to panic, even if they’re frustrated.
“It's all a process,” Harden said. “Obviously we're going through a tough stretch where we're losing. Hopefully just finish this into the break and hopefully after the break we can potentially get our full roster”
Harden doesn’t believe a players-only meeting is needed to try and turn the season around, but if something doesn’t change on the court, the Nets could be looking at an insurmountable deficit by the time their reinforcements arrive.
“I think we’ve done too much talking,” Harden said. “We have to go out there and do it, and do it consistently.”
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