The Nets are just 2-3 through the first five games of the young season, but their problems run deeper than simply the absence of Kyrie Irving.
They also run deeper than the early-season struggles of James Harden.
Sure, it would make a world of difference to have a superstar in Irving back on the floor running the point, or for Harden to rediscover what made him a scoring champion, but neither one of those trends would give Brooklyn more height.
And currently, the team’s lack of size in the paint has been backbreaking.
In Wednesday night’s loss to the Heat, the Nets allowed 17 offensive rebounds, nearly half as many as the total rebounds for Brooklyn the entire night. The Nets were outscored by 14 in the paint, as head coach Steve Nash continues to find ways to mask the team’s lack of size.
“It’s just gotta be a priority,” Nash said. “You just gotta want it and make it a priority. We cant be leaning down the other end of the court, we gotta be coming back in and try to gang rebound. We’re gonna give up size to a lot of teams, and it’s important to us to be really diligent and get in there and not give away a bunch possessions where we’re already leaning toward the offensive end before we’ve got the ball.
“It’s an Achilles’ heel for us, giving up offensive rebounds. We gotta keep working. It’s gotta continue to be a priority, but obviously, 17 [offensive rebounds] is definitely too many.”
Blake Griffin, listed at 6-foot-9, started at center for Brooklyn on Wednesday, while Kevin Durant (6-foot-10) and Bruce Brown (6-foot-4) handled starting forward duties. Durant, currently leading the team with 9.8 rebounds per game, can’t be asked to do it all, but the Nets aren’t getting much help elsewhere. They were outscored by 14 in the paint against the Hornets, giving up double-digit offensive rebounds again, which they also surrendered in the season-opening loss to the Bucks. Brooklyn’s potential top Eastern Conference contenders could include Milwaukee, with Giannis Antetokounmpo lingering at the rim, Miami (with Bam Adebayo) and Philadelphia with Joel Embiid, making its lack of size a key issue moving forward.
Listen to New York sports talk now on Audacy and shop the latest Nets team gear
“If we had a bunch of leading rebounders, it wouldn’t be an issue,” Nash said. “Since we don’t have the personnel that’s just naturally gonna clean up the glass, we gotta all come in and gang rebound. We can’t have two or three guys backpedaling down the other end of the floor and watch the ball get banged around in there. we gotta come back and help and hit. [Wednesday] we definitely got out-rebounded in a big way, and that was the difference in the game.”
Unless Brooklyn acquires more size via trade or an in-season move, they will have to improve from within, meaning they will need all hands on deck. With Irving’s scoring off the table and Harden’s shooting efficiency significantly down, rebounds are needed more than ever, and the Nets will need everyone in on the effort to avoid another night like Wednesday.
“We gotta gang rebound,” Harden said. “Especially with the different lineups we have in the game…at the end of the day, we gotta fight.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch