Brooklyn Nets Trying to Establish Chemistry On and Off the Court

The Brooklyn Nets are 1-3 to kick off the 2016-17 regular season. It’s clear that the team has yet to build its chemistry on the court, but off the court, the dynamics are more apparent.

The Brooklyn Nets have gotten off to a rough start to the 2016-17 season with a 1-3 record. Two of those games came down to the wire (in one case, the buzzer), but are losses nonetheless.

In a year of no high expectations, the team is counting on chemistry, both on and off the court. Sound familiar?

It’s not too surprising that the team has yet to gel together on the floor. Only five Nets from last year’s roster are still on the team, and just two of them, Brook Lopez and Bojan Bogdanovic, have played more than 35 games. Two of the other three players: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris McCullough, are both sophomores who had injury-riddled rookie seasons. The last of the three, Sean Kilpatrick, who recently secured the most stable deal of his career with Brooklyn, has been a bright spot so far this season.

With Greivis Vasquez (ankle) out, it only makes it more difficult for the team to develop a newfound chemistry. Meanwhile, Vasquez is the only true point guard on the Nets aside from Jeremy Lin. Since Vasquez’s absence, Kenny Atkinson has been experimenting with a variety of lineups — some involving rookie Isaiah Whitehead — but the rookie has been struggling.

Despite chemistry not yet showing in the way the players work together on the floor, players have found solace in a more implicit chemistry — how they treat each other.

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“The chemistry is great,” said Whitehead, per Brooklynnets.com. “I feel like I’ve been playing with these guys for 10 years, just the way they treat me, just the way we treat each other, just the way we work hard together.”

One major factor in this bright aura is Brooklyn’s group of veterans. Jeremy Lin, Randy Foye, Luis Scola, Trevor Booker, and Vasquez have all logged at least six years in the NBA, so they’ve had their share of experience in the league. Their experience and leadership has fed onto the Nets’ young guns, and they only had good things to say about the older folk of the team.

“An animal. He works extremely hard,” said Hollis-Jefferson on Scola. “He sets the bar high for all the younger guys. Just looking at him, he’s like, ‘One more … let’s go.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude … you getting tired?’ It’s just amazing to be around that.”

Next: The Bond Between Jeremy Lin and Kenny Atkinson

The Nets face the Detroit Pistons tomorrow night back at the Barclays Center. Hopefully we’ll see the team that was able to oust the Indiana Pacers in a thrilling home opener. If not, there’s no need to panic — there’s plenty of games left in the season, and we can at least settle for the satisfaction that the players enjoy being around each other.