Brooklyn Nets: What to Watch For in Preseason
By Tj Porreca
Brooklyn Should Be Aggressive on Defense
One of the things to watch for as it pertains to Kenny Atkinson is his coaching philosophy. Atkinson is a defensive-minded head coach, and will instill a defensive mentality in the Nets.
It will be interesting to see how the Nets respond on the defensive end. Hollis-Jefferson, Lin, Lopez, Kilpatrick, and others will all be worth watching on defense. The Nets will want to play lockdown defense. They will want to get in passing lanes and create turnovers which lead to fast breaks. They will want to communicate, and play team defense.
On Wednesday, Jeremy Lin called Brooklyn’s defense, “a great defense,” and said it’s the type of defense he hates playing against. As for Atkinson, he said he is expecting a high level of competition from the Nets, and the new head coach is treating it like a regular season game.
If the Nets can play effective team defense, rebound the ball well, and create turnovers, it would go a long way towards creating easy looks on offense. The Nets, under Atkinson, will take defense seriously, and it’ll be worth watching to see how they play as a unit.