An End to Third Quarter Woes Latest Sign of Hope For Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets struggled for much of the season in the third quarter, but have begun to turn things around in March. It’s an encouraging sign the franchise is headed in the right direction.

There’s a bit of a renaissance going on in King’s County.

The Brooklyn Nets have been positively frisky since the calendar turned to Spring. The team is 7-8 in March and has a pair of eminently satisfying wins over the crosstown rival New York Knicks.

No, it isn’t much, but it’s fair to say things are officially looking up. The Nets are just five games in the loss column “ahead” of the Lakers for the league’s worst record. Los Angeles needs to keep its top-3 protected draft pick and has no interest in winning another game.

A 5-3 mark in the team’s final stretch of games could potentially jump Brooklyn into No. 2. That would lessen the odds the draft pick they owe the Celtics lands at No. 1. It’s a small victory, but the fact that such a scenario is even in play is a huge win for head coach Kenny Atkinson.

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Atkinson’s system seems to have finally taken hold. The Nets play with pace and ball movement, and Jeremy Lin‘s return has had a huge impact.

Also of note–the team has begun to end its struggles in the third quarter.

The Nets have, for much of the season, been at their worst in the third quarter of games. The team has combined to shoot just 43.4 percent in the third period–a full point lower than their percentage in the opening two quarters, per NBA.com.

Further, the team ranks near the bottom of the league in most categories in the third quarter. They score a league-worst 96.9 points per 100 possessions, and their defense has similarly allowed a league-worst 110 points per 100 possessions.

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Back in December, Atkinson called the team’s struggles in the third quarter an “energy problem.”

"“I think it’s more our energy, our engagement,’’ Coach Atkinson said, according to The New York Post."

But, things have started to turn around. The team is shooting a gorgeous 45.4 percent in third quarters in March, a mark that would easily surpass their average on the season. The offense’s 102.4 points per 100 possessions mark in that same time frame is another good sign.

A big win over the Knicks back on March 16 was emblematic of the turnaround. Down by as many as 11 in the third quarter, the Nets went on a rampage. The team made five three-pointers and scored 38 points in the third quarter to take a lead they did not relinquish.

"“We were just trying to play with more force, more pace, more energy,” Lin said after the game, according to the Associated Press."

Their success in the third quarter has given the Nets an intriguing momentum for the season’s last set of games. Think about that goal of going 5-3 down the stretch again. Doesn’t it seem possible with this schedule?

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Thurs, Mar. 30 @ Detroit
Sat, April 1 vs Orlando
Sun, April 2 vs Atlanta
Tue, April 4 @ Philadelphia
Thurs, April 6 @ Orlando
Sat, April 8 vs Chicago
Mon April 10 @ Boston
Wed, April 12 @ Chicago

That’s three of the final eight games against definite lottery teams. If the Nets take care of business against those tanking teams and maybe steal wins from two of BOS/ATL/CHI, Brooklyn has a real chance to make some noise at the end of this season and earn some of fruits of their hard labor.

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In Monday’s ESPN Power Rankings, Marc Stein placed the Nets at 23, the team’s-second best mark of the season. It’s been a tough season, but the Nets have turned some of their many struggles around, and things are headed in the right direction.