Brooklyn Nets have problems much bigger than Kyrie Irving

Although far less dramatic and and controversial, issues unrelated to Kyrie Irving stand responsible for this shaky start to the Brooklyn Nets 2020-21 season

After Google searching the Brooklyn Nets, one would likely find countless posts detailing Kyrie Irving’s extended absence from the team, videos depicting him partying with family members, and rumored frustrations from Sean Marks lighting up their computer screen within seconds. As the team stumbles into mid-January with these stories attached to it alongside a 6-6 record, solely blaming Brooklyn’s disappointing start on Irving’s vacancy feels like an easy conclusion to arrive at.

Simplicity aside, though, this equation remains undoubtedly flawed.

Obviously, the Nets miss Irving’s production and will surely improve as a team once he returns given his 27/6/5 averages this year. But even if Irving chose to instead suit up during the Nets’ previous four games, each contest’s results would likely remain unaltered due to some additional hitches still within the Brooklyn basketball machine.

And, of course, thanks to the James Harden trade — which has sent Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert away — these issues will not only persist, but could be exacerbated.

While the team currently posts the league’s third highest scoring average at 118.8 PPG, as well as a top-10 team shooting percentage at 47.8%, the Nets still find themselves dropping games left and right. With the Nets having already established themselves as an astute scoring team, turnovers and defensive play appear as the sole culprits behind Brooklyn’s continued woes. But aside from this process of elimination, the numbers back this up as well.

The Nets currently average 15.5 turnovers per game, the fifth-worst mark among all NBA clubs. Tossing passes to heavily-covered teammates already seems like an unfortunate habit for Brooklyn, with the team most notably forcing the ball inside too often against well-positioned pick and roll defenders. Additionally, three or four passes each game seem to fly wayside for the Nets, with potential receptors unaware of their trajectory.

On the defensive end, Brooklyn continues to surrender offensive rebounds seemingly without resistance. Giving up a league-high 18.8 offensive rebounds per game, resulting mainly from poor positioning under the basket, defensive sets rarely end for the Nets after one shot attempt.

With the team struggling at an astonishing rate to protect the ball and play sound defense, Brooklyn appears determined to give away points like flyers outside a YMCA. These tendencies have made the Nets an unbelievably frustrating team to watch at times this season, with so many easily preventable mishaps consistently coming into fruition. As a combined result stemming from these two headaches, the Nets currently own a -84 FGA differential, even following a victory against the Denver Nuggets.

Any team that consistently yields increased shots like this lies vulnerable no matter who opposes them. Proving this concept accurate, the Memphis Grizzlies, who failed to score 100 points during their previous three contests, dropped 115 on Brooklyn last week. Days later, Nets just gave up 129 points to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who averaged only 101.4 PPG heading into the bout. These two outings contributed to Brooklyn’s 0-4 record against teams with winning percentages below the .500 mark so far this season.

Without their incredible offense to make up for it, the Nets might even find themselves submerged within the Eastern Conference’s basement at this point, given their rebounding and turnover complications. But still, these two factors remain common for newly-formed teams, with their presence even more expected following a shortened preseason and training camp.

Difficult to fathom or not, the Nets deserve some patience from their fans, as it remains very probable that these issues will sort themselves out as players becoming more familiar with each other. But for now, defensive play and turnovers remain very serious issues, even more serious than a superstar point guard’s off-court activities.

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