Nothin' But Nets
Fansided

Grizzlies exposed Nets’ poor defense and rebounding in embarrassing loss

By Jordanna Clark

Jan 3, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) drives past Brooklyn Nets forward James Johnson (16) in the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) drives past Brooklyn Nets forward James Johnson (16) in the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

After losing two consecutive games, the Brooklyn Nets had a chance to redeem themselves on Monday against Memphis. However, things didn’t go according to plan. From the moment that the game began, Brooklyn looked defeated. In an embarrassing outing, the Nets fell to the Grizzlies, 118-104.

Brooklyn’s now in the midst of a three-game losing streak. Luckily, the Nets travel to Indiana on Wednesday to take on the Pacers, and that’s a good thing because Brooklyn’s 10-9 at Barclays Center. If there’s a chance for the team to get itself together, it’s going to happen on the road.

It didn’t help that Memphis came to New York on a four-game winning streak. It also didn’t help that the Nets didn’t play defense, which allowed for a total of five players from the Grizzlies to score in double-digits.

Ja Morant, the Western Conference Player of the Week, led all scorers with 36 points. Memphis out-rebounded Brooklyn, 62-33. Because of the Nets’ poor rebounding (or the lack thereof), the Grizzlies earned an additional 21 shots. Really, really bad.

Ja Morant and the Grizzlies humiliated the Brooklyn Nets and exposed their flaws

There’s no excuse as to why the Nets played as bad as they did on Monday, but at least we know how they’re capable of playing. It wasn’t even two weeks ago that Brooklyn traveled to Los Angeles and took down the Lakers and Clippers in Kevin Durant’s absence.

Speaking of Durant, he’s been off since he returned to the court after spending 10 days in the health and safety protocols. He led the Nets with 26 points but shot 8-of-24 from the field and 2-of-8 from the 3-point line. Brooklyn has to play defense, especially on nights where shots aren’t falling.

KD knows that, too. Here’s what he said after the game:

"“It’s about coming into the games with a sense of urgency on both ends of the floor, making the correct play on both ends of the floor.”"

The Nets played with zero sense of urgency … kind of like how they did on Saturday against the Clippers. Like Steve Nash said, Brooklyn’s still recovering from having the majority of its roster in the protocols, however, there’s no reason for getting walloped by Memphis with both Durant and James Harden on the floor.

There’s a silver lining to the Nets’ current woes, and it’s that Kyrie Irving is expected to make his season debut on Wednesday. Surely his presence will help turn things around for Brooklyn.

The Nets need to come out hot against the Pacers and put their losing skid to bed because if this goes on much longer, potential playoff opposition will have a healthy blueprint on how to break down Brooklyn.