The Decline in the Nets offense this season has been somewhat serious, especially after Harris's absence, the team's space is extremely congested, averaging only 9 three-pointers per game, the league is the bottom, the shooting rate is as low as 30.7%, especially when Durant is not on the court, even if it is a healthy Harden, it needs to be equipped with a shooter to play an efficient performance, and now this lineup, the recovering Harden is also completely unmoved, they can only rely on defense to make up.
The Nets' defensive progress this season is still very obvious, especially in terms of limiting opponents' shooting, in the face of the Nets' defense, the opponent's three-point shooting rate is only 30.5%, down 4.5 percentage points from the average, ranking first in the league, Nash, who has been criticized for watching the play on the sidelines, has played a great role, and the team has formed two sets of defensive strategies in the establishment of the defensive system:
The first set is used by Ade when he is on the floor, and it is used to defend the opponent's ball carrier to block the general ability to handle the ball after the demolition, and the Nets will choose to let the players who defend the ball holder squeeze through the defense, do not give the opponent the opportunity to change defenses, and let Ade better retreat to guard the penalty area.
The second set is used when Ade is not present, and should be used to defend the opponent's lineup with a large core of the ball, and the Nets will choose to make unlimited changes of defense, not giving the ball carrier any chance to handle the ball, forcing the opponent to only force or pass the ball, which is the Nets' favorite way.
In the second set of plans, the Nets' "three-forward" (three forward) combination is the most powerful defensive, these three players are Clarkston, James Johnson and Durant, all three have amazing arm spans (Claxton 2m 2, Johnson 2m 15, Durant 2m 25), the defensive coverage is very large, forming an unbreakable defensive net, in the key moments against the Lone Rangers and Hawks, the defense of the three completely covered Doncic and Trae Young, Forcing them to force a shot or pass to someone who wasn't good at handling the ball to complete the finishing touches, the Lone Rangers made 12 of 12 three-pointers in a single quarter and the Hawks 1-of-8 in a single quarter, bringing the offense to a complete standstill.
James Johnson became one of the surprises of the Nets this season, he quickly adapted to the team system after experiencing the downturn at the beginning of the season, and has now become the team's main rotation player, averaging 23.5 minutes per game in the last 10 games, contributing 7.7 points, 5.7 boards and 2.6 assists, shooting 50.7%, shooting 38.5% from three-point range, the all-around performance is very good to make up for the gap caused by Griffin's poor form, he is also a very fierce defender, On the field can give the opponent a deterrent, but also the best person to protect the team's superstars.
According to statistics, the trio of Clarkston, Johnson and Durant has played a total of 26 minutes this season, with an offensive efficiency of 116. Defensive efficiency reached a terrifying 65.3, 100 rounds net win over the opponent 50.7 points, Durant's shooting ability, Clarkston's impact, Johnson's organizational ability, so that the trio attack and defense, in the choice of two other players, one is Harden, the other is currently determined according to the state of the field, but at least this player must have shooting ability, it may be Mills or Thomas, when Harris returns, it will become the ultimate option for this lineup, the Nets' offense will continue to rise, let's be patient!