The Nets lost 118-124 to the Nuggets at home, swallowing three consecutive losses, while the ranking was also overtaken by the Cavaliers, falling to fourth in the East, if the playoffs start tomorrow, the Nets' first-round opponent will be the Bucks, another good play.
In fact, this loss to the Nuggets, it will not be surprising at all, but the Net once led by 12 points in the half, and after being overtaken in the third quarter, the fourth quarter also saw the hope of a reversal, which is the most surprising. Who would have thought that the Nets, which lacked the Big 3, could play with the Nuggets, led by Jokic and with a relatively neat lineup? And this is precisely the surprise given to the fans in addition to the Nets' loss in this game, but at the same time, it also pulled out the biggest parallel cargo of this team at present!
In this game, Nash sent Mills, Bembry, Edwards, James Johnson and Aldridge to the starting lineup, while the second lineup rotated with rookie Thomas, Jevin Carter, Griffin and Bruce Brown. Because this season when the Nets double giants or single giants lead the team, the team's offense is dependent on the stars to initiate, and the role players are also very unstable, so when Harden decided to truce before the game, the outside world generally believed that the Nets will suffer a fiasco at home, but the face is that the Nets a number of role players played a rare team offensive performance. A total of 6 people on the team scored in double figures, and Edwards, the only one in the starting lineup who did not have a double-double, also scored 9 points, which is close to the upper double.
Mills scored 21 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists in 12 shots, Ade contributed 18 points and 8 rebounds in 16 shots, James Johnson contributed 12 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals in 12 shots, Bemburi made 11 shots to cut 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, and the substitute Thomas appeared to be a breakup, contributing 25 points to the team's highest in 14 shots, and the previously criticized Jevin Carter also played a rare efficient performance, shooting 4 of 8, 4 of 3 points, contributing 13 points and 3 assists. Edwards contributed 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks, continuing to show his talent on the defensive end, Griffin played 15 minutes, 3 of 7, had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, in addition to Brown did not score, the other 8 players who came on the scene made their contributions well.
It can be said that the Nets' role players in the game without stars, everyone is dedicated, playing their own characteristics, as if to prove to the outside world, not that they are too incompetent, but the team's way of playing when they have stars, simply do not give them the space to play, here we take James Johnson as an example!
James Johnson got the 12+8+7+3 stats, not only on the offensive and defensive ends, but also his passing was eye-catching. This blue-collar tough guy actually has excellent passing skills? If you look back at some of the games at the beginning of the season, it is not difficult to find that James Johnson will occasionally pass some creative passes, and even sometimes he will dribble and do a strategy to find his teammates, but slowly, this kind of ball-holding passing is becoming more and more rare, and when there are stars on the field, James Johnson does not want to carry the ball to play an organizational planner. The reason for this is actually Nash's tactical thinking, because in addition to the 3 stars, Nash only gives griffin the right to hold the ball, and it is difficult for other players to get such an opportunity, basically as an endpoint, and the stars receive the ball directly after the shot.
And it is this kind of role that can only be used as a receiving point, so that the Nets' role players can only rely on the feel to eat, if the feel is good, the offense is naturally good to play, but if the feel is not good, it is difficult to improve the feel after more touch and passing. And when the role players do not feel good, the offensive pressure of the Nets will be very large, and the defensive intensity of the face will be further improved. If the Big 3 are on the floor at the same time, it's fine, but if the Big 3 can't fit together, the Nets will have a very prominent problem of the offense not being sustainable when facing a strong team, which is one of the important reasons why they can't play a hard battle when the Big Two are on the floor this season.
Therefore, the Nets are not role players can not do, after all, before the start of the season, the Nets and Lakers lineup, is considered to be the most luxurious, in addition to the star pile, the role lineup should not be underestimated, but after the start of the season, the Nets' role lineup is not a reassuring, even Mills, there has been a god and a ghost situation. The most critical factor in this situation is head coach Nash, who does not have a good tactical system and fails to better stimulate the strength of role players outside the stars, which will lead to the Nets becoming a team that relies entirely on stars.
The collective explosion of the Nets' role players in this game also confirms this point, Nash can not let them coexist with the stars, when the stars are present, can not stimulate their characteristics, let them better share the pressure for the stars, and this situation, when the playoffs face stronger opponents and greater defensive intensity, will exhaust the stars, and even the hidden danger of star injuries again, and finally lose. So, if the Nets continue to keep Nash and want to win the championship, it's really too difficult.