Paul George dribbled into the paint area, his feet soaring into the air, confident that he wanted to fly in front of Nick Claxton. However, the Nets' 23-year-old young center has other plans.
Claxton did not shy away from facing the enemy head-on, and he jumped high to press down the basketball student in George's hand. Claxton had another highlight of his career at the venue, which was called the Staples Center. In the 2021 Christmas game, Claxton sealed the victory with a powerful dunk on LeBron James' head. On November 13, his block against George helped the Nets defeat the Clippers 110-95.
"We played beautifully defensively." Claxton said after the game. In this game, Claxton played 31 minutes and 46 seconds, shooting 6 of 9, scoring 13 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks.
His aggressiveness on the defensive end is like a microcosm of the entire Brooklyn Nets team. At 6:55 of the fourth quarter, there was only one goal gap between the two teams. Kevin Durant, Claxton and Royce O'Neal replaced Ben Simmons, Patty Mills and Joe Harris after the timeout. Over the next nearly four minutes, the lineup scored no points for the Clippers' defense, while relying on defensive counterattacks to quickly open the gap.
"A golden victory! Elite level defense! Nets owner Tsai Chongxin excitedly praised the team on social media.
It's hard to imagine that the Nets played a beautiful defense. This season, in Steve Nash's first seven games in charge, the Nets were the NBA's worst defensive team, and probably none of them. At that time, the Nets' defensive efficiency was the second lowest in the league and the 16th in offensive efficiency. After the Nets lost to the Pacers on October 30, they averaged 122.2 points per game, just better than the Detroit Pistons, a loss that was also seen as the trigger for Nash to leave class.
Since Nash stepped down as head coach, the Nets have become one of the most effective defensively efficient teams in the league. In their last five games, the Nets have a 4-1 record. Their defense is solid, and the Nets have limited opponents to less than 100 points in five consecutive games. With 86 points for the Wizards, 94 for the Hornets, 96 for the Lone Rangers (the only loss), 85 for the Knicks and 95 points for the Clippers, the Nets are also the only team this season that can defend opponents from scoring more than 100 points in five consecutive games.
After Nash was out of class, Irving was suspended for at least five games by the team for "anti-Semitic" issues, and after two consecutive turmoils, the Nets not only did not collapse but bottomed out. With successive wins, the team also climbed from the bottom of the East to the ninth in the East. Next, if the Nets can still beat the Los Angeles Lakers, their winning percentage will turn to 50%.
Durant is proud of the team's defensive performance, saying: "The opponent has hit some difficult shots, Marcus Morris, George, Wall, Reggie, Kennard have that kind of difficult shots, but you can accept it. We pride ourselves on our defensive performance throughout the game, even if we don't shoot well enough, but we keep making good shots and always score. Defensively, we keep forcing the other side to make difficult shots. ”
In this game, Durant scored 27 points on just 16 shots, becoming the first player in Nets history to score 25+ in 13 consecutive games and equalling Jordan's record set in the 1987-88 season. In addition to contributing points on the offensive end, Durant is also very the defensive end. In this game, Durant contributed 2 steals and 2 blocks, and he has averaged 2.08 blocks per game so far this season, which has set a career high. During his time with the Golden State Warriors, Durant often made cameo appearances on the inside, filling in the gaps in the team's defense, and his long arms and movement speed and defensive awareness made him the Nets' best co-defender.
When Paul George forced the inside to open the defender, the assistant Durant directly fanned George's shot, and Durant's jumping timing and defensive position were just right.
Before the game against the Clippers, the Nets' "trio" of Durant, Claxton and Royce O'Neal had a defensive efficiency of 103.8, on par with the Bucks, the league's No. 1 in defensive efficiency. Against the Clippers, the game was another defensive game, and after this game, the trio's defense was at 101.7. All three of them poured a lot of time and defensive pressure into George, who could only shoot 5 of 21 under the three's rotation defense.
"The way we defended was wonderful. Everybody is connected, we're all helping each other, covering each other, really taking advantage of our size and making it very difficult for the opposing team. Claxton said.
The Nets' improvement on the defensive end may really be due to Jacques Vaughn, who has just turned from assistant coach to regularization. During Nash's tenure, Vaughn played the role of defensive coordinator. With Vaughn officially taking over the whip, the team's focus shifted toward the defensive end, which he cared more about. You can often see Vaughn raising his arms on the sidelines to call for players to defend, reminding everyone to defend the position and assist the defense, and the defensive vitality and communication of the whole team have improved significantly.
When asked after the game about the team's difficulty in getting the Clippers to score in the fourth quarter, Vaughan repeatedly praised the players' defense on the court: "Yes, we put our energy and effort into both the offensive and defensive ends, which is special. I hope the players can feel this, we defend for 24 seconds, big hat opponents, everyone to help each other, etc., these energies will affect each other. ”
Recently, the return of Seth Curry has also boosted the team's offense. Against the Clippers, Curry played 28 minutes, shooting 9-of-15 (4-of-8 from three-point range), scoring 22 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, the second-highest score in the game, behind Durant, with a plus-minus of +12. The most terrible thing is that Curry Jr.'s 4 three-pointers were all shot in the fourth quarter, and the Nets also took advantage of Curry's hot hand to directly play a wave of 20-2 offensive climax.
Curry's return means that all three Nets bench shooters are back healthy for the first time this season. Curry has shot 50 percent from three-point range in the past five games, and Mills has also shot 41 percent from three-point range. But Harris was an exception, shooting 33 percent from three-point range in his first 10 games since his comeback.
Throughout the season, the team and players are sure to experience some ups and downs. Now Harris is still looking for touch, Irving has to deal with off-court things, and Ben Simmons needs to actively adapt to the pace of the game to regain his confidence, all of which can suddenly change at some point during the season. Like the Nets, the team has evolved from a team at the bottom of the defensive league to a defensive powerhouse, just a few games. Durant also said after playing the Clippers game that "attitude is everything."