Three Realistic Adjustments for Brooklyn in Game 2
How Mikal Bridges and the Nets bounce back against James Harden and Philadelphia 76ers
The Brooklyn Nets faded in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of their first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, losing 121-101 on Saturday afternoon.
The Brooklyn Nets have length, but lack size. Joel Embiid is a drive deterrent on his own, and the Nets lack a perimeter big to pull him away from the paint. These are all facts that have proven themselves on both sides of this matchup in game one and across the two teams' respective seasons. Rather than calling for the Brooklyn Nets to re-invent themselves or for Jacque Vaughn to make adjustments the team lacks the personnel to execute - let’s focus on three very achievable goals for game two on Monday night.
Protect the basketball: The Brooklyn Nets committed 20 turnovers in game one, the bulk of which were unforced. Not only did Philadelphia avoid self-inflicted wounds with just nine turnovers of their own, but they also converted Brooklyn’s mistakes into 31 points.
With a minus 21 points off turnover margin(yes the exact margin of defeat) the Nets took a razor-thin margin of win opportunity and effectively lit it on fire.
While Spencer Dinwiddie took much of the blame from fans following the loss, Joe Harris and Day’Ron Sharpe coughed up five turnovers across their 31 combined minutes.
Harris gave little offensive punch and is already a defensive liability and can ill-afford to compound those concerns with careless play. In Day’Ron Sharpe’s case, the reality is that Nic Claxton will need a breather. Whether Jacque Vaughn pivots to a smaller Dorian Finney-Smith based point of attack defense against Embiid or not - if Sharpe gets minutes they need to be clean.
Spencer Dinwiddie had four turnovers of his own, some of which came on hideous lob attempts to Nic Claxton and the aforementioned Day’Ron Sharpe. I could drag Spence across the coals here but a few crisper connections at least soften that area of his box score.
Pace of Play: A reminder here that the 70 shot attempts for Brooklyn in game one would fall 13 behind the (ironically) regular season league-low Philadelphia 76ers average of 83 attempts per game.
The 76ers are not an uptempo team, and pushing the pace can help Brooklyn on multiple fronts. The 76ers already showed they will look to blitz Mikal Bridges on defense going forward and force someone else to beat them.
Playing uptempo in transition will prevent Philly from getting to that defensive look and soften Joel Embiid's ability to set up in drop coverage and control the paint. Off-ball cuts to the basket, drive and kick perimeter looks and Bridge’s well-established mid-range prowess can all thrive if the Nets get out and run.
One of the key cogs in the Nets’ transition success is Spencer Dinwiddie.
Spencer Dinwiddie’s box score can look ok at a glance. 5-12 from the field, seven assists, and 14 points. He needs to score more, turn it over less, and find the three-point stroke(1-5) that failed him. The problem is that Dinwiddie wants to drive at the basket, but Joel Embiid and the 76ers’ size advantage looms. Dinwiddie is a long-established off-ball scoring Guard but has successfully converted to an elite offensive facilitator the Nets desperately needed.
Back door cuts could be Spencer Dinwiddie’s role as Brooklyn pushes the pace, but the Nets would need Mikal Bridges or Cam Johnson to step into a heavier facilitation role to do so. However, as Royce O’Neal’s once starting Foward turned second unit Point Guard role would attest, this team lacks ball-handlers.
Yes, Spencer Dinwiddie needs to play at a consistently higher level but this is unfortunately one of the worst matchups for a player of his skill set.
The obvious Achilles heel of pushing the pace, getting out in transition, and forcing Philadelphia to play out of their comfort zone is that it gets mitigated when the opposition makes every shot under the sun. As Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots don’t take,” and Brooklyn needs to find ways to take and make more quality looks.
The last, and arguably most critical adjustment…
BOMB THREES: Now Doug Norrie and I highlighted this in our preview of the series, and were both in agreement on the necessity for a dedicated commitment to three-point attempts. I found myself rationalizing the insane volume and percentage from Philly as being a justification for playing balanced offensive basketball. I have, however, found religion once again.
The only exception to the rule for needing more threes is being next-level efficient in the mid-range.
Meet Mikal Bridges. Mikal continued his hot play since coming over in the Kevin Durant trade with Phoenix, pouring in 30 points on 12-18 from the field and low, but efficient 2-4 volume from deep. Again, he is the exception and no other Net needs apply.
The Nets were outshot by 19 (70-89) on FG attempts in the game and despite hitting at a 45% clip put up just 29 attempts from beyond the arc. Not only would that be tied for dead last during the regular season, but it was also 14 fewer than Philadelphia in game 1.
Over the final eight games of the regular season(excluding the non-starter's season finale) the Nets went 6-2 and only once registered under 85 shot attempts while averaging over 35 three-point attempts.
The 76ers counter punch to the Nets’ strategy of double-team and help defense against Joel Embiid, was dialing up their middle-of-the-pack regular season three-point volume(16th in the NBA) which resulted in 21 made threes on 49% shooting.
While you could make the case James Harden is unlikely to duplicate his 7-13 performance from three, because of the wide-open nature of the overall looks that might be a fool's errand. In response, the Nets can 1. Pivot to a stay-at-home defense that opens the lane up to a Joel Embiid onslaught but mitigates the perimeter attempts(a strategy I might be coming around to) and 2. Have everyone not named Mikal BOMB THREE POINTERS!
Cam Johnson, Seth Curry, and Dorian Finney-Smith are the blueprint for supporting Mikal Bridges. Cam provided the volume but the three Nets collectively went 13-18 from the field and 8-11 from deep. Over 60% of their shots were from the outside. Meanwhile, Royce O’Neal, Joe Harris, and Spencer Dinwiddie combined to go 2-11 from downtown.
Creating more looks for Joe Harris is one answer, but it’s doubtful he plays enough minutes to get there. I already highlighted why this is a brutal matchup for Spencer Dinwiddie, further illustrated in the fact that he is hitting under 30% on threes since re-joining Brooklyn in the Dallas trade, after posting north of 40% from deep on a career-high 6.5 attempts with the Mavericks. Those looks however benefitted greatly from the presence of Luka Doncic.
Royce O’Neal on the other hand had just five total shot attempts(three 3-pointers) across 28 minutes. He needs to shoot more if he is on the court, and has proven a reliable big-moment shotmaker for Brooklyn.
Incidentally, calling for 60% of shot attempts to be from deep has a very trackable impact. Even on a mere 70 shot attempts, that would have resulted in 42 three-point shots. Reduce the make percentage down to 40% and that would have still resulted in four more made threes, 12 more points, and a far more interesting 4th quarter. A whole lot of numbers to make one clear point - BOMB MORE THREES.
Now the reality is that the 76ers are flat-out the more talented team. When discussing the game one loss on the Locked On Nets Podcast Doug and I both agreed that Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Nic Claxton all checked the playoff success box. Most of the supporting cast played consistently albeit forgettable minutes. The margin for error is razor-thin at best, and even then offers only the chance to stay competitive.
This is however not a sullen dejected assessment. Clean up the careless plays, lean into your individual and team strengths, win the hustle plays and Brooklyn can make Philadelphia sweat for the full 48 on Monday night.
Adam Armbrecht hosts the Locked On Nets Podcast with Doug Norrie, covering the Brooklyn Nets for the past four seasons. Available on Youtube and where ever you get podcasts.
He is also the host of the Devils Puck Luck Podcast covering the New Jersey Devils and the One Giant Podcast providing weekly coverage of the New York Giants.