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Is the Nets’ largest problem one of height, effort or scheme?
Coach Jacque Vaughn said he believes it is a mixture, mostly of effort and scheme.
Entering their 128-117 loss to the Pacers on Friday, the Nets were last in the NBA in rebounding rate, by an average of five boards per game. They possess the length needed to alter shots (their 7.5 blocks per game were best in the league), but have not tracked down loose balls after misses.
What can be fixed?
“We keep going back to it. Even we had three clips on the film today [in practice], just to show the different layers that go into it,” Vaughn, who has blasted the team’s effort on a few occasions, said before the game.
According to Vaughn, the ability of the Nets’ big men to switch on screens — agile Nic Claxton and Ben Simmons are capable of defense against guards — often gets them switched away from the rim.
“That’s a piece of it,” Vaughn said before the Nets were outrebounded 41-38. “Then you have the piece of smalls. Instead of thinking, ‘I’m going to leak out and go play offense,’ which is nice and fun, [you think] ‘I gotta go back and help.’
“It’s layered.”
Much of the blame for the Nets’ uneven and underwhelming start to the season has gone to their defense.
