Why the Nets Look Better Lately and Why That Does Not Change the Timeline
.png)
The Brooklyn Nets did not stumble into their recent stretch of competent basketball. After opening the season 3–16, they have gone 6–3 over their last nine games, and the improvement is visible both on the scoreboard and in the numbers.
The important question is not whether they are playing better. They are. The real question, as discussed recently on Harrison Talks Pod, is whether that improvement supports play-in aspirations or simply reflects progress inside a rebuild timeline that still has firm limits. The answer lives in separating process from results.
The Defensive Jump Is Real and It Explains Everything
From Historically Bad to Functionally Competitive
The Nets opened the season playing defense at a level that was actively sinking games. Defensive rating routinely landed between 120 and 140. Paint touches were uncontested. Transition defense collapsed almost nightly. Several games featured opponents scoring 60 or more points in the paint. Over the last nine games, that profile has changed entirely.
Brooklyn has posted a defensive rating of 102.8 during the 6–3 stretch, paired with a net rating of plus 9.3. Opponent effective field goal percentage has stabilized in the 50 to 52 percent range. Points in the paint allowed have dropped to 51.8 per game. This is not a shooting heater or opponent luck. This is a tier change. Defense alone explains why wins followed.
How the Defense Improved
The improvement came from understanding and adjustment rather than stylistic overhaul.
Players are executing Jordi Fernández’s scheme with more clarity. Aggressive coverage has been refined rather than abandoned. Switching has increased. Short-roll exposure has been reduced. Paint protection and perimeter contests are better balanced.
Lineups have also shifted. There is more size and more length. Small offense-first groupings appear less frequently. The result is fewer structural breakdowns and fewer possession-killing rotations. The Nets are no longer bleeding points by default. That single change makes them competitive most nights.
Possession Control Changed the Feel of Games
Early in the season, one defensive stop rarely ended a possession. Defensive rebounding rate regularly sat in the mid to low 60s. Opponents generated 18 to 25 second-chance points, often in clusters.
Over the last nine games, defensive rebound rate has jumped to 72.4 percent. Total rebounds per game have risen to 44.0, up from roughly 40.6 on the season. Second-chance points have not disappeared, but the volatility has. Ending possessions matters. When opponents get one shot instead of three, efficiency drops and momentum stabilizes.
The Offense Explains the Ceiling
The defense explains why the Nets are competitive. The offense explains why the ceiling remains limited.
Everything Orbits One Gravity Source
Brooklyn’s offense is not balanced. It is gravity-based.
Everything flows through Michael Porter Jr. His shooting threat opens driving lanes, simplifies reads for secondary handlers, and creates space for bigs to operate without congestion.
At the team level, offensive efficiency has improved quietly and sustainably. Field goal percentage has risen from 44.6 to 46.0. Effective field goal percentage has climbed from 53.0 to 55.1. True shooting has increased from 57.1 to 58.6.
These gains are modest, but they are spread across the offense rather than isolated to one shot type. That signals shot quality improvement, not luck.
Why Michael Porter Jr. Is the Engine
On the season, Porter is averaging 25.7 points per game on 49.1 percent shooting and 40.1 percent from three, with usage around 29 percent.
Over the last nine games, that has climbed to 28.6 points per game on 50.6 percent shooting and 46.4 percent from three. His net rating during that stretch sits at plus 14.4.
The offense looks cleaner when it flows through him. That is not because he dominates the ball. It is because his gravity simplifies decisions for everyone else.
Why This Still Caps Play-In Viability
Brooklyn does not have a second offensive engine. No other player consistently bends defenses on or off the ball. Nearly 48.6 percent of shots come from three, placing the Nets near the top of the league in volume. Points in the paint sit at 41.7 per game, bottom five league-wide. Fast-break points sit at 11.6, also bottom five.
This is a high-variance offense by design. Defense keeps them afloat. Porter determines how high they rise.
Coaching Raised the Floor
Jordi Fernández deserves real credit for what has changed.
What Coaching Clearly Fixed
Defensive communication is cleaner. Rotations are sharper. Effort is more consistent. Roles for non-scorers are defined. Bench units no longer bleed points automatically. This is competence. Coaching raised it. What coaching did not add is talent density.
Defensive Stabilizers Who Made the Difference
Nic Claxton’s impact is no longer just about rim protection. Over the last nine games, his defensive rating has dropped to 107.3. He is averaging nine rebounds and over five assists, with a positive net rating of plus 6.0. He is organizing the defense, calling coverages, and cleaning up breakdowns.
Day’Ron Sharpe has quietly changed bench minutes. His net rating over the last nine games sits at plus 12.6. His player impact estimate has jumped to 19.3. His finishing efficiency has climbed well above league average. Bench units are surviving instead of collapsing. That matters more than it sounds for a rebuilding roster.
Why Coaching Cannot Override the Ceiling
This remains a talent-driven league. Brooklyn lacks a star-level initiator. The offense relies heavily on one scorer. The margin for error against elite teams is thin. Coaching explains why the Nets are respectable. It does not explain sustainable playoff contention.
Cam Thomas Changes the Equation Entirely
Cam Thomas is not a footnote. He is an identity variable. With Thomas in the lineup, the Nets went 0–7. Defensive rating sat at 128.5, a pace that would rank among the worst in league history. Without him, Brooklyn has posted a top-six defensive rating and improved by 10.7 points per 100 possessions.
Thomas carries a usage rate above 31 percent and averages 3.67 dribbles per touch, the second highest on the team. His return raises the offensive ceiling. It also reintroduces defensive and possession volatility. That is a profile change, not a simple upgrade.
What the Numbers Do Not Support
The data does not support a pivot to the play-in. It does not suggest the Nets have turned a corner. It does not show a roster one move away from contention. What it supports is real improvement with narrow sustainability and real identity tension.
Final Thought
The Nets are playing better basketball than they did at 3–16. The defensive improvement is legitimate, process-driven, and meaningful. Michael Porter Jr.’s gravity has stabilized the offense. Jordi Fernández has raised the team’s floor through structure and clarity.
The ceiling remains constrained by roster composition and offensive dependency. Cam Thomas’ return will test the identity that made this stretch possible.
As covered on Harrison Talks Pod, the story here is not about effort or belief. It is about whether Brooklyn commits to being a defense-first, low-margin team or accepts the volatility that comes with chasing offensive ceiling.
.png)
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment