BROOKLYN – February hasn’t been kind to the Nets (19-38).
Brooklyn is now 0-6 in the month as another slow start proved to be costly in their 114-101 loss to the Clippers.
The home side fell into a 17-point hole early in the second quarter after struggling in the opening 12 minutes and unlike previous games, it wasn’t able to cut the score below nine points. DeAndre Jordan sparked Los Angeles’ victory with 16 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks. Joe Harris and D’Angelo Russell both had 16 points apiece to pace the Nets.
"Defensively, we couldn't stop them," Kenny Atkinson said after the defeat. "We never found any solution to stop them."
He added, "We knew we had to keep them out of the paint and we never did it. That was the story of the game."
Here Are Three Observations From the Loss:
Clippers Multi-Faceted Attack Dominates
Brooklyn got a mean introduction to a new-look Los Angeles squad as the visitors had seven players score in double digits.
Since Blake Griffin's trade to Detroit, the team has won four of its last six games. Part of that is down to a more open style of play – reminiscent of Doc Rivers’ pre-Tracy McGrady days in Orlando -- where multiple players are getting touches on the ball. The Clippers didn’t have a single player score more than 20 points, but it didn’t matter as they still managed to control the game.
First Quarter Woes Remain
For the past two days, Kenny Atkinson and his players have stressed the urgency of not falling behind early, but once again, it didn’t translate on the court.
In the first quarter against the Clippers, the Nets struggled on both sides of the floor to give the visitors a 34-22 advantage. They were poor offensively as they shot 42.9 percent, relying too much on three-pointers (30 percent) and not penetrating enough (just 10 free throw attempts). More concerning was the team’s struggles on defense as it allowed Los Angeles to shoot 71.4 percent.
"It seems like lately we've been digging ourselves holes and you can't beat teams in the NBA when you're trying to overcome 20-point deficits," Joe Harris said. "The other night [Saturday] it was 28, like you just can't fall into holes like that and expect to come back and try to win games. It takes too much energy first of all, to crawl your way back in and this is kind of getting repetitive at this point."
Coming into this game, the Nets had only led one first quarter in their last 10 games – their Feb. 2 loss against Los Angeles. Their only win in that span came against the Sixers, where they trailed by just four points after the opening 12 minutes. The disturbing trend continued on Monday night and the Nets need to find ways to avoid falling into big holes early if they want to end their current skid.
Crabbe’s Solid Stretch
This is the reason why the Nets pursued Crabbe for two summers before finally acquiring him last July. Crabbe continued to show his ability from downtown, but it’s his assertiveness inside the arc that has changed from earlier in the season. The guard finished the game with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 2-for-5 on threes.
The 25-year-old is now mixing up his attempts, cutting inside and taking midrange shots, which is changing the way teams are guarding him. It is also opening up better shots from behind the arc.
Still, shooting isn’t the only that’s improved for Crabbe in his past three games – he’s continued to show he can be a factor on the boards as well. He grabbed six rebounds on Monday and is averaging 4.6 per game – 1.6 more than his career average of 2.7.