See what the Brooklyn Nets had to say after their 118-108 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
KENNY ATKINSON
On the third quarter:
“I think our turnovers hurt us. Just overall they dominated us physically, tactically. It could have been a lot worse. We’ve got a lot of things to figure out. It’s just a turnover thing. I don’t remember seeing a stat line like that since I’ve been here, so it’s just finding that balance. We’ve really got to get to know each other better, I think that’s part of it. I knew Indiana was coming in here 0-3 and they’ve kind of historically took it to us physically. They did again tonight. Good lesson for us.”
On the offense:
“We’re not really running anything. In training camp you’re practicing a lot, you have nice flow, you kind of know what you’re doing. I think we’ve lost a little bit of our structure and organization, which is nature with a new team and new guys. Like I said, I think we have to play with each other more, get to know each other more, get on the same page in all aspects.”
On Indiana's physicality in third quarter:
I think it was their kind of physicality and want to take the game. They took the fight to us. I think (Domantas) Sabonis, he just dominated us in the paint, that was a big part of it. It was just overall their physicality, their defense, and then us not as organized as we need to be.”
KYRIE IRVING
On third quarter:
“They got some separation. Turned the ball over a few too many times throughout the game. They were just comfortable with a sense of desperation. Sabonis got it going in the paint, had a really big game and then Brogdon hit some mid-range shots and you’ve got Lamb filling in right there and T.J. getting some backdoor cuts. When you’ve got four of the main guys scoring over 20 points it’s going to be hard to sustain any lead that we have. So we’ve just still got to get to know one another on that defensive end, play with a sense of purpose and physicality and also make some adjustments. It’s still early on. Take it game by game.”
On figuring out the offense:
“Just like that. It’s going to take some time just to know where everyone is. We have a mutual respct for each other out there on the floor but we still want to be aggressive, still got to put some points on the board. Just want to play smarter, execute and just really be there to screen for one another or backdoor cut. The rhythm, it’s just gonna take some to get the rhythm for one another out there depending on who we’re out there playing. I’m excited about just continuing to get better, continuing to utilize these games. Obviously you want to win but these losses are always lessons that you can take and echo it to the team.”
On balancing playmakers and playing off each other:
“It’s just time. It’s just time, man. That’s really our friend right now. Just time. We can’t really force it to be one game where we look really good and next we’re still trying to figure each other out. I just think there’s a huge amount of respect that we have for one another, for what they’ve done, for what I’ve done, so we just want to figure out how to play off one another and get each other easy baskets without being so ball-dominant coming off the pick and roll and just watching. Sometimes when Caris is going to the basket I’ll give him a cut just to get a slash going. That’s just playing the nuances of the game, playing off your teammate and getting to know him.”
JOE HARRIS
On offensive issues:
“To be honest, I think this was one of the first games this year where the struggles there offensively, but the defense has been the most problematic thing for us. That’s going to be the thing that’s constant, game in and game out. The offense comes and goes. Nobody is too worried about that. We have a lot of talent offensively but the defense has got to be there. We have to be better defensively.”
On if intensity was where Nets needed it to be:
“Not for us, no. I think a number of us were talking about it after the game. It just seemed like the energy was little bit flat to begin with in the first quarter and then in the third quarter, we had spurts where we would kind of turn it around a little, but it has to be consistent throughout the game.”
On running the offense:
“I think there were a couple of times where we came down and we were probably a little bit too reliant on Kyrie (Irving) to make a play or Spencer (Dinwiddie) to make a play or Caris (LeVert) to make a play. It’s a collective effort where we have to make everybody’s job easier and I think tonight, it was just a little bit of we were kind of standing around watching, honestly, and just hoping that those guys would make plays.”