Garrett Temple put it best on Friday when the Brooklyn Nets got blown out by the Atlanta Hawks:
“If we continue playing like we’ve been playing, we won’t be in the playoffs, period, point-blank,” Temple said. “That’s our goal, to make the playoffs. But we have to change something. We have to compete at the end of the day, or we’ll be sitting at home watching.”
With the 2020 NBA Playoffs still being a goal for the Nets, things need to take a turn for the better soon. They’ve already been passed by the Orlando Magic and the Washington Wizards are trying to surpass them for that final spot in the Eastern Conference.
Falling behind by 14 against the Miami Heat isn’t exactly a step in the right direction, but Brooklyn’s comeback effort is something the Nets can build on as they look ahead to Boston.
“We play like that, with that type of competitive spirit — wasn’t perfect by any means, but … we kinda got our identity back a little,’ Kenny Atkinson told reporters in Miami. “Just all-around, I thought we played both sides of the ball the right way.”
What will be crucial for the Nets throughout it all is maintaining the same level of effort from start to finish over a stretch of games. They put up fights in the fourth quarter, but they have to find a way to sustain themselves for a full 48 minutes — and on a nightly basis.