Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson knows how important pace is in basketball. It’s one of those aspects of the game that can give a team control depending on how they want the tempo to go.
In Monday’s 124-106 loss to the New York Knicks, the game got away from the Nets due to New York dictating the pace. The Knicks scored at least 26 points in each quarter and the third quarter is where New York began pulling away from Brooklyn. In the period, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson had 17 of his 40 points as he, and the rest of the team, controlled the pave and turned the contest into an up-and-down affair.
Ever since this new-look Nets team has been put together, the one thing that they’ve tried to do is play defense while letting the offense come to them. However, in games like this, if Brooklyn falls behind, they have to play faster than they’re comfortable with just to keep up. Cameron Johnson agreed as much in his postgame interview:
“They were scoring. That’s what it is. They were scoring. So, we’re taking the ball out, and playing against a set defense. And, that’s a big part of it. And defensively, they kind of spread us out and attacked us. Obviously, a lot we can adjust and learn from this game. But yeah, that’s one of the big parts of pace is getting stops and being able to run on teams.”
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