NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets came into Thursday on a three-game winning streak thanks to how well they were playing on both ends of the floor. However, Thursday showed that Brooklyn still has a ways to go as far as its defense is concerned.
“Yeah, I think that all started early,” Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said of his team’s porous defense following Thursday’s 129-128 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Brooklyn allowed a Charlotte team who had scored just 91 points in its last game to pass that number early in the third quarter due to passive defense.
“For us to give up 70-plus points in the first half,” Vaughn said. “When you give an NBA guy a little comfort, who hasn’t made shots historically, then the confidence builds and you’re able to see the ball go through the hole. And, we paid for that tonight for letting them be too comfortable.”
While Vaughn has admitted in the past that he’s asking his players to protect the rim and is willing to live with three-point shooting variance from their opponents, he appeared to be disappointed in his team for how passive they played on the defensive end.
“It’s more than just the schemes of giving up threes,” Vaughn said. Mark Williams (Hornets center) had five offensive rebounds in the first half, that has nothing to do with threes. And, for us to give that up, it’s just unacceptable for this group.”
[lawrence-related id=56254,56251,56247]