Tag: Kenny Atkinson

Kenny Atkinson may have found a way to replace his Dennis Scott sign

Kenny Atkinson broke out his famous sign in the Brooklyn Nets win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

Kenny Atkinson is very much down to business when it comes to his job. It’s part of the reason Brooklyn became a destination for Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The Nets head coach developed a hard-working culture on the backs of Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen and others.

So when Kenny Atkinson first unleashed his Dennis Scott sign on the sideline against the Houston Rockets back on November 1, he caught everyone off guard. It’s unconventional to see a cue card on a basketball sideline. For Atkinson to be the one to utilize the college football-like tactic made the occurrence even more bizarre.

On Saturday, Atkinson’s card made an appearance again, though when he met with reporters in Chicago after the win, it was noted he didn’t show off the card like he had previously.

Atkinson reiterated the point of the sign to reporters, but also indicated he may search for a new way to get his message across:

I think after the last [time with] people making fun of me on Twitter and stuff I wanted to be a little more discrete. So, maybe I’ll wear, like, a t-shirt and have it underneath. Yeah, I don’t wanna make a big deal. It’s more about our coverages and helping our guys communicate. It’s definitely not a publicity stunt.

Kenny Atkinson likens Spencer Dinwiddie to a tailback

Kenny Atkinson has worked with Spencer Dinwiddie for a while, but he still doesn’t take the Brooklyn Nets point guard’s speed for granted.

Spencer Dinwiddie put the Nets on his back in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, leading Brooklyn to a 117-111 win to snap the team’s three-game losing streak, while also concluding the five-game road trip.

Most of Dinwiddie’s scoring was done at the free-throw line. He finished 14-for-15 from the charity stripe and went 5-for-11 from the floor (0-for-4 from three) to score 24 points.

Starting in place of the injured Kyrie Irving (right shoulder impingement), the point guard was able to draw contact frequently against the Bulls — which is one of his strengths. Kenny Atkinson explained to reporters in Chicago why Dinwiddie can draw fouls at will:

He’s like a tailback. Sometimes you just keep pitching it to him and he just keeps going around and he keeps going. He keeps going. He’s gotta be one of the fastest guys in the league. He was outstanding. . . I thought he really played a complete game

Iman Shumpert: ‘I bring something totally different’ to Nets

Iman Shumpert finally had a chance to tell Brooklyn Nets fans what they can expect from him following his signing.

Kenny Atkinson, Kyrie Irving and Joe Harris all know what Iman Shumpert can provide the Brooklyn Nets.

Atkinson has known Shumpert since the two were part of the New York Knicks organization. The now-Nets head coach was the Shumpert’s guard coach.

Irving and Harris later reaped the benefits of Shumpert’s hard work as he helped the Cleveland Cavaliers win an NBA title.

The veteran guard has been one of the league’s more tenacious defender’s over the past decade. He told reporters in Denver — as did Atkinson — he will make broken plays happen to help create more Brooklyn possessions on the offensive end.

But the first thing Shumpert said he’ll provide the Nets with is energy.

No matter where I go I bring the energy, energy and passion. I think that just from outside looking in at these it, [this is] a great group of guys. A lot of talented guys. Not that I don’t fit in, but at the same time I bring something totally different, where it’s not in anybody’s way. It’s not anything but a gel to bring everybody together.

Above all else, Shumpert is always looking to “play ball the right way.”

Joe Harris: Nets’ ‘compete level was a lot higher’ vs. Jazz

Tuesday’s loss in Phoenix was tough, but the Nets’ loss to the Jazz was an even tougher pill to swallow.

As bad as the blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns was, Tuesday’s 119-114 loss to the Utah Jazz was an even tougher pill for the Nets to swallow. Brooklyn had what looked like a comfortable lead at halftime, but wound up losing in a nail-biter.

As Kenny Atkinson pointed out to reporters in Utah, there are no moral victories from a loss, but the Nets did show signs of growth. In particular, the Net finally attacked their opponent early in the game — something they haven’t done much to start 2019-20.

Though the Nets had an advantage over the Jazz with Utah being on the second game of a back-to-back, Joe Harris felt the first half result was an accurate depiction of Brooklyn’s intensity in the first half, per Tom Dowd of BrooklynNets.com.

The compete level was a lot higher. Against Phoenix that was uncharacteristic of us, not what we want Brooklyn Nets basketball to be about. And tonight we did a much better job just coming in, having effort from the get-go. There was a couple miscues here and there but that happens over the course of the game, but the effort, the compete level was there all night.

Nets bogged down by foul troubles against Jazz

The Nets gave the Utah Jazz far too many chances at the free-throw line, which was part of what cost Brooklyn the game.

The Brooklyn Nets were more efficient from the free-throw line (84%) than the Utah Jazz (77.1%) on Tuesday. But Brooklyn being more effective at the charity stripe only means so much when the opposition has 10 more free-throw attempts in the course of the game.

With the Nets losing by five to the Jazz, those extra free throws were made all the difference, as Utah knocked down 27 free throws to Brooklyn’s 21 in the 119-115 finish.

The Jazz took 35 free throws and were fouled by Brooklyn 29 times, while Utah only fouled the Nets 18 times. Jarrett accounted for six of those fouls and Joe Harris had five. Spencer Dinwiddie had four, as did Kyrie Irving, though two of his came when the Nets needed to foul Utah late.

Needless to say, Kenny Atkinson wasn’t pleased the Jazz had so many chances at the line.

… I would say the other thing that kind of irks me is giving up 35 free throws. So we played hard, we competed, but now we gotta add understand how to play without fouling.

Kenny Atkinson on Nets’ current status: ‘We’re below average’

The Brooklyn Nets are stuck in a rut. They have the ability to get out of it, but Kenny Atkinson and company haven’t been able to yet.

Following the 119-114 loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets have now dropped back-to-back games twice this season, the first instance being losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers.

Brooklyn, now 4-6 with two games left on the road trip, easily could be heading to Denver at an even 5-5 had they not scuffled late against the Jazz.

This isn’t the start the Nets or their fans were expecting, but Kenny Atkinson doesn’t think Brooklyn’s record is an inaccurate depiction of where they stand at the moment, which he expressed to reporters in Utah:

We are where we are. We’re 4-6. We’re below average. … I think there’s positive things [from Tuesday’s game], I think there’s things to build on. I think our defense has gotta improve for us to take another step. But 4-6 is 4-6. This league is unrelenting, so we are below average. I think our guys understand that.

But Atkinson doesn’t think where the Nets currently stand is where they’ll end up. He’s seen growth, adding:

I do think we’re building something with the new group. I don’t feel like, ‘Ah, you know, we’re not together.’ I feel good about the group. I feel good about our process. I feel good about our system. I feel really good about our players. These are tough games, the Utahs, the Denvers on the road. But I like the way we competed.

Don’t expect Kenny Atkinson to change Nets starting lineup yet

The Brooklyn Nets are off to a rocky start, but Kenny Atkinson isn’t going to make a personnel change just yet.

Brooklyn’s starting five had a rough go against the Phoenix Suns — to put it mildly.

Kyrie Irving was the only one in double figures. Even then, he wasn’t at his best, finishing 1-for-6 from three while failing to earn a trip to the free-throw line.

Jarrett Allen hardly played because he was in foul trouble so early.

Joe Harris missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

Taurean Prince went 3-for-5 from the floor (2-for-3 from three), but made mistakes elsewhere throughout the game and played a measly 17 minutes as a result — only five more minutes than Allen.

Caris LeVert was the only Nets starter who didn’t have a -20 plus-minus or worse (-15), but he still didn’t play his best game.

While the loss to Phoenix was next-level for the Nets, they’ve consistently struggled defensively in the first quarter to start the year. Even after acknowledging the issue, Kenny Atkinson isn’t ready to change Brooklyn’s starting lineup.

I’m not ready to go there after one bad game.