Brooklyn is a little more than a third of the way through the season and sit at 11-18, two games behind the 8 seed in the East. It’s been a frustrating season. Perhaps only the Nets can drop a home game to the Cavaliers, only to beat the Raptors four nights later. Brooklyn has a claim to the prestigious title of “worst late game execution,” as of this writing.

The Nets are an enigma, where you simultaneously think they are underachieving while being perplexed they are actually capable of ever winning a game.

Through 29 games we know a lot about where this team is headed. Thanks to this study by Khrishna Narsu, we can look at what has stabilized for the Nets in terms of performance.

Ratings Ratings Ratings

Brooklyn ranks 17th in offensive rating, 20th in defensive rating, and 22nd in net rating. We are well beyond the point of these ratings have stabilized, so this is probably the reality we’re looking at for the rest of the season.

If there is one place to look for optimism, it would be offensively with Allen Crabbe’s shooting. A career 39.5 percent three-point shooter, Crabbe was hitting 34.7% percent of his shots from distance through the month of November. Since then, Crabbe has been scorching from long range, canning 52.3 percent of his threes in six games in December.

For Crabbe to return value he has to hit threes. Per our grading system at the BBall Index, perimeter shooting is Crabbe’s best skill. It is also his most consistent on a yearly basis. For his career has an A- grade in the category. Over the previous three seasons prior to this year, Crabbe posted an A-, A, and A- in perimeter shooting. With his torrid December start he is now up to a B+ in 2018-19.

Win Percentage

At 11-18 Brooklyn has a win percent of .379. While this has stabilized it is important to note they are underperforming their point differential. The Nets point differential is -1.8 as of this writing. Using this number, we find that Brooklyn’s pythagorean record is 13-16. They are two games worse than they should be.

The Nets are 5-9 in games decided by 6 points (two possessions) or less. Breaking even in these games gets the Nets to that 13-16 mark. A few lucky bounces or breaks gets Brooklyn close to a .500 record on the season.

It is not all bad luck. As previously mentioned the Nets have been one of the worst late game teams in the league this season. Execution is an issue. A lot of these close losses are self imposed, for example the meltdown at home against the Thunder where they squandered a twenty point lead.

But they are still under performing based on their current level of play. If that self corrects, and they clean up late game issues, Brooklyn can push for the 8 seed.

Rockets East

Brooklyn is 24th in pace according to Basketball-Reference, and 6th in three-point attempt rate. Not as drastic a split as Houston’s 29th and 1st rankings, respectively, but similar nonetheless. Brooklyn also sits 12th in 3P percent.

We covered how Crabbe should enjoy some positive regression as the season continues. DeMarre Carroll is another huge positive regression candidate. So far Carroll is shooting 29.4 percent from three, well below his career mark of 36.1 percent.

But what matters most is that we should all hail Joe Harris. Harris is on fire from distance this year, hitting 45.4 percent of his threes on an even 5 attempts per game. Harris also understands how he is going to make a living in this league.

“I like to watch guys who move without the ball really well like Klay or JJ Redick or Kyle Korver. Good shooters are often good shooters because they’re aggressive at hunting and seeking shots. The best shooters in the league are constantly moving without the ball.”
-Joe Harris

— Steve Finamore (@CoachFinamore) December 13, 2018

All that film study seems to be paying off.

powered by Advanced iFrame free. Get the Pro version on CodeCanyon.

That shot has such a high degree of difficulty. Joe Harris, the right hander, is moving to his right and absolutely drains a no dribble three while getting fouled.

All Hail Joe Harris.