Breakdown: How the Nets Broke Down the Thunder

As I mentioned in last night’s recap, the Brooklyn Nets were better in every facet of the game. They were active on defense and offense and created open shot after open shot. Well, they say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and who am I to argue with them, so here are some notable plays from last night’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

As pointed out by Chris Thomson after the Celtics game, the Nets are not good at pick and roll defense. Luckily, the Thunder don’t pick or roll very often. In fact, OKC has one of the least complicated offenses in the NBA, especially without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. This first one is a good defensive play showing how the Nets can lock non-motion offenses down as long as they put in the effort.

This next play highlights one of their defensive issues: paying attention. Everyone (but specifically Deron Williams) gets caught ball-watching in a bad way.

Now we move over to offense, where Brooklyn did a lot right against the depleted Thunder. This first play demonstrates good spacing and movement, two things Coach Hollins has been attempting to install.

This final play is another good offensive maneuver. Normally I would pick a bad offensive set as well, but there were few of those last night. This one is a particularly smart play by Deron Williams, who made many during the game in a positive sign for the point guard. The play was helped by Perry Jones totally losing focus.

Brooklyn has already made positive strides on both offense and defense in their three games. I am curious to see how their defense continues when they play more complex offenses, but their ability to be strong against weak teams speaks well to their playoff potential. With Brook Lopez in the lineup, their offense will continue to improve, but their defense will dictate their season. Hopefully all of my breakdowns will be this positive.