NBA

Nets receive blunt reminder of how badly they played vs. Knicks

On the court, it was a light day for the Nets. Off of it, something else entirely.

“Today was very tough,” coach Kenny Atkinson said.

He spent a good portion of Tuesday’s practice illustrating what went wrong in the fourth quarter of Monday’s ugly, 15-point home loss to the Knicks, in which Atkinson believed “we let our competitive guard down.” The team watched film of it, and Atkinson didn’t hold back, pointing to the lack of effort and resolve. Nobody was spared.

“I think it’s got to smack you in the face,” he said of the film session’s intended purpose. “We got to show it to them. We have to confront it, and it’s uncomfortable — it’s uncomfortable for me, it’s uncomfortable for them.”

After the dreadful fourth quarter against the Knicks and a brutal first quarter against the Wizards in a loss Saturday night — two quarters in which the Nets were outscored by a combined 33 points — Atkinson felt it was the right time to send a message and hold his team accountable. He doesn’t like to do it too often, to avoid being tuned out. Atkinson picks his spots so criticism can have its biggest impact.

“The coach wasn’t happy, the players weren’t happy and I don’t think the fans were happy, because that’s not why they pay to see us,” Atkinson said as the Nets prepared to host the Spurs on Wednesday night. “The respect we’ve garnered around the league is because we compete. We let our guard down there.”

It seemed to get across to the players, who agreed with Atkinson they need to up their effort level. Lapses like Monday night are unacceptable, especially at a time when the Nets have lost five of their past six games to sink 12 games under .500.

“We got to take ownership upon ourselves,” DeMarre Carroll said. “We can’t blame coaches, we can’t blame the performance staff. We got to look at ourselves in the mirror, and try to compete at a higher level.”

The consistent effort can be at least partially attributed to the team’s youth, both Carroll and Atkinson believe. The Nets (16-28) rely on several young players — the roster includes 12 players 25 years old or younger — and consistency can be an issue with such players. Carroll has made a point of talking to those players about doing the little things off the court, making sure they get enough sleep, are eating well and preparing the right way.

“We got to take our mindset to another level if we’re trying to grow and be the team we know we’re capable of being,” Carroll said.

“You want to focus on the things you think you can control, which is your effort level and your defense,” Spencer Dinwiddie said. “Echoing what coach and DeMarre said, we have to play harder, be more focused, and stop people.”

Atkinson said he doesn’t feel it’s all about effort. Execution has been lacking as well. In the final quarter against the Knicks, he saw up to eight blown defensive assignments. He hasn’t liked shot selection, either.

“I got on them pretty good,” Atkinson said. “We’ll see what the reaction is.”


D’Angelo Russell won’t return to the court Wednesday night, but he could be back soon.

“I will say we’re getting closer,” Atkinson said.

Russell, out since injuring his left knee on Nov. 11 against the Jazz and undergoing arthroscopic surgery six days later, was given a planned day off on Tuesday. But he will take part in Wednesday’s shoot-around and have a “simulated play-practice” afterward, according to Atkinson. He still has to be given the green light by the team’s performance staff to get back on the floor. Russell has practiced twice with the G-League team on Long Island, but has yet to do so with the Nets.