Assessing How The Brooklyn Nets Fare In Clutch Games

The Brooklyn Nets are successful nan mediate of different rebuilding play astatine 11-26, aiming for a apical draught prime successful 2026. As we adjacent nan halfway constituent of nan season, we person a beautiful bully thought of who Brooklyn is and really nan squad could decorativeness this season.

The Nets are toward nan bottommost of nan Eastern Conference, but they had a competitory period of hoops successful December. They went 7-4, posting nan league's apical protect standing earlier coming backmost to Earth astatine nan move of nan year. Since Jan. 1, they're 1-6.

But looking astatine nan bigger picture, December was really nan only play successful which games were either competitory aliases successful Brooklyn's favor. The Nets person conscionable 15 clutch matches this play (games that are wrong 5 points successful nan last 5 minutes), which ranks conscionable 27th successful nan NBA. How person they performed successful those 15?

The stats aren't promising. Both nan discourtesy and defense sputter successful tight games, pinch Brooklyn ranking 28th and 29th successful specified ratings. Scoring nan shot is highly difficult, arsenic nan Nets are averaging 3.9 points per clutch game, which is by acold nan worst successful nan convention (the Boston Celtics are 29th astatine 7.1 points per clutch game).

Even though there's much of an inducement to driblet these games, they would request to play faster successful bid to win. Brooklyn's low-scoring and inefficient discourtesy successful nan clutch aligns pinch its 89.18 pace, which is besides dormant past successful nan league.

One affirmative is that nan mistakes 1 would expect from a young, bottom-of-the-barrel squad person not been excessively evident. The Nets rank 2nd, only down nan Oklahoma City Thunder, successful turnovers per clutch crippled (0.5), showing really good they return attraction of nan ball.

They besides aren't solely relying connected creating disconnected nan shot to people successful these situations. Brooklyn is 14th successful clutch assistance percentage, which intends nan squad isn't conscionable turning to players specified arsenic Michael Porter Jr. to sprout them retired of games. Although possibly letting him activity disconnected nan dribble is nan correct move.

Still, while nan Nets haven't been anyplace adjacent awesome successful tight games, they've had immoderate nosy moments. For instance, Egor Demin had his breakout infinitesimal against nan Orlando Magic, dropping 10 of his 18 points successful overtime and hitting nan game-tying changeable successful regulation. Brooklyn would person walked distant pinch nan triumph if Paolo Banchero hadn't banked successful a game-winner astatine nan horn.

Of those 15 clutch games, nan Nets are a league-worst 3-12. This is astir apt much of a bully thing, particularly erstwhile considering nan extremity for nan season. More of these experiences for youngsters specified arsenic Demin, Noah Clowney, Danny Wolf and others will only thief their development.