It’s not just one thing.
“It’s everything,” said Nets coach Lionel Hollins, offering his theory on why his team has flexed some offensive muscle since the All-Star break.
“It’s the way we’re playing. We’re also getting points in the paint. The court’s open, we’re getting penetration, we’re getting post-ups,” Hollins said. “It’s kind of style as well, and the pace is a little bit quicker, but our turnovers are down and our rebounds are up, our point spread is up. I think our point spread is about seven-something since the All-Star break.”
In their 4-2 start since the break, the Nets have averaged 105.0 points, while surrendering 99.2 for a differential of 5.8. Not too shabby.
“Our rebounding is better, our turnovers are down, our points in the paint are better, our points per game is better, our shooting percentage is better, the opponent shooting percentage is worse, their 3-point shooting percentage is worse, because we’re able to keep the ball out of the paint more,” Hollins said.
There you go. Everything is working.
Kevin Garnett is gone. And one of his main roles was being a locker-room teacher and preacher. The void is being filled by, basically, everybody.
“We’re all doing it,” Deron Williams said. “Nobody is going to be as vocal as KG was. But, you don’t always need a vocal leader like that. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Just saying, if you got enough guys leading by example and speaking up, when you need it, it fills a void.”
Hollins agreed.
“The whole team has stepped up,” the coach said. “I think they’re doing it as a unit, which is the way you would like to see it. I see a lot of guys step up.”
March is becoming a special time for the Nets in Brooklyn. They were 9-0 at home last year. And now they have started a 2015 run, even beating the Warriors.
In six games since joining the Nets, Thaddeus Young has averaged 13.5 points and 4.7 rebounds.