Kevin Durant on current mood inside Nets locker room: "Whatcha think? ... Of course we're p****d"
Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets lost their fourth straight game on Saturday to slip to 1-5 for the season. Durant revealed that the Nets locker room is frustrated following their 125-116 loss to the Indiana Pacers and had to hold a players-only meeting after the game.
In his postgame interview, Durant was asked by a reporter about the mood inside the locker room. The former MVP sarcastically answered the question, before explaining that the team just wanted to win.
"Whatcha think? We lost four games in a row?" Durant said. "You want us to be excited about that? Of course we're p****d. We enjoy basketball, we like to win though.
"Of course when we lose the game, it’s going to be a somber mood in the locker room. It will change once we start playing some good basketball. We got a lot of basketball to be played ahead of us."
The Brooklyn Nets had a very disappointing performance defensively against the Indiana Pacers. They allowed the Pacers to make 23 shots from beyond the arc, which is the most the Nets have allowed in their history. The 23 3-pointers made is also a new franchise record for the Pacers.
Brooklyn also allowed 33 fourth-quarter points in their loss to the Pacers. Just six games into the season, the Nets are the worst defensive team in the NBA. Their 122.4 defensive rating ranks last among 30 teams.
Kevin Durant had 26 points, five rebounds and two assists, while Kyrie Irving scored 35 points. Ben Simmons added nine points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
Meanwhile, Bennedict Mathurin had 32 points off the bench for the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton put up 26 points, six rebounds and eight assists, while Isaiah Jackson and Buddy Hield added 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Kevin Durant wants the team to play better individually
Kevin Durant is putting up MVP-like numbers despite the Brooklyn Nets' poor start to the season. Durant is averaging 32.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.2 blocks per game. However, his performances are not translating into wins.
Durant acknowledged the coaching staff's plea to play better on defense, but it has to start with each player. The two-time champ wants the team to play better as individuals if they want to improve their record.
"We got to take pride individually," Durant said. "Coach could do so much, he can tell you what to do, but he's not playing for us. At the end of the day, coaching matters, chemistry, all that stuff matters, but at the end of the day we're individuals.
"So we got to be better as individuals, and then we'll bring that to the group and figure it out. But each guy's just got to dig down deeper and be better."
Ben Simmons describes the atmosphere in the locker room after the game, and goes on to say the the team had a players-only meeting. https://t.co/lrcy8ZwcyJ
Following their loss to the Indiana Pacers, the Brooklyn Nets had a players-only meeting. According to Ben Simmons, the meeting was about accountability and communication. A players-only meeting worked for the Boston Celtics last season after their 2-5 start.