"Let's make some money and leave somebody else to deal with our mess" - Colin Cowherd points outs a major culture issue with Brooklyn Nets
After losing to the Celtics in the first game of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, some of the issues with the Brooklyn Nets seem to have been overlooked.
The drama with Kyrie Irving on the court fighting for his pride against the Boston Celtics fans matters a lot when you consider that Barclays Arena just isn't as loud or as proud. Colin Cowherd, on "The Herd," pointed out the cultural contrasts between the Celtics and the Nets:
"But what we have in this series is really two different basketball cultures. If it was a movie, Boston would be Hoosiers...defense, intensity, they care, there's chemistry, they've got a star player, they make sure there's ball screens, they are always trying to get taytum loose, they've got guys who have overachieved in the draft, they are good for basketball."
On the Nets, Cowherd said:
"The Nets, if they were a movie, they'd be a boiler room. Let's make some money and leave somebody else to deal with our mess. It's ego, defense is optional, I'm not even sure if they have plays."
"Kyrie Irving and KD (Kevin Durant), it's just like, 'get a bucket'. I'm not sure they're particularly well-coached. I'm not sure they want plays. So, Boston winning is good for basketball, so was Hoosiers, and Brooklyn is good for drama, and I can't take my eyes off them."
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving might score on every posession, but the Brooklyn Nets defense is the Achilles' heel every team in the playoffs is looking at
The Brooklyn Nets' defense is poor. For anyone who watched the game on Sunday, the team on the floor looked unorganized on the defensive end, and almost non-existent when it came to certain possessions in transition.
Prior to the playoffs, defense was a major talking point for Brooklyn's contention and whether or not they were fit to go all the way, and now that they're going up against a team that is fivethirtyeight's top contender to win the NBA championship, the Nets have to step it up defensively.
Wide-open lanes, uncontested threes, lack of physicality and size, and inability to keep up with the pace in transition are few of the many flaws you can find in the game on Sunday. The Celtics had 21 fast-break points and a combined 33 points off turnovers and on second chances.