Lichtenstein: Turnovers Are At The Center Of Nets' Offensive Woes

By Steve Lichtenstein
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The halftime box score from Sunday afternoon's 103-95 home loss to Toronto showed that the Nets had committed 16 turnovers. On the same page, it also indicated that Brooklyn put the ball through the basket just 14 times in those 24 minutes.

That is not a good ratio if you're a high school team, let alone an NBA franchise playing a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference, albeit one that was missing injured All-Star wing DeMar DeRozan.

The Nets barely qualify as professionals these days. They have lost nine straight contests and 20 of their last 21 since starting point guard Jeremy Lin was felled by his second hamstring strain of the season during a 120-118 win over Charlotte on Dec. 26, the last time fans at Barclays Center went home happy.

Though Brooklyn cleaned up its act a bit during Sunday's second half, the game ended in a fitting matter, with Bojan Bogdanovic tossing a crosscourt pass into the stands for turnover 22.

"I think the number one reason (for the turnovers) is (the Raptors) are really good at (forcing them)," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said in his postgame remarks. "They strip you, they're physical, (and) they've got really good hands."

Atkinson is well aware that the Nets' high-turnover tendency is not limited to when they play better opponents. Between their carelessness with the basketball and their head-scratching decisions, it's no wonder that the Nets are ranked 29th in the league in turnovers per game (17), 0.1 fewer than Philadelphia. The results are no different when factoring in pace. The Nets turn the ball over 16.3 times per 100 possessions, worse than everyone but the 76ers.

"We're still not making the simple play, the simple pass," Atkinson said. "We were driving into a crowd a lot. The ball wasn't moving side-to-side and then a drive when there's an open hole. A lot of these turnovers are decisions, and our decision-making wasn't up to par in the first half."

Using the Lin injury as an excuse only goes so far. The Nets' marquee offseason free agent signing recorded a relatively high (for a starting point guard) 12.8 percent turnover percentage in his 12 appearances and the Nets as a team coughed it up 18 times per game during those games.

That's not to diminish Nets general manager Sean Marks' culpability for his failure to provide adequate backup support at the position. Veteran Greivis Vasquez was also signed in free agency, but he never got over a serious foot injury and was waived eight games into the season.

Vasquez's roster spot was given to rookie Yogi Ferrell, a diminutive project from the Nets' Long Island D-League affiliate. Ferrell's speed and playmaking ability were apparent, but he was also a turnover machine (16.1 percent turnover percentage) and his size was exposed on the defensive end. Ferrell was waived after 10 games in a Brooklyn uniform and eventually went back to Long Island for further development.

Of course, Ferrell signed a 10-day contract with injury-depleted Dallas a week ago and is now starring in their turnaround, hitting 9 of 11 3-point attempts in a Mavs' victory in Portland on Friday. The Mavs immediately took him off the Nets' radar by extending a two-year contract offer.

Back in Brooklyn, Atkinson has since gone with a committee approach, with rookie Isaiah Whitehead and future journeyman Spencer Dinwiddie garnering most of the minutes.

It has not gone well, and I don't see it getting much better as the season drags to its conclusion.

The Nets' offense, in theory, is a free-flowing ballet featuring ball and player movement. Drive the ball into the paint to move the defense and then make a pass to the open man. Then make the extra pass. And maybe another extra pass, etc., until the best shot is set up.

It works if the players on the floor can all handle the ball and pass.

Unfortunately, the Nets' overall ballhandling is abysmal. They're constantly getting stripped and often just lose their handles without much provocation.

As for passing, rookie Caris LeVert, who sat out Sunday's game as a precaution due to knee soreness, has been the only Net to showcase the requisite skillset in the drive-and-kick game. Of course, he is still learning the NBA and his experiences to date in crunch-time minutes have not been positive. However, he has excellent vision and, equally as important, can execute clean passes to open perimeter shooters.

While there is hope for LeVert, the rest of the team is hopeless. It's a bunch of mediocre players taking turns making wild forays to the hoop with a hero-ball mentality. Their eyes are focused on the rim, so when the defense converges in the paint, their options are limited. Bad shots and turnovers pile up.

Sean Kilpatrick and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson have been among the worst offenders, but just about everyone from center Brook Lopez to veteran guard Randy Foye has been found guilty at various points.

"Sometimes we find ourselves a little too aggressive," said power forward Trevor Booker, who came off the bench Sunday to post his 13th double-double of the season. "We might get up in the air to try to make a play and turn the ball over and it leads to easy buckets for the other team."

And that's why those other teams have outscored the Nets in all but nine of their 51 games this season.

For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Jets and the NHL, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1