Don’t look now, but the Nets are on a roll

Sitting at 10-21 on New Years Eve, the Brooklyn Nets were the NBA’s biggest disappointment, and there were fans and media members calling for change. Brook Lopez was out for the season, Deron Williams was banged up, and Kevin Garnett looked lost. Jason Kidd had demoted Lawrence Frank, it looked like he couldn’t coach, and overall this team was a complete mess.

Now that 2013 is over, it seems as if the Nets’ resolution was to not be terrible, and it has worked. The Nets are now 8-1 in 2014, and have impressive wins over the Heat, Warriors and Thunder. They haven’t been on some scoring binge, but believe it or not, the Nets are winning with defense. They are averaging just 99 points over the nine games, but their defense has been overwhelming. Brooklyn has only allowed 92.2 points per game, and that is scary.

Jason Kidd has this team moving well on the defensive end, their effort is much better, and their approach to defending pick and rolls has worked well. I was a skeptic when it came to Jason Kidd’s coaching ability, but he has improved as well.

Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce have led them during this stretch, and now that Deron Williams is back, he is coming off of the bench — showing that he is all about the team. Don’t look now, but the Brooklyn Nets are on a roll. They currently sit at 18-22, and are just three games out of the three seed.