With Tuesday’s game against Toronto the halfway point of the Nets’ schedule, it’s a logical time to take stock of coach Kenny Atkinson’s first season. And at an NBA-worst 8-32, the hole is every bit as deep as expected.
Atkinson’s system is fitting for the modern NBA, with spacing and driving and, most of all, 3-pointers. But the scheme isn’t the problem, it’s the roster. As the 3 has become the most important shot in the game, the Nets take them at a dizzying pace. They have the second-most attempts in the league, but they’re third-worst at making them.
“It’s a big part of what we do. We’ve got to make more,’’ Atkinson said. “We get a lot of open ones, that’s just a fact. … Obviously, we can get better there, be more efficient, make more of them. It’s going to be part of our attack. We believe in it and need to get better at it.”
They have a long way to go. Going into Monday, the Spurs were leading the league at 41.5 percent, followed by the Raptors — the Nets lost Friday in Toronto and host them Tuesday — Cavaliers and Warriors. The Nets? Third-worst at 33.8 percent. In third quarters, when they often collapse, they’re second-worst at 29.2 percent.
“Shots lately for us haven’t been falling,’’ Sean Kilpatrick said. “The better we continue to keep playing the way we are, the more shots are going to fall. We’re not worried about that.”
They should be. The personnel suggest it’s a season-long issue.
Bojan Bogdanovic is leading the team with a respectable 37.3 percent, but after hitting a torrid 43.3 percent from February on last season, and a red-hot Rio Olympics, more was expected. Justin Hamilton is hitting just 31.6 percent. Jeremy Lin is at 33.3 percent, but has played just a dozen games. And even Joe Harris — who had hit 38.2 percent off the bench — is struggling at 25.7 percent since moving into the lineup.
“It’s tough,’’ Harris said. “Yeah, the way teams defend me, I’m sure on the scouting report it’s, ‘Run him off the line, make him make a play going to the basket.’ … If you get in the half-court set, it’s a lot tougher. Guys aren’t letting me get anything going over the top.”
The Nets are hardly oblivious to their needs.
General manager Sean Marks inked Allen Crabbe to a four-year, $75 million offer sheet this summer, only to see Portland match. Now Crabbe is sixth in the NBA in 3-point shooting at 43.6 percent. Marks reportedly offered Jared Dudley a two-year, $18 million deal only to be outbid by the Suns; Dudley is shooting even better, fifth in the league at 44 percent.
With $18 million in cap room — and $9 million under the floor — sources say the Nets are expected to be active at next month’s trade deadline. They will also be players in the free-agent market, with Wizards restricted free agent Otto Porter — who ranks in the top 10 in 3-point shooting at 42.9 percent — likely high on their list.
The question is can they fix this Achilles heel, and when?