With just five games remaining, the Nets enter the final stretch of the regular season on a four-game losing streak after being unable to get stops late in losses to the Bucks and Mavericks.
The recent skid heightens a question that has followed the Nets all season long: Are they capable of playing competent enough defense to supplement a historically high-powered offense and win the team’s first championship?
The Athletic’s Alex Schiffer and Seth Partnow caught up to pick apart Brooklyn’s biggest issue.
Schiffer: Hey, Seth. As always, thanks for doing this. The Nets rank 23rd in defensive rating at 113.2 and haven’t really improved much, statistically speaking, over the course of the season. Before the All-Star break, the Nets were 26th in the same category, a number that has improved (modestly) to 20th since the break.
