What's Wrong with the Brooklyn Nets?

Saddled by injuries dating back to training camp, the Brooklyn Nets have yet to develop their identity as a cohesive group capable of outlasting the NBA's best. 

With Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Andrei Kirilenko missing multiple games, in addition to Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce being banged up, the Nets could see a few more losses amassing on the horizon. 

Slow Start

Rookie head coach Jason Kidd has received some criticism for Brooklyn's performance. As seen in the adjacent video, David Thorpe gives Kidd an F and calls him the worst coach in the NBA. 

After Monday night's 108-98 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Kidd had the following to say, via ESPN:

"

I take the blame for this. We got stagnant on the offensive end, so that falls on my shoulders. We came out flat in the third quarter.

"

Brooklyn's offense looked promising earlier in the season, but that excitement has waned. With fewer plays being run than expected, the Nets have struggled offensively.

Via NBA.com, Paul Pierce and Joe Johnson are scoring only 2.2 and 2.5 PPG off of drives to the basket and 3.4 PPG—each—off of catch-and-shoot opportunities. Pierce and Johnson are shooting 41.6 and 40 percent from the field and are averaging 0.40 and 0.35 points per half-court touch, via NBA.com. 

Lopez, on the other hand, is averaging 0.92 points per half-court touch and arguably deserves to play a more prominent role in Brooklyn's offense, as he's already averaging 20.5 PPG.

For the Nets offense to find some rhythm, Kidd will need to raise Lopez's 22.4 frontcourt touches closer to 30 per game, with Lopez seeing more than 5.5 close touches per game. Marc Gasol and Nikola Pekovic currently average the most close touches per game with 9.5 and 7.1, respectively. 

Brooklyn's defense has also been disappointing thus far, as noted by WFAN's Evan Roberts:

The Nets rank 25th in defensive rating, allowing 105.1 points per 100 possessions by their opponents, via NBA.com. 

Cause for Concern

The injuries may only continue to pile up going forward. The Nets are an older team, and guys like Kirilenko and Williams have been afflicted since training camp. Kidd's job will get tougher if the injury bug accelerates, and Lopez and Williams miss significant time. 

Although Shaun Livingston has stepped in nicely for Williams, he's had an injury-riddled career. Kidd may find himself asking Johnson and Jason Terry to become bigger playmakers than they are capable of at these stages in their careers.

Johnson and Terry's assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.40 and 2.29, respectively, via NBA.com, and their offensive ratings are 98.1 and 101.7, which is the amount of points per 100 possessions the Nets score while Johnson and Terry are on the court. 

Brooklyn is also ranked 20th in opponent's field goal percentage, allowing its opponents to knock down 45.8 percent of their field goals, via NBA.com. The Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers are ranked first and second, holding opponents to a 39.8 field goal percentage.

The Nets are forcing only 15.4 turnovers per game, ranking them 20th in the league, and are allowing the eighth most rebounds per game, letting their opponents grab 44.6 boards a game. These two categories are likely to plague Brooklyn as the season progresses, unless the Nets become a peskier team on the perimeter, and Lopez and Garnett average more than 6.5 and 7.8 RPG. 

The Remedy

Kidd needs to do a better job preparing his team and adjusting throughout games. Brooklyn hasn't looked as crisp as one would expect when factoring in all of the experience that can be found down the roster. Kidd needs his players to be more focused and to play with a sense of urgency. 

As Jason Terry told Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com after the Nets' 107-86 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 13: 

"

Everyone that steps on the floor on Friday should feel desperation and come out and play with a sense of urgency. If you don’t you’ll be looking at another loss. It’s what it is. These teams that we’re playing are desperate, they’re playing with a much more sense like this is their championship. We’re not meeting that intensity level.

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Brooklyn needs to raise its intensity, especially on defense. 

Forcing a few more turnovers per game will give the Nets more chances to score easily in transition, and that could be what this team needs to get out of its scoring funk, while Kidd refines the team's offensive game plan. 

An NBA scout has also spoken unfavorably about Kidd's coaching thus far:

If Kidd could remove that monkey off his back and show pundits that he can manage his team throughout the course of a game and adjust when necessary, the Nets should start winning ball games.

But in order for Brooklyn to be the force that many had expected throughout the offseason, Lopez needs to be involved in the offense more often. The Nets need to raise his frontcourt touches and feed him as many close touches as Pekovic has received thus far for the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Johnson and Pierce must also get more catch-and-shoot opportunities in rhythm, and the two should attack the basket and finish at the rim more frequently while their stroke from the perimeter improves. 

Stats are accurate as of Tuesday, November 19, 2013.