James Harden Says Nets Need '5 Guys Locked In' Defensively

It is no secret the Brooklyn Nets will have to play better defense if they are going to cash in on their championship expectations, and James Harden opened up about that side of the floor following Wednesday's 104-94 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

He stressed how important it is that the Nets play as a team and not individuals on the defensive end, telling reporters, "Defense isn't just a one-man thing, you gotta be five guys locked in."

It was the defensive strides Brooklyn took that allowed it to snap a three-game losing streak by holding the Pacers to fewer than 100 points. That was a drastic difference from the three straight losses where it allowed 123 points to the Toronto Raptors, 124 points to the Philadelphia 76ers and 122 points to the Detroit Pistons.

The Pacers shot just 39.1 percent from the field during Wednesday's contest thanks in large part to the Nets' ability to switch when needed, cut off penetration and contest jump shots.

Brooklyn has been missing efforts like that throughout the season and is a mere 27th in the league in defensive rating, per NBA.com.

"We haven't played defense like that all season," Joe Harris told reporters. "It was good to see."

It was probably alarming to see for the rest of the Eastern Conference considering scoring is never going to be an issue for the Nets. Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, who did not play in Wednesday's game, are all capable of taking over offensively on a moment's notice, and Harris can light it up from three.

The only chance most teams will have against that firepower come playoff time is by taking advantage of a porous Nets defense.

If the defensive communication Harden discussed becomes a regular occurrence and the Nets start stifling teams on that end of the floor, it would not be surprising at all to see them lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy at the end of the season.