To Say the Nets are Struggling is an Understatement

Kyle Terada / USA Today Sports

After 10 games in the new season, the Nets find themselves at 4-6 currently on a four game losing streak. The Nets had been playing well until Joe Johnson came out and criticized the team; stating the Nets were playing "selfish". Johnson made those comments following a Nets home victory over the Orlando Magic. Since that game the Nets are 0-4.

Obviously Johnson's comments aren't the reason for the Nets' sudden four game losing streak but when you call your team out like that, it gets a lot of attention, especially playing in the Big Apple. Johnson himself hasn't been the same since he made those comments. Joe has been very selfish himself the last few games. Forcing bad shots and trying to go through double teams.

Of course, the Nets are playing under a new head coach in Lionel Hollins so everything wasn't expected to click right away but the play these last four games have been absolutely atrocious. Starting with the Phoenix game last Wednesday night when the Nets jumped out to a big first half lead and everything went downhill from then. Brooklyn was outscored 63-41 in the second half of that game. Just terrible. Inexcusable.

What's tough for most Nets fans has got to be the play of former All-Star center, Brook Lopez. Lopez has struggled mightily so far this season. Brook is coming off of foot surgery but this is the absolute worse I've seen Brook play in his entire career. Lopez is clearly frustrated with himself which is clearly visible on the court. Lopez is taking it personal. So far this season, Brook is averaging over 15 points per game and just under 5 rebounds per game on 46.9 shooting. Those are certainly not Brook Lopez type numbers.

Lopez used to be the guy the Nets had their offense centered around. Throw it down to Brook and let him go to work. It was a great strategy for a while because when Brook is on, he doesn't miss much but we've yet to really see that Lopez yet this season. Hollins has benched Brook quite a bit in the fourth quarter of games this season. Lopez is currently only averaging 27.3 minutes per game. To compare, Nets rookie Bojan Bogdanovic is averaging 29 minutes per game. Just shows that with Hollins as coach, you have to earn your minutes.

I don't know how much worse the Nets would be without 20 year veteran Kevin Garnett. With Lopez not being a very good rebounder at all, the 38 year old Garnett has picked up the slack, averaging 8.5 rebounds in 23.7 minutes per game. He also had a Vintage KG game against Detroit where he dropped 18 points and grabbed 14 boards.

The thing I think that the Nets lack is consistent ball movement. Going back to that game against Phoenix, Brooklyn moved the ball very well in the first half and had a nice lead at the half. They went with a lot of isolation basketball in the second half and that lost them the game. They lack consistent ball movement for a full 48 minutes of the game and that's really going to hurt them if they can't fix that up. Deron Williams is only averaging 6.5 assists per game which is a bit low. He needs to have that number up to around 8.

With the talent this team has, there is no reason this team shouldn't be getting 25 assists a night, like D-Will said the other day. When you have talented players like Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnett and Brook Lopez around, it shouldn't be hard to get assists but the Nets have to stop going into isolation basketball when they get down. That's why it's hard for them to get back in games because the lack of ball movement.

There hasn't been much to be proud of the Nets so far this season but there are a few positives. First, rookie Bojan Bogdanovic has shined as he continues to improve each and every game. The rookie now has two games with 22 points this season and he has adapted to the NBA game quicker than most people would have expected. After 10 games, Bojan is averaging 10.5 points per game on 47.6% shooting and 37.5% from three. He has grown much more confident the past few games. It's still early, but Bojan Bogdanovic could be a leader in the Rookie of the Year conversations.

Another bright spot for the Nets is none other than Deron Williams. So far, Deron is averaging 18.2 points per game and 6.5 assists per game. Of course, he would like to get those assist numbers up. He's actually shot the ball pretty well lately. He's shot 50% or higher in 6 of the last 8 games. Overall Deron is shooting 46.4% from the field while playing a whopping 36 minutes per game. Who knows if the old D-Will is back but after 10 games, he looks pretty good and most of all, his ankles look good.

So many negatives to look at concerning the Nets early this season. Not many positives but one positive is that there is still 72 games remaining in this very young season. Remember, a season ago the Nets started off terribly at 10-21 and they regrouped and finished 44-38 with the sixth seed in the East. Plenty of season left. Can't press the panic button 10 games in.

The Nets will look to end this four game skid Wednesday night against Jason Kidd's Milwaukee Bucks. That will be a fun one. Barclays Center will be ready for that one. Will be a fun to see the crowd's reaction to Kidd.