There is not one problem with the Brooklyn Nets this season, there are many — injuries, Kevin Garnett looking his age, an offense that devolves quickly into isolations.
However, in the NBA where star players are at a premium and everyone has guaranteed contracts, it is coaches who shoulder the blame. That has already started to happen with Jason Kidd — there are questions about what he is doing and if he is in over his head popping up around the league.
As you had to expect, Nets’ stars Garnett and Paul Pierce have come to Kidd’s defense saying blame us, not the coach, reports the New York Post.“Dismal. No one’s happy about how we’re playing. No one likes the current state. But everybody’s willing and committed towards changing it. The way you change it is through work, and that’s what we’re doing,’’ Garnett said. “The blame’s on all of us. It’s not just on Jason. You can’t put the [blame] all on him. We’re players who obviously have to be professional, come out here and do our jobs.’’
“As competitors, we’re angry. Nobody likes to lose,” Pierce said. “Everybody in this group that we’re here with are very angry. Nobody’s happy about losing.
“We’ve got to hold everybody accountable: The players, the coaches, this one big group and we’re all in it together, so it’s not only on [Kidd]. It’s on all of us.’’
They’re right, it’s not all on Kidd, but he is the one likely to take the fall if things do not turn around because you can’t fire players in the NBA.
Kidd was thrown into an almost impossible situation. He was hired straight out of his time as a player, with no coaching experience, to come in and meld six all stars and an older roster into a contender this season. It’s a role Phil Jackson would be hesitant to take, let alone a rookie coach.
That said, expect the Nets to start playing better (expect better energy Wednesday night against Charlotte, to start), it was always going to take them time to get it all put together.
However, if things don’t turn around, it is always the coach that becomes the scapegoat. Fair or not.
