Much has been said about the Nets’ talent shortage, and they can’t just turn journeymen into stars or D-Leaguers into dominant players. If they plan to exceed expectations — as low as those expectations are — they will have to do it defensively, and that’s where they started on new coach Kenny Atkinson’s first day of camp.
“I definitely come from a program that really made an emphasis on team defense,” Atkinson said. “The challenge is for me to find out what fits our players, what fits Brook Lopez as opposed to Al Horford. It’s not easy to overachieve in the NBA, but if there is a way to do it, we can do it with great team defense.