Nets: What Avery Johnson Needs to do to Help Nets Offense

Avery Johnson needs to do something to help this Nets offense before it gets worse. The Nets shot 40.6% against the Celtics and their anointed leader is fizzling under pressure. Funny that Jason Kidd just the other day insinuated Deron Williams needs to stop worrying about the offense and shoot better. The Nets guard is disengaged only attempting 7 shots in the loss. A lousy performance to say the least from Williams, who only garnered 6 assists and turner the ball over four times. The Nets as a unit committed 20 turnovers. Is it the offense the Nets point guard is unwilling to conform to or is it the head coach. Avery Johnson has a lot of respect in this league as a coach and player; infamous for coaching the Maverick team that loss four straight in the NBA Finals. Regardless Avery Johnson knows the game, Williams isn’t playing it. The Nets offense needs to swing the focus to Brook Lopez, that is Avery Johnson’s best option. Joe Johnson is really good but not young enough to be thee guy on a playoff team. I love Gerald Wallace but his game is energy and effort, not finesse. Wallace doesn’t qualify as clutch but you can respect that he’ll take the big shot. Lopez needs to become a better passer out of the post, but more touches in the paint will lead to open shooters. Johnson and Wallace are both capable of knocking down the open shots, the Nets coach hoped Williams would orchestrate. At this point in the season the Nets can still stop this slide, they’ve lost 7 of their last 10 contests. The Nets were outplayed for three straight quarters in their loss to the Celtics. A ridiculous, 12 free throws attempts were missed—the team shot a meager 58.6% from the line. Paul Pierce ran an offense pretty well tallying 10 assists, more than Rajon Rondo. But Pierce and Kevin Garnett coasted the entire game, as the Nets didn’t have much fight in them after the 1st quarter. Joe Johnson finished with 12 points for the Nets shooting 4-14 from the field. Johnson only attempted 3 free throws in his 41-minutes of game action. Avery Johnson needs to question the effort of his Nets club, not the offense. Wallace or “crash” played a solid game. The Nets forward went 7-11 from the line, he and Lopez finished with 15 points, respectively. At the beginning of the season the Nets were trying and the offense worked, they lost games but they won games. There were no injuries to key players, trades, or coaching changes so why the change in play? A 17-point loss on a nationally televised game should be a wake up call. Accountability, Brook Lopez, and effort are what Avery Johnson needs to preach, amen. Follow Me On Twitter