LAS VEGAS — Teams can space the floor with prolific shooting or fine-tuned precision. Now that the Nets have lost the former, they damn well need the latter.
And it was sorely lacking in Monday’s preseason-opening loss to the Lakers.
“Oh, we definitely need to improve, and I think that was one of the messages for that first group,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “And I think it’s [huge]. We have an advantage when the ball goes off the rim of having multiple guys who can rebound the basketball.
“With that advantage, you might not get the outlet every single time, so you’ve got to learn how to run — and run unselfishly without the basketball. And so that first group has that to learn, for sure. I think we can use that as an advantage for us, but the spacing starts as you flow into a half-court. And then you’ve got to be committed to giving your teammates space when you don’t have the ball.”
Looking at the stats, the Nets shot 15 of 39 from 3-point range against the Lakers, in what appears to be a solid perimeter effort. But stats lie.
The eye test showed the starting unit’s spacing was subpar, and the Nets knew it.
“I thought we played with a great pace. Obviously we got to figure out the space and stuff,” Cam Thomas said. “Just the first game against different people other than us, against a different defense than what we’re used to, so the spacing is going to be a little different. So we’ve got to get used to the spacing. It’s all just easy things, just playing.”
Perhaps. But maybe not.
As with all things preseason, results should be taken with a grain of salt.
But the Nets lost not just superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at last season’s trade deadline, but the vast amount of floor spacing that surrounded them.
Six different players shot at least 40 percent from 3-point range for the Nets last season, and five are gone.
The sixth, bruising center Day’Ron Sharpe, had a tiny sample size with just 11 attempts.
Yuta Watanabe (44.4 percent), Joe Harris (42.6), Seth Curry (40.5) and Patty Mills are all departed.
Without that shooting, the Nets’ cuts and runs off the ball are going to have to be pinpoint. Against the Lakers, they weren’t close.
Mikal Bridges averaged 26.1 points for the Nets after arriving in the Durant deal, but he’s a slasher that thrives on spacing.
With that spacing off-kilter in the opener, he mustered just eight points in 15:19, shooting 2-for-7 and finishing a team-worst minus-11.
Cam Johnson, who arrived with Bridges, is the only current Net that shot over 40 percent last season on enough attempts to qualify for league leaderboards.
He hit 40.4 percent overall between Brooklyn and Phoenix, and 42.5 the year before for the Suns. But he’s currently sidelined with a hamstring strain the team is classifying as mild.
That handed Thomas a rare start, and he responded with 26 points on 4-for-7 shooting from behind the arc.
But with Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton non-shooters, neither attempted a 3-pointer and Bridges missed his only try.
Dorian Finney-Smith and Lonnie Walker IV combined to hit just 2 of 9 from deep off the bench, including an ugly airball.
After finishing in the top 5 in 3-point shooting last season at 37.8 percent, the Nets could be hard-pressed to be middle-of-the-pack, unless Simmons can push the ball enough to create wide-open looks and elevate middling shooters.
“We’ve just got to figure it out,” Simmons said. “I think we’re just learning, learning where we’re going to be. I mean, it’s the first game; there will be jitters for everybody. So we’re figuring it out.
“And there’s a lot of positives you can take from [Monday]. For me, I think I allow my teammates to realize they’re gonna get a lot of shots if I’m attacking anybody getting to the rim and getting the defense to drop in. So we’re just learning. We’re gonna figure it out. It’s going to take some time.”