In a survey of teams that got manhandled in the first round, David Aldridge suggests the Nets are not that far from returning as a contender next season and that Sean Marks shouldn’t “overreact” to the Celtics sweep. The veteran NBA reporter, now with The Athletic, also suggests the Nets make a play for Clippers 7-foot free agent Isaiah Hartenstein.
For Aldridge, the Nets big problem last season was defense ... and continuity...
The Nets were one of the worst defensive teams in the league the last three months of the regular season, and it didn’t change against the Celtics, who had an offensive rating of 121.