The Brooklyn Nets made definite progress in their second season under head coach Kenny Atkinson, improving by eight wins and cutting their net rating per 100 possessions from minus-6.6 in 2016-17 to minus-3.7 last season.
Their 28-54 record was actually three games worse than those numbers say they should have been. According to Basketball-Reference.com’s Pythagorean Wins calculation, Brooklyn’s ratings were those of a 31-win team in 2017-18.
The problem for the Nets last season could be summed up in one word — defense.
There aren’t many ways Brooklyn wasn’t a poor defensive club in 2017-18.
They were 19th in opponent field goal percentage (36.