The Brooklyn Nets are a better defensive team in 2018-19 than they were last season, even if the stat sheet doesn’t say so.
The improvements are marginal in many cases, but still present, just masked by the NBA’s much-increased pace of play this season.
Last season, the Nets surrendered an average of 110.3 points per game while finishing 28-54. This season after 28 games, Brooklyn has allowed 110.6 points per game en route to a record of 10-18.
That’s not marginally better, one could conclude. It’s actually marginally worse.
Well, yes, in a purely literal sense.