Perhaps the most disheartening stat from the Brooklyn Nets’ disheartening 2023-24 season was this one: as a team, the Nets took only nine charges in 82 games. That’s the fewest for any NBA team since the league began charting the stat in 2016-17.
As Brian Lewis wrote Thursday, “Nothing screams grit more than putting one’s body in harm’s way taking a charge.” So despite all the claims of matching the borough’s “grit,” it just wasn’t there, but was rather, as Lewis also wrote, “an empty slogan.” This season, the Nets are in the top 10. So when Jordi Fernandez has spoken of “Brooklyn grit,” this season, his team is not just talking the talk, they’re walking the walk.