Brooklyn Nets Second in Atlantic Division But Eighth in Eastern Conference

The Brooklyn Nets sit in second place in the NBA Atlantic Division, but in eighth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The Nets are just 8-10 on the season six games behind the first place Toronto Raptors.

Many fans in the Big Apple are wondering what has happened to offense for Brooklyn. The club has a great deal of firepower, but the offense has been sputtering of late.

Over its last 12 games, Brooklyn in No. 28 in offensive efficiency scoring 96.1 points for every 100 possessions, No. 24 in field goal shooting at 42.5%, No. 29 in percentage from beyond the 3-point line at 29.9%, No. 23  in assists with just 19.5 per game and No. 24 in turnovers averaging over 15 per game.

Even though the Nets have players on their roster such as Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson, along will a host of role players that are very talented, the offense has had problems finding itself.

Heading into this season, it seemed like the offense for Brooklyn would be its biggest strength. The Nets put in a flex style formation on offense that was built upon moving the ball, spacing and screens.

However, that has worked only in spurts and it looks as if the team has changed to freelancing.

Williams is healthy again and averaging only 6 assists a game, which is just 0.1 ahead of last season’s pace when he played hurt most of the year.

Lopez is returning to his offense prowess of before, but has only 12 assists the first 18 games and now is injured.

Johnson averaged over 21 points per game during the postseason last year, but has not found a way to mold into the current offense. With Williams healthy again, Johnson is not the team’s focal point offensively, which has hurt his game.

On big worry for the team is the inability of the offense to execute during the fourth quarter. The team is last in fourth quarter field goal percentage its past 12 games played and next to last in 3-point shooting percentage during the fourth quarter.

Last week the Nets were up by 14 points with only 5 minutes left in the game. The team hit 2 of its final 10 shots and was outscored 20-6. Brooklyn won, but barely.

There have been numerous situations over the first 18 games of the season where the Nets look to be in control of the game during the fourth quarter only to let it slip away.

The season is long with 64 games still to be played and Brooklyn will have plenty of opportunities to correct their game.

However, before they fall too far back in the Atlantic division or the Eastern Conference, the Nets must find a way to jumpstart their offense.