The Brooklyn Nets continue to fall down the leaderboard with their ongoing losing streak now amounting to four games. Many analysts believe that part of the reason for this seeming meltdown from the squad is the injured lineup with main point guard Jeremy Lin still unable to return.
It has been almost two weeks since the Nets nabbed their last win which was against the Phoenix Suns with a final score of 122–104. From then, the Kenny Atkinson coached team has bombed four consecutive games against the Los Angeles Clippers, LA Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Portland Trail Blazers — all without Lin. Sports analyst Steve Lichtenstein from CBS cites that the Nets have a difficult time maneuvering without their go-to playmaker.
Lin was supposed to be re-evaluated two weeks after incurring a strained hamstring injury during the Nets' Nov. 2 game against the Detroit Pistons. The Harvard alum was playing well when he suddenly took a longer step in transition and landed on his left foot causing the injury that has him sidelined until now. Unfortunately, it seems like the check-up did not go well as the player is still out of commission and worse, without a possible timetable in terms of his return.
"We're plugging holes right now defensively, leaking in different places," Atkinson said after their latest defeat against the Trail Blazers, admitting that they operating a less than ideal rotation. "I keep talking about slippage — we've slipped, and it's part of the NBA. We've got to regroup and look at it and try to find areas we can help our guys."
Still, the Nets' head coach is optimistic that things will turn around for his team in the near future with the current season still having a long way to go.
"We were just talking in the coaches' meeting, I thought Isaiah [Whitehead] really competed and he's really getting into guys," Atkinson added. "This is the NBA — sometimes you play good defense and the ball goes in."
Next on the Brooklyn Nets' schedule is the Boston Celtics which will be going down at Barclays Center in New York City tonight, 7:30 p.m. ET.
