TORONTO — With just two practices under his belt as interim coach before the Nets play on Thursday in Toronto, Kevin Ollie doesn’t have time to try to reinvent the wheel.
Or the Nets.
But for a team that has dropped 23 of 31 — the last by an embarrassing 50 points — changes have to be made, not just on offense and defense but with attitude too.
“Both [ends],” Ollie said. “We got a couple things on defense that we’re changing on our pick-and-rolls, and a couple of things on offense, some things that we’re doing to add a little bit more spacing.
“But the biggest thing is playing for each other and making the right plays. Not being selfish, getting the ball to the guys that we need to get the ball to in their right spots where they can be very successful. Just playing the right way, and we need to do that more consistently. So that’s not a scheme change or anything, that’s just playing better basketball, doing simple better.”
That spacing will be key.
Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton have logged just 69 minutes together this season spread over five games, and are a horrible minus-34.
The Nets have shot 42.6 percent with the pair on the court together, posting a 97.9 Offensive Rating. Playing both non-shooters will make better spacing vital.
“Exactly right, so you have to be able to space, you have to be able to cut, you have to be able to play together. We have to get out and rebound and get stops so they can play with pace and play in transition offense,” said Ollie. “So all those things count. But when it gets bogged down in a half-court situation, we haven’t had that situation where one’s up, one’s down and how they play off each other is crucial. So that’s why it’s so good for practice time.”
The Nets signed 6-foot-6 guard/forward Jaylen Martin to a two-way contract. He is expected to head to G-League Long Island.
The 20-year-old averaged 15 points and 4.5 boards for the G-League Westchester Knicks, hitting over 40 percent from deep.
He spent last season with the YNG Dreamerz of Overtime Elite, where Ollie was coaching director of the league. He averaged 14 points and 5.9 rebounds, second in the league’s Most Improved Player voting.
A recent ESPN story about NBA coaches who can still dunk prompted a question about whether Ollie has that kind of vertical.
“No, you can’t add me to the list,” Ollie laughed. “I used to throw lobs or throw it to [Allen Iverson] when he wanted to score. So, no, I wasn’t a big dunker guy. But I’d get you assists here and there.”
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