The struggling Nets — who fell into last place in the Eastern Conference after Saturday’s loss to Indiana — held a players-only meeting following that humbling defeat.
They only have to wait until Monday against these same Pacers to see if it helped.
“It was honest. We had a conversation that obviously I’m not going to talk about, but it was honest,” Ben Simmons said. “That’s what winning teams do, hold each other accountable. Be open and talk to your teammates and respect that.
“We’ve got to hold each other accountable. We had a talk in the locker room and that’s what it comes down to: Guarding your man and coming here being the best version of yourself.”
The Nets have been the worst version of themselves at 1-5 — tied with Detroit and Orlando for the cellar coming into Sunday.
The Nets have dropped four straight. They have the NBA’s second-worst defense and have been second-best on the floor most nights in terms of effort.
Kevin Durant declined to offer any details of the messaging in the meeting.
Kevin Durant and the Nets have started the season with a 1-5 record. Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images“I don’t want to get into any discussions that happen in the locker room. We keep that between us,” said Durant, adding, “We’re pissed. We enjoy basketball. We like to win, though, so of course when we lose the games it’s going to be a somber mood in the locker room. But it’ll change once we start playing some good basketball.”
They have a chance Monday, although Seth Curry — who’d just made his season debut Saturday with a scoreless 18 minutes and team-worst minus-13 — is listed as questionable with his ongoing left ankle injury. Meanwhile, the Pacers expect to get back center Myles Turner.
“We’ve just got to make a bigger commitment. It’s got to mean more. We’ve got to care more,” said Steve Nash, who claimed his message isn’t being tuned out. “They’re hearing it. They’re arguing with each other about missing coverages and the lack of communication out there. Just too many errors on top of lack of effort. Sometimes it’s not even about schemes: It’s about fighting. Any defense, if you let a guy run in and grab an offensive rebound unopposed it’s hard to get stops.”
Simmons felt the message was still getting through.
“Yeah, because we have one goal, [it] is to win,” Simmons said. “Everybody on this team is competitors and wants to win and be here. We have to have those conversations and be honest and open about it.”
