What's wrong with the Nets? Andrei Kirilenko tells a Russian sports site that they're do not score "enough easy points," that the offense is stagnant. He doesn't blame Jason Kidd, but instead faults execution. Kirilenko was not asked when he might be returning.
"We don’t get enough easy points," said Kirilenko, who has played just four games this season due to back spasms. "The team’s fighting, the team’s trying, but something is not right in basketball terms."
The weakness, he tells Nadia Perepechko of R-Sport, is that Brooklyn plays "a lot of combinations so that a guy can shoot," he said. "We get free throws, but we’re not concentrating much on scoring from under the hoop, after fouls, on quick breaks."
"We’re not trying to get inside and get points there." he said of the paint. The interview took place Wednesday reports R-Sport, which translated his comments from the Russian.
In a longer Russian version of the interview, Kirilenko says the issue with the team is not "psychological" --that the team gets along well-- but "basketball," adding that he has never seen a team have such issues in the third quarter. "Everyone understands we're playing badly," he said. "We all want to break it."
He praises Jason Kidd, saying it's not the coach's fault that the team isn't executing. "As for Kidd - we're all clear what he wants. The only thing is we are not doing what he wants. He talks about certain things. We go out to play, and they are not fulfilled. He was a great player, as a coach, unfortunately, it isn't working yet going by our results. Of course, we are all very willing to help him, because Kidd really good dude."
Kirilenko also dismisses that Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are too old, again focusing on the team's lack of execution. "We cannot catch the right rhythm of the game. When we get everything going well, then we can not finish the game properly, complete the entire game plan."
He said as well that he spoke last week his friend and ex-teammate, Alexey Shved, who he says seems to have lost confidence and trust. He told the second year player to wait his turn conscientiously, noting if things don't work out in Minnesota, he could get an opportunity elsewhere.
- Kirilenko Critical of One-Dimensional Brooklyn Nets - Nadia Perepechko - R-Sport
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Andrei Kirilenko: "Jason Kidd - Good Dude" (Google Translate) - Nadia Perepechko - R-Sport