For a month, defense became Brooklyn’s identity. Not the loud, chest-thumping kind, but the quiet sort that turned the Nets from a punchline into a problem.
December ended with Brooklyn leading the NBA in opponent scoring, allowing just 104.6 points per game, nearly six points better than the next-lowest team in the Eastern Conference. It was a sharp reversal for a group that entered the month allowing 113.9 points per game and searching for traction.
The question now is whether that version of the Nets can carry into January.
So far, the early returns have been mixed, though it’s still a small sample. Brooklyn (11-22) is 1-2 to start the new year, with losses to the Houston Rockets and the Washington Wizards and a win over the Denver Nuggets. The Nets own a 123.3 defensive rating through three January games, which ranks 26th in the NBA, after surrendering 120 points to Houston, 119 to Washington and 115 to Denver.
Brooklyn was missing multiple rotation players in both January losses, and Nikola Jokić didn’t play in the win over Denver. Still, the contrast with December is hard to ignore.
Last month, the Nets didn’t just defend. They finished possessions. They controlled space. They forced mistakes. Brooklyn ranked third in the NBA and second in the Eastern Conference by holding opponents to 44.8% shooting, and third in the NBA and second in the East by limiting teams to 32.8% from 3-point range. They ranked sixth in the NBA by forcing 15.4 turnovers per game, and fifth in the league with a 72.1% defensive rebound rate. Opponents averaged just 12.5 second-chance points per game, the fewest in the East, and the Nets held teams to 107 points or fewer eight times, the most in the NBA.
Those results weren’t tied to one lineup or one player. They were tied to collective habits.
“Just stick to the same principles we had, starting with our ball pressure, being in shifts, closing out to guys, closing out to shooters, multiple efforts,” Ziaire Williams said.
Those principles showed up again Sunday against Denver, even with the Nuggets missing their MVP.
“I think I liked the aggressiveness, and it was from the first possession,” head coach Jordi Fernández said. “Day’Ron [Sharpe] on the blitz and putting pressure. Obviously, we knew that Jamal [Murray] is a super player… I think our guys did a good job wearing him out and making him work.”
That aggressiveness defined December. Under Fernández, Brooklyn posted a +7.3-point margin of victory, after entering the month at -10.9. The Nets held opponents under control consistently, including a five-game stretch from Dec. 14–27 in which no opponent scored more than 107 points. Four Nets finished December ranked among the NBA’s top 10 in individual defensive rating, including rookies Drake Powell (91.9) and Danny Wolf (97.1), alongside Sharpe (97.1).
December also showed how offense fed defense. Under Fernández, the Nets ranked third in the NBA with a 71.2% assist percentage, their best mark of the season. That ball movement helped reduce live-ball turnovers, allowing Brooklyn to get set defensively and limit transition chances for opponents.
“I think defensive rebounding is one, transition is the other one, ball pressure is another one,” Fernández said. “Our offense can help our defense and finishing possessions.”
That connection will be tested as Cam Thomas continues his reintegration. Most of Brooklyn’s December defensive success came with Thomas off the floor, as he played just the final two games of the month. In his first eight games of the season, the Nets posted a 125.1 defensive rating, which ranked 30th in the NBA. That isn’t an indictment, but it does set the standard. Fernández has continued to expect more from Thomas defensively, and January will offer a proving ground.
The blueprint exists. December showed it wasn’t accidental.
The Nets defended with structure, buy-in and discipline, even while playing rookies 74.5 minutes per game, the second-most in the NBA during the month. January will decide whether that month was a turning point, or simply a glimpse.
“Just do it again,” Noah Clowney said. “We just played three, four teams in a row. A lot of them scored a lot of points, so, just lock in and do it again.”
