The Brooklyn Nets' postgame comments after a 103-86 loss at home to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night demonstrate the dysfunction within the organization that falls squarely on coach Jason Kidd's shoulders.
According to Newsday, Kidd told reporters after the game that his team is starting to accept what has become an almost nightly fate.
"I think it's getting very close to just accepting losing," Kidd said. "We kind of get comfortable with losing, and we've got to make a stand with that, because when things get tough, do we just give in? And most of the time right now, we do."
Told of Kidd's comments, point guard Deron Williams flatly denied Kidd's theory.
"I'm not. I'm not comfortable losing," Williams said, according to ESPN.com. "It's not fun. Not only when we're losing during the game, but when I go home sitting there and thinking about it, it's not fun."
The Nets dropped to 9-18 on the season, while the Pacers - a team Brooklyn was expected to contend with as a possible Eastern Conference challenger to the two-time defending champion Miami Heat - improved to 23-5.
During the game, Nets forward Paul Pierce was ejected for clotheslining Pacers point guard George Hill on a Hill layup attempt in the third quarter, ESPN reported, and could face further punishment from the league.
Pierce finished with zero points for the first time since March 9, 1999, which was just his 16th professional game.
According to ESPN, the home team was subjected to heavy boos from the home crowd at the Barclays Center.
"It's not the first time," Brooklyn's Joe Johnson said. "We haven't put up much of a fight. It kind of comes with the territory."
The Nets brought in veterans Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry from the Boston Celtics, hoping to form an immediate superteam with the likes of Williams, Johnson and Brook Lopez that would fight for an NBA title this season.
Lopez last week broke his foot and is out for the season. The Nets, who invested a lot of money in this season, may not exert patience with Kidd, a first-time head coach isn't having any success with a veteran team.
If Kidd can't mold this group, how can he be expected to lead a rebuilding process if the Nets have to start over?
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