Kenny Atkinson says Nets are keeping "business as usual" through tough losses

ATLANTA — Coming off two straight losses to the Magic and Wizards, the two teams immediately behind the seventh-place Nets in the Eastern Conference, coach Kenny Atkinson said it was “business as usual” in the time leading up to Friday night’s game against the Hawks at State Farm Arena. Forward Joe Harris said the team had a long video session Thursday followed by more video review Friday morning, but nothing like the December 2018 players-only meeting that was a turning point for last season’s team.

“We’re constantly in that mode, constantly talking, meetings,” Atkinson said. “It’s kind of our culture. Film sessions, individual sessions. Players are constantly talking. We allow that kind of culture to flourish. So, business as usual for the Nets.”

It was Atkinson who suggested the player-only meeting last season, but when asked if he expects to do that again, he said, “We’ve done it this year. We’ve done it multiple times. Boredom is the enemy of progress. So we really mix it up.

“I talked the other day about how collaborative we are and how I’ve grown as a coach, especially with having more veterans on the team. Last year, it was the case, too, in listening to those guys. They have ownership. When you make the most progress is when players feel they have a real say in what’s going on.”

Against Washington, the Nets committed 18 turnovers that led to 19 Wizards points and fueled their transition offense. At the time, Atkinson described some of the Nets’ basic errors as “infantile” and said he planned to get to ask about it. But he softened his stance when pressed on the issue before the Hawks game.

“It’s a Catch-22,” Atkinson said. “If you make too big of a deal of it, guys will freeze up. They’re aware of it. We definitely talk about it, but we don’t want to make too big of an issue out of it for obvious reasons.”

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.