Struggling Nets know they must improve their rebounding to win

At first glance, it appears the struggling 2-3 Nets had a good chance to even their record against the 1-4 Pacers on Friday night at Barclays Center. But looks can be deceiving, and the Pacers figured to be a tough out for a Nets team averaging 102.0 points compared with the Pacers’ 113.4 average.

The Pacers traditionally have been an Eastern Conference contender, and that should be no different under new coach Rick Carlisle despite the slow start. They lost their first two games by one point and easily could have come in with a winning record.

Former Net Caris LeVert, who had successful offseason cancer surgery and then was diagnosed with a lower-back stress fracture, returned to practice earlier this week with no restrictions but hasn’t yet played.

The Nets got a break when the Pacers listed leading scorer Malcolm Brogdon (hamstring) as out for the game, but forward Domantas Sabonis (21.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists) always gives the Nets fits.

The Nets are coming off a loss to the Heat in which they got outrebounded by 20 and gave up 17 offensive rebounds leading to a 31-4 deficit in second-chance points. So they know where they must improve against the Pacers.

Following the loss to the Heat, Nets coach Steve Nash was asked if his team had a poor mindset or lacked the personnel to cope on the boards, and he fired a warning shot.

"Obviously, the personnel," Nash said. "If we had a whole bunch of rebounders, it wouldn’t be an issue, but since we don’t have that personnel [who are] just naturally going to clean up the glass, we’ve all got to come in and gang rebound.

"You can’t have two or three guys backpedaling down to the other end of the floor, watching the ball get banged around in there. We’ve got to come back and help and hit. We definitely got outrebounded in a big way, and that was the difference in the game."

It could be the difference in a lot of Nets games, judging by the early returns. That is disturbing because general manager Sean Marks signed more frontcourt talent than ever during the offseason, including former All-Stars Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, who spent the second half of last season with the Nets, and free agent Paul Millsap, another former All-Star, and noted tough guy free agent James Johnson.

But those four veteran big men are averaging a combined 14.0 rebounds, although Johnson barely has played. Nets forward Kevin Durant, who leads the team with 10.0 rebounds per game, insisted the defensive effort against the Heat, which shot only 39.6%, was sufficient but admitted the second-chance points were a problem.

"Every game, you’ve got to be conscious of offensive rebounds and boxing out and finishing a possession," Durant said. "That’s how teams feel they can beat us. We’ve got a lot of offense and we move the ball pretty well and we’ve got a solid defense. But if you can get second-chance points, that’s the key for every team if you can create more possessions than your opponents. We’ve got to always be conscious of boxing out and gang rebounding and then getting out and going."

James Harden admitted the Nets might have their priorities reversed in the sense that they might be leaking out to get the transition game going before they secure the rebound.

"That’s just something we’ve got to preach and talk about every day," Harden said. "We can’t go anywhere without getting this rebound as a team. We’ve got to continue to preach it every single day until we become a really good defensive rebounding team. Not great, but just good enough to where we can get a rebound and push the ball. That’s the game right there."

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.