Nets' Cam Johnson: 'We’re Finding Ways to Win'

The veteran wing pointed to Brooklyn's new culture regarding its surprising 4-4 start.

Nov 3, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson (2) collides with Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley (5) in the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

For the first time in years, the Brooklyn Nets have an identity.

Teams in recent memory have boasted a foundation of star talent, but this season's roster is built on a foundation of toughness.

Fresh off Brooklyn's gutsy 106-104 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, veteran forward Cam Johnson attributed the Nets' early-season success to head coach Jordi Fernandez's establishment of a true culture.

“There’s a grit, you know?” he told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “Two of our wins have come on the second night of a back-to-back, which I don’t think we had great success with in the past."

"We’re not winning games because we’re playing pretty basketball or because we’re making shots and things are going our way. We’re finding ways to win and finding ways to be tough and figured that part of the game out."

Johnson then compared Brooklyn's shortcomings from the 2023-24 campaign to this year's early sucess.

"I wouldn’t say as a team we weren’t tough enough. I’ll probably say we just didn’t show it,” he said. “A lot of the emphasis through camp was strictly on that foundation and how we’re going to play night in and night out and what we’re going to hang our hat on."

Through the process of learning a new system, dealing with countless rotational changes due to injury and sluggish third quarters, the grit Johnson points to has led to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. It's a small sample size, but the Nets are undoubtedly one of the league's biggest surprises thus far.

Brooklyn gets the opportunity to continue proving the preseason skeptics wrong on Nov. 8 when it takes on the Boston Celtics at 7:30 p.m. EST.

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