Steve Nash Demands 'Bigger Commitment' Out Of Dysfunctional Nets

Steve Nash remains confident that his messaging is getting through to his players and demands 'bigger commitment.'

© Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets have hit a new low. A low packed with dysfunction, frustration, and everything in between. Now tied for the worst record in the Eastern Conference (1-5) and the first players-only meeting completed, Nets head coach, Steve Nash is demanding a bigger commitment out of his guys. 

The feeling after the final buzzer was an awkward one. The Nets were booed off the hardwood following their fourth-straight loss and Steve Nash took much longer than he usually does after contests to address the media. Nash stated that the message to the team after the embarrassing performance was to call for a bigger commitment. 

“That’s it. We’ve just got to make a bigger commitment," Nash said postgame. "It’s got to mean more. We’ve got to care more.”

The lingering question remains whether Nash's messaging is getting through to his players through the early season adversity. In the head coach's opinion, he strongly believes there's no disconnect in his messaging. 

“They’re hearing it," said Nash on whether the players are absorbing his messaging. "They’re arguing with each other about missing coverages and the lack of communication out there. Just too many errors. Too many errors on top of lack of effort at times. Sometimes it’s not even about schemes, it’s about fighting whether it’s, any defense, if you let a guy run in and grab an offensive rebound unopposed it’s hard to get stops. They’re just gonna get two or three chances at the basket.”

Kevin Durant had his head coach's back when he was asked whether he believed Nash's messaging is getting through to the players. The Nets star doesn't want all the blame to go on Nash. He stated each player individually needs to step up more than everything. 

"That's on the individuals. We have to take pride individually. Coach [Steve Nash] could do so much, tell you what to do, and he's got a plan for us. At the end of the day coaching matters, chemistry matters, and all that stuff matters but we're individuals," Durant said postgame. "We got to be better as individuals and then we'll bring it to the group and figure it out. Each guy just got to dig down deeper and be better. That's what it is." 

It's very common when teams hit the lows that players hold player-only meetings or meet with their coaching staff to discuss the state of the team in hopes of turning the ship around. The loss concluded with a player-only meeting filled with honesty in the locker room, according to Ben Simmons postgame. 

“Yeah, because we all have one goal and that’s to win,” said Simmons on what was discussed in the meeting resonates with each player. “We're all competitors. I believe everybody on this team is competitors and wants to win and be here. So you know, we have to have those conversations and you know, be honest and open about it.”

Durant, who declined to speak about what was talked about in the locker room after the defeat to Indiana, stated there is, and always has been constant communication. 

"We're in constant communication all the time," Durant said. "If it's a scheduled meeting or not, I think we've all talked about what we need to do as a team every day. So regardless of this, after a loss was looked at as a meeting, but we always have we always constant dialogue about what we need to do as a group. So I wouldn't say it was anything special." 

There's no easy solution for the Nets to turn tornadoes into sunshine and rainbows. Boasting a 1-5 record and with their head coach's seat presumingly getting hotter and hotter, where do the Nets go from here? It starts with questioning everything from top to bottom. 

“Have to look deep; deep inside ourselves and what we want to do, what we want to accomplish," Nash said postgame. "Do we want to give up on this because it’s been difficult early or do we want to stay the course and start to build something? We’ve had a lotta, lotta really good days here early in the season and we’ve lost a couple games. It’s shook our mentality, shook our mentality hard and we’re not seeing the same competitive spirit, same purpose and if we don’t clean that up it’s not going to get better. The only way to get out of difficult positions is to have character and competitive spirit.”

It'll be interesting to see what develops out of the borough in the coming games, beginning with a chance of revenge against the Pacers on their home floor, once again, Monday night. The confidence level surrounding the team might come off as low through the early adversity but leave it to Simmons to breathe the confidence the Nets are desperately searching for. 

“F--k yeah. I believe it," said Simmons on the Nets turning it around. "I believe we can be the best team in the NBA. I believe that.”