BOSTON _ Even with a strong 11-13 finishing kick over the final 24 games last season, the Nets' 20-62 record was the worst in the NBA. But their 110-97 loss to the Celtics in the season finale Wednesday night at TD Garden gave the Nets' a 28-54 mark that was better than seven other teams this season.
Their eight-game improvement was tied for second-best in the NBA behind the 76ers' 24-win quantum leap. "We're no longer 30th" might not be the most upbeat slogan, but the Nets nonetheless can take pride in making significant improvement and once again putting together a late-season surge with a 7-6 record in the last 13 games.
"The motto was gradual improvement," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said of the game plan entering the second season of their rebuild under general manager Sean Marks. "Did we blow it out of the water and have a 20-game improvement? With the Hawks, we went from 38 to 61 wins. That's where you just kill it. Our development, we're kind of still pounding the rock.
"It's gradual improvement, and I think we're on target for that. We wish it was better, especially with five or six overtime losses, it could have been a little better. That's a little frustrating, but maybe that's where we are in our stage right now. So I'm proud of it, but not celebrating an eight-win improvement."
One obvious improvement was the addition via trades of point guard D'Angelo Russell, shooting guard Allen Crabbe and small forward DeMarre Carroll. All of them had career seasons, though Russell was only a shade better because his season was interrupted by a 10-week absence related to knee surgery and then a recovery period when he came off the bench.
"We improved because our personnel improved," Atkinson said. "That's the No. 1 thing. We understand the system a little better in terms of what we're trying to do, and I'd say the individual improvement of each player gets you to another level.
If there was a theme to the Nets' season other than the injuries they absorbed, it was the steady drumbeat of praise from opposing coaches who admire the foundation Marks and Atkinson have built and from opposing players who admire the freedom the Nets have to shoot threes and understand how hard they can be to guard.
Then, there are all the players who have blossomed as a result of the Nets' development program with opportunity to play, including Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris and Quincy Acy. Rookie center Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert, the first-round pick from 2016, also made strides along with 2015 first-round pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Describing the Nets' improvement in the win column, Hollis-Jefferson said, "It says we have a lot of potential. We're willing to work. At the end of the day, it's about making strides in the right direction, just knowing you've gotten better in every aspect. We've shown a lot of people we're better than what they think we are."
Dinwiddie, who sat out the final game with a sore knee as a precautionary measure, said the Nets left several wins on the table for several reasons, including injuries. "It's on us to make sure we take those lessons heading into next season," Dinwiddie said. "Hopefully, we go to the playoffs and are at full strength most of the year. We look forward to what comes next and hopefully being a dynamic team, not only in the Eastern Conference, but in the league."
