EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Joe Johnson has already bricked a pair of wide-open, corner 3-point shots off the side of the backboard. But he is not the only Brooklyn Net struggling from downtown this season.
Through the first seven games of the 2015-16 campaign, the Nets are shooting an NBA-worst 23.6 percent from 3-point range (25-for-106).
“Obviously, it’s been tough, which is why we haven’t won a game,” said Johnson, who added that he has “never” seen a stretch like this during his 15-year career.
If the Nets (0-7) manage to keep it up, they’ll bring 3-point futility in today's game to a new low. The Minnesota Timberwolves shot 30.5 percent from downtown (450-for-1,475) in 2012-13 -- the worst mark for a team that launches at least 15 3s per game in league history.
“I don’t think we really pay attention to percentages, per se,” point guard Jarrett Jack said. “We just go out, shoot the best available shot and go from there.”
Breaking it down even further, the Nets have gone 7-for-43 from beyond the arc in the first half (16.3 percent) and 11-for-69 on 3-point attempts from above the break overall (15.9 percent).
“I think we’re getting good looks,” said Jack. “We’ve just got to knock them down.”
On the season, the Nets have been outscored by their opponents, 192-75, from 3-point range. Brooklyn’s opponents have gone 64-for-161 from beyond the arc (39.8 percent).
Last season, the Nets shot 40.5 percent (60-for-148) from 3-point range in their first seven games en route to a 4-3 record.
“I would love to see us take more,” said Nets coach Lionel Hollins, whose team has averaged the second-fewest 3-point attempts per game in the league (15.1). “The 3-pointer is a big part of the game. You’ve got to take them and you’ve got to make them.
“We can’t go 3-for-25 and then say we’re happy, but we’ve got to get our share of shots and make it so the discrepancy is not so large -- like when the other team makes 10 and we make two. That’s a big discrepancy. Now, if we can get six or seven and they get 10, that’s a lot better.”
All of the team’s key 3-point marksmen are shooting lower than their career average. However, the optimist would say there’s only one way to go: up.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the team with the most losses to begin the season that still made the playoffs is the 1996-97 Phoenix Suns (0-13 to 40-42, seventh place, Western Conference).
If the Nets are going to turn things around -- and it starts with winning one game -- they’re going to have to make some 3s and keep opposing defenses honest. When teams can’t shoot from the perimeter, the opposition tends to sag and clog up the paint.
After all, Brook Lopez (20.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 23.7 PER) can’t do it alone.
“All we can do is keep shooting,” Johnson said. “That’s it.”