Joe Johnson: 'Nets Enduring Mental Struggles In Third Quarters'

If you haven't noticed yet, the Nets have been abysmal in third quarters this season. They have been outscored in almost every third quarter thus far. The fans are aware of this, Jason Kidd is aware of it, and most importantly the Nets players are aware of it. In particular, Joe Johnson realizes that the Nets have to be better than they have been in the third quarter. In fact, Johnson thinks that the third quarter woes have come from a mental standpoint rather than by their performance.

“Yeah, I think so,” Johnson said when asked if the misery after halftime was mostly mental. "Coming into halftime, we shouldn’t even say nothing. Seriously. I think we come into halftime every game, if we’re up five or 10 we always say, ‘Well, who are we going to be in the second half?’ It’s every game. So I think from here on out, if we come in at half down or up, that shouldn’t even come up.”

 Whether it's a mental barrier that the Nets need to overcome or whether it has to do with their play as a team, the Nets need right this ship rather sooner than later. While, the Nets have lucked out so far with a horrid division and a mediocre Eastern Conference, the Nets are very much alive still. However, the Nets need to turn their ship around.

The Nets have been missing a lot of firepower for numerous games this season which has certainly played a role in their third quarter woes. While, Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Jason Terry, and Andrei Kirilenko all continue to nurse injuries, the Nets will rely on their bench players to carry the load for the time being.

The Nets spent a lot of money over the offseason in bringing in pieces to add more depth to their bench in situations like these. There should be no reason why they should be getting dominated in third quarters. Better yet, there's no reason why this team should be 4-10.

Let's just hope Joe Johnson is right in these woes being a result due to mental struggles, and that they can fix it rather sooner. The Nets are 1-0 after this statement having outscored the Raptors 26-25 in last night's 3rd quarter.

Source: NY Post
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