Challenging start to season about more than winning for Nets with tanking behind them

A fast start for either of the last two tanking Nets teams would’ve been a disaster. But for a franchise finally trying to win, now it’s the goal.Maybe even the expectation.Expectations that started with Wednesday night’s opener against visiting Charlotte. “It’s about us setting the tone, how we play, our staples and how we approach every single game,” Julius Randle said.

“I’ve always been somebody that’s fallen in love with the process and the results usually follow.Yes, we’re playing every game to win.

We want to win every single day.It’s about how we’re going about it every single day, and are we doing the right things? “You can win a basketball game and not do anything principle-wise how you’re supposed to do as a team.

So, we don’t want to do that.We want to win every game playing our style of basketball, holding each other accountable, doing the things that it’s going to take not just to win games but just establish the culture and identity of the team that we want to be.” For a young, inexperienced Brooklyn team trying to turn the page after two overtly tanking campaigns — and three straight losing records — setting that culture early this season is going to be vital. Or more to the point, factory resetting it. A disappointing campaign in 2023-24 convinced the franchise to pivot into a rebuild.

They tanked the next two years to get Egor Dëmin and Mikel Brown Jr. But between owing a 2027 swap to Houston and the NBA’s lottery reform, now Brooklyn is trying to build a winning atmosphere.That started against the Hornets, and will continue through a nasty stretch of schedule. “Since I’ve been here, everybody’s focused on winning.

It’s not like we’re putting development at the forefront.Obviously we’re all trying to get better and develop, but it’s what does it take every single day to come in and do the right things to win basketball games,” Randle said.

“We’re doing all the necessary thing...