Quick Recap: Dallas Mavericks 117, New Jersey Nets 101
Dec 2, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Mavericks, Quick Recap
Well, the Nets made history tonight in their 117-101 loss to the Mavericks (14-5). By falling to 0-18, the Nets now solely own the record for the worst start in NBA history. I would say congratulations are in order, but my gallow’s humor got used up in the second quarter tonight.
- So about that second quarter – the Mavericks scored 49 points on 17-19 shooting. That’s not a typo. It wasn’t like the Mavs were hitting a bunch of lucky shots either. These were wide open jumpers and layups. I guess, the Nets decided to take a quarter off on defense. Too bad, because they were actually able to hang with the Mavs every other quarter tonight.
- For the first half, the Mavs shot 80.6 percent.
- The Nets actually looked somewhat competent on offense tonight, breaking 100 points, and shooting 44 percent from the field – which isn’t really that good, but by Nets standards, those nets were almost scorching tonight.
- Jason Kidd tortured his old team with a typical 16 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds. Just another day at the office for JKidd.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts led all Nets scorers with 24 points on 10-21 shooting, though he also turned the ball over 5 times.
- As Sebastian predicted, Erik Dampier had a solid game with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Brook Lopez meanwhile had 16 points on 2-6 shooting from the field.
- Courtney Lee chipped in with 13 points off the bench, but did it on 5-17 shooting, including 2-7 from three-point land.
- Bobby Simmons had his stroke going for one night, with 10 points, on 4-7 shooting, including 2-2 from three.
- The sparse Izod Center crowd loudly booed the Nets as the final seconds ticked off. I just don’t know how I feel about that.
- Kiki Vandeweghe: this is your mess now.
Game 18 Preview vs. Dallas Mavericks
Dec 2, 2009 Game Previews, Nets vs. Mavs
Tom Barrise is coaching the team again tonight, with Kiki taking over Friday. A lot of people are saying that this is happening because Kiki doesn’t want to be affiliated with the record, but he already is, I mean, he is the one who built this team. So why is Barrise coaching tonight then? Well, usually when teams scout, they scout a few games in advance. My guess is that Lawrence Frank already had a gameplan implemented for this game, and they are just using Barrise to execute that gameplan. Also, it gives Del Harris time to get familiar with the team. I mean a few days ago, he was the GM on the D-League’s new Frisco team (who still doesn’t have a name), so I am guessing he didn’t go out of his way to watch the Nets. I don’t know if he is going to be on the bench tonight, but he is going to be watching, taking notes, and trying to figure out who to play where. Anyway, here are the lineups:
Devin Harris vs. Jason Kidd:
Last year Devin went off for 41 against the Mavericks. A lot of people were talking about him wanting revenge, and that was the motivation. I just think it is a poor match-up for Kidd. I mean Kidd is still a great passing point guard, but he is up there in age, and isn’t as fast as he used to be. Devin Harris’ strength is Jason Kidd’s weakness.
Advantage: Devin Harris
CDR vs. Rodrigue Beaubois
Chris Douglas-Roberts struggled last game. I don’t know if it was that he was going against Kobe, or if it was him just burning out after falling behind early. I wouldn’t be too worried though, and at 6-0, Rodrigue Beaubois CDR has the clear height advantage. Look for him to have a real bounce-back game tonight.
Advantage: CDR
Trenton Hassell vs. Shawn Marion
I don’t think Courtney Lee is going to get the start tonight, so we are going to see Hassell at the 3. As for Shawn Marion, it took him a little while to get going this year, but he has scored 12+ points in each of his last four games. Look for that to continue.
Advantage: Shawn Marion
Josh Boone vs. Dirk Nowitzki
I already talked about Dirk at length today, but I did want to add something. Josh Boone is going to get the start more than likely, but I still think Sean Williams is the best option against him. Granted, Sean Williams is probably going to foul out in like 5 minutes, but boy is that going to be a tough 5 minutes for Dirk.
Advantage: Dirk Nowitzki
Brook Lopez vs. Erick Dampier
I think that Dampier is going to give Brook some trouble tonight. Dampier is a physical player who uses that to his advantage. Dampier is going to push Brook out of the post and force him to catch it farther out. Expect to see a good number of jumpers from Brook tonight.
Advantage: Brook Lopez
Prediction
Current Record: 10-7
After tonight you can refer to the Nets as the “record-breaking New Jersey Nets.” Whenever someone who doesn’t watch basketball ask you, “what record?” Just ignore them.
Bloggers Talk: Dallas Mavericks
Dec 2, 2009 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Mavericks
The Nets are back home, and on the verge of real history tonight, so today, Rob Mahoney, from the terrific Mavs TrueHoop site, The Two Man Game, joins us for another round of Bloggers Talk.
NAS: I need to start you off with a non-Mavs question first giving the historical nature of tonight’s match-up. With one more loss, the Nets will own the worst start to a season in NBA history. As a fan of the incoming team, do you sympathize with the Nets at all, or do you want to see the Mavs be the ones responsible for the record breaking loss?
I’m sympathetic. I don’t really care if the Mavs beat the Nets, but I do care if the Mavs lose to the Nets…if that makes any sense at all.
If Dallas wins, it’s not as if they chisel there names into the NBA record books. The Nets will be a team of historic misery, but the Mavs really have nothing to gain aside from being the team the struck last. That’s not a distinguished honor, and for all its importance this week, it’ll be forgotten in a matter of seasons, if not months or weeks. No team and no fan base should have to go through what the Nets and their followers are going through right now. That’s as plain as the look on CDR’s face, and as a fan of the game (which I consider myself first and foremost) and a fan of plenty of Nets’ players, I can’t in good conscience say that I like watching Jersey suffer. The sooner this streak is over and behind us, the better.
That said, the Mavs will have some explaining to do if they manage to lose to a team with zero wins. The Mavs have begun to show some defensive vulnerability amidst a string of injuries (Shawn Marion, Erick Dampier, Josh Howard, Quinton Ross), and losing to the Nets would pour acid directly into the wound opened last week against the Warriors. So while it doesn’t make a bit of difference to me whether or not the Mavs are the straw that breaks New Jersey’s back, I’d like to think this Dallas team is good enough to not have to worry about such things.
Stopping Dirk Nowitzki
Dec 2, 2009 Analysis, Other Teams' Stars, Video Breakdown, Xs and Os
Now the Mavs are most certainly not a one man team, but if you can stop Dirk, you are well on your way to getting a W. The only problem is, you have to stop Dirk. Dirk has become a legitimate MVP candidate (well, as legitimate as you can be a quarter through the season) by averaging 27.2 points per game, along with 8.5 rebounds per game. A few times this year Dirk has single-handedly won the Mavs games. Let’s take a look at some plays involving Dirk, and see what the Nets can do to stop him.
Video: The Nets Losing Streak
Dec 2, 2009 Losing Streak, Videos
The Nets are on the verge of making NBA history tonight if they lose against the Dallas Mavericks. While you think about that, relive some of the highlights of the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets season:
Nets on the Net: 12/2/09 Edition
Dec 2, 2009 Brooklyn, John Wall, Kiki Vandeweghe, Nets on the Net, Rod Thorn
Jason Kidd, who comes to town tonight with the Mavericks, believes the Nets downfall was inevitable.
Rod Thorn was taken by surprise by the historically bad start to the season.
Filip Bondy of the Daily News believes the Nets can not let their losing ways distract them from the overhaul needed in 2010.
The Dallas Morning News looks at the Mavs potential role in history tonight.
Bonds have been rated for Barclays Arena, another crucial step in the Nets plans to move to Brooklyn.
On ESPN Insider (subscribers only), John Hollinger defends why he thinks the Minnesota Timberwolves are currently worse than the Nets.
Nets Daily has officially kicked off the John Wall talk. Wall is the University of Kentucky guard who is expected to go #1 in the 2010 NBA Draft.
Players are showing their support for Kiki Vandeweghe. Meanwhile, Vandeweghe is urging the team to “build from within.”