Nets Are Scorching

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For the first 24 minutes of today’s Nets-Knicks game, it looked as if the Nets were still brimming with confidence from their first victory Friday against the Charlotte Bobcats. They played an uptempo first half, scoring 61points, off a number of drives by Devin Harris (19 points, 6 assists, 3 steals), and some steady outside shooting from Chris Douglas-Roberts and Keyon Dooling.

But things changed dramatically in the second half. The Nets were stymied by the Knicks zone defense. They were unable to get the ball inside to Brook Lopez (19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks) as the Knicks clogged the post and Devin Harris lost his ability to drive the lane. The Nets also stopped hitting their open jumpers. One game after his offensive explosion, Courtney Lee (4 points) struggled all day from the outside. Returning from injury for the first time since Wednesday night, Rafer Alston continued his horrid shooting, finishing 3-11 for 8 points, including 1-5 for three point land.

What was most curious about the second half were some of the player rotations used Kiki Vandeweghe. The usual starting five of Devin-Courtney Lee-CDR-Josh Boone and Brook Lopez kicked off the game and played most of the first quarter together, but from the second quarter on, Kiki went with a small line-up to try and match-up better with the Knicks. In some instances, this led to Trenton Hassell and Terrence Williams playing the four and guarding Al Harrington.

While this might have seemed like a good idea on paper, the plan failed in the second half bigtime. The Knicks were able to score at will in the third quarter, and at the end of the game, outrebounded the Nets 48-32, including 15 offensive boards. No one was able to get a big body on Al Harrington, who continued his dominance of the Nets with 26 points and 14 rebounds.

I’m not normally an advocate of Bobby Simmons playing the four, but he never even got into the game today. If you’re trying to go small, why not put him in there in the third quarter as the Knicks went on their run and the Nets were back on their heels? Because of the zone, non-jump shooters like Hassell and TWill were left to take shots with the shot clock expiring. Bobby Simmons, while wildly inconsistent, is at least, technically a shooter, so he might have been able to help the Nets bust the zone from the outside.

It would have also been nice to see either Boone, Tony Battie, or Sean Williams playing alongside Lopez down the stretch, to help out with rebounding. Because the Knicks are a tough team to match up with, Sean Williams, who has more athleticism than Boone or Battie, might have been worth a look. Can’t kill Boone too much however, as despite getting beat by Harrington on a few possessions earlier in the game, played a solid 21 minutes, grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking two shots, including a one on Chris Duhon when Boone was matched up with Duhon off a defensive switch. Boone did a great job sticking with the faster point guard in the one-on-one situation and blocked his layup attempt at the rim.

Despite the letdown today after Friday night’s breakthrough victory, there were some positive signs for the Nets. Devin Harris seemed to be getting some of his mojo back until the Knicks clogged the lane in the second half. Brook Lopez had a good game, despite only taking 9 field goal attempts. It was also great to see Keyon Dooling hitting some shots today, and I can only hope as he gets his conditioning back, he can play well enough to move Rafer Alston further down the bench. If Dooling and Harris can stay healthy long enough, I think it’s a matter of time before the Nets either trade him or buy him out, because Rafer just does not fit on this team.

Read some final thoughts after the jump:
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The Nets have resumed their losing ways this afternoon at Madison Square Garden, falling to the Knicks 106-97, dropping their record to 1-19.

The Nets looked great in the first half, scoring 61 points and leading the Knicks by 8, but they fell apart in the third quarter when the Knicks went zone defense on them, getting outscored 33-18 in the period.

The Kiki Vandeweghe-Del Harris connection channeled their inner Lawrence Frank today, going with a small lineup of four guards and Brook Lopez for a majority of the second half.

The Knicks outrebounded the Nets 48-32, and grabbed 15 offensive boards. They also shot 34 free throws compared to 15 from the Nets.

New York was led by Al Harrington (26 points, 14 boards, 5 assists), David Lee (24 points, 9 rebounds) and Larry Hughes (25 points on 14-17 from the free throw line).

Nice game for Chris Douglas-Roberts who had 26 points on 12-19 shooting.

Brook Lopez had 19 points, but only got 9 field goal attempts. He also added 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Devin Harris looked like he was going to have one of those big games in the first half with 17 points, but he was shut down by the Knicks zone in the second half and finished with 19 points.

Before we talk about today’s game, I just wanted to point a few things out about the Nets’ first win.  Up until Friday, Brook Lopez was averaging 14.8 shots per game.  Against the Bobcats, Brook got 22 shots.  One was from 17 feet, one was from 11, and the rest were inside the paint.  As I noted on Thursday, co-coach Del Harris has been blessed with terrific centers throughout his coaching career, and he knows how to get them shots in the paint, and in bulk.  Looks like that is exactly what he has planned for Brook.  Also, how about Courtney Lee huh?  He is still doing all of the little things (4 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block), but he finally coupled it with a good shooting night.  When he can do that, he will have a big-time impact on the game (this sure sounds familiar).  Granted, it is only one game, but I think we can expect more games like these in the future.

To today’s game.  Last time the Nets played the Knicks, they kind of had what looked to be a good offensive game.  The problem though is that they played right into the Knicks’ hands.  They took a lot of quick shots, took too many threes, and they got into a track-meet with the Knicks.  That is the only way that team can win.  Also, the Nets rotated poorly and gave up a good amount of wide-open threes.  Onto the match-ups:

Devin Harris vs. Chris Duhon

What I really like about Devin Harris’ game is that despite poor shooting performances that happen from time to time, he still can score, because he just knows how to get into the lane and draw contact.  Sure he was only 2-14, but he got to the line 13 times, hitting on 11 of those attempts.  Oh and he put up 8 assists with only 1 turnover.  Today should be no different, Harris is much quicker than Duhon, so you can expect to get him into the lane with ease.

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Courtney Lee vs. Wilson Chandler

Courtney Lee looks to be 100% now, but he is going to have his hands full with Chandler.  Chandler has great the size of a forward and the skills of a guard.  It is going to be interesting to see if Lee can use his quickness to his advantage to get around Chandler so he can attack the basket.

Advantage:  Push

Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Al Harrington

CDR did a pretty good job on Gerald Wallace, only holding him to 13 points, but he did grab 20 rebounds.  CDR is faced with another big SF in Al Harrington, but his job should be a little bit easier since Harrington doesn’t really crash the boards like Wallace does.

Advantage:  Chris Douglas-Roberts

Josh Boone vs. Jarred Jeffries

I don’t think there can be a worse match-up of power forwards in the NBA this year.  Both guys are averaging 19+ minutes, and in those minutes, Boone is averaging 4.6 points and 5.6 rebounds while Jeffries is averaging 3.5 and 2.9 per.

Advantage:  Push

Brook Lopez vs. David Lee

Brook Lopez took 20 shots inside the paint last game.  The result?  31 points.  That was against a solid defender in Tyson Chandler too.  I really think that Brook can do it again this game, because while David Lee is great on the boards, he is more suited to be a PF in this league.  If the Nets commit to getting the Brook the ball inside early and often, he could duplicate Friday’s performance today.  Lee’s best chance is to try and draw him outside with his shot, try to get him into foul trouble.

Advantage:  Brook Lopez