Nets Are Scorching

Those who thought the drama surrounding the New Jersey Nets would come to an end once they snapped their historic losing streak to start the season were seriously mistaken.

Instead, some recent comments and actions by select members of the roster have shed an ugly light on a situation that now falls on the shoulders of Kiki Vandeweghe– there may be a legitimate divide between some players, most notably, the veterans, and the Nets’ younger players.

Rafer Alston has been the source of a lot of these comments. After last night’s mind-numbing loss to the Golden State Warriors, where the Nets looked flat, and at points, lazy and effortless throughout the second and third quarters against one of the league’s most uptempo teams, Alston told reporters that he was disappointed in his teammates for not doing more to support each other:

“It’s mind-boggling sometimes when you don’t see the guys behind you doing that,” he said, after the Nets fell to 2-20. “That’s more hurtful than anything, is to not cheer your teammates on who are out there trying to get the job done. That’s the way I was taught to do it: Play together and root for your teammate, whether you’re in the game or not. The good teams do that. They stay together, no matter how the game is going.”

This statement comes on the heels of Terrence Williams’ recent issues, which includes “tweets” that put down the organization and its fans, and then staying out late Monday night and missing the bus to practice on Tuesday.

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Tried something new with the breakdown today, going all video.  There were some bad things from the game (Boone’s lack of fundementals, over-helping giving up the 3), but other than that, the Nets did a real good job with everything.  It is a shame that it couldn’t carry over to the Warriors game.

There’s been a lot of positive press about Chris Douglas-Roberts and his strong start this season where he’s averaging 16.7 points and 4.7 rebounds on 46 percent shooting. Dime Magazine even went as far as to call CDR the Atlantic Division’s most improved player for the first quarter of the season, and it’s hard to argue with that logic considering how Douglas-Roberts wasn’t even a part of the Nets’ rotation last year until the very end.

But lost in the positives are a couple of alarming statistical indicators that appear to demonstrate how Douglas-Roberts has also regressed in a couple of key areas from his rookie season. Let’s just say this – I’m going to stop short of calling CDR a ball hog, but if he’s ever going to reach that next level in the NBA, he would be wise to do more with the ball than just shoot it for the next three-quarters of the season.

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Warriors World, Golden State of Mind, View From the Couch, Brook Lopez Interview, Devin Harris Interview, Kiki Vandeweghe Interview

Last night’s 105-89 loss to the Golden State Warriors was really one of those games for Nets fans that tested whether or not you’re  a glass half-empty or a glass half-full kind of a person.

For those seeing it half-full, after getting blitzed in the second and third quarters, the Nets, playing their sixth back-to-back game of the season, were able to whittle a 20-point Warriors lead to 5. They had played a sloppy game, turning the ball over 22 times, including 17 steals by Golden State, but they were still in position to steal a win up until a bizarre four-point swing for the Warriors that sealed defeat for New Jersey. With about 3 minutes left, Brook Lopez missed an ugly baseline drive attempt under the basket which led to a halfcourt alley-oop layup by Monta Ellis off the Corey Maggette pass, and then two more points when Ellis stole the ball from Brook in the post and fed Mikki Moore for the layup. Just like that, the Nets were calling timeout and the game was essentially over.

For the half-empty fan, the Nets had yet another one of their too awful to stomach quarters – this time in the second, when they were outscored 38-21. The Nets actually entered the second quarter with a 7 point lead, but they missed their first 6 shots, and made 7 bad passes, and the Warriors held the lead the rest of the way, despite getting a below average shooting night from super scorer Monta Ellis (7-20 from the field).

What was most distressing about those turnovers, is that many of them came off lazy looking passes from a variety of sources – Chris Douglas-Roberts, Keyon Dooling, Rafer Alston and Brook Lopez. Yes, the Nets reportedly got in to Newark at 4 a.m. Wednesday night, but the Warriors are about as decimated by injuries as the Nets were a few weeks ago, yet they managed to play high energy for four full quarters with only eight players. The Nets take off way too many plays, and just look too lethargic for a roster that’s known for youth and potential.

At first glance, the box score will show Brook Lopez had a good night with 21 points and 10 rebounds, as he continues his march to prove John Hollinger wrong and average 20-10 for the season, but this game was a struggle for Lopez. Considering he had the likes of Mikkie Moore and game Randolph guarding him all night, Lopez should have had a dominant performance and instead he turned the ball over 6 times as he seemed totally completely befuddled by Golden State’s constant double-teams. He was also in foul trouble in the second half, forcing Nets fans to sit through 6 befuddling minutes of Sean Williams in the third quarter. Overall, this is not a game for Brook Lopez to hang his hat on.

Devin Harris was able to get to the free throw line all evening (11-15 from the charity stripe), but not much else. He was 4-11 from the field, and was only able to collect 2 assists versus 4 turnovers. He got whacked in the face in the first quarter by Mikki More, which forced him to leave the court for a few minutes, but I don’t think anyone is pointing to that play as a reason why Devo’s court vision seemed inflicted.

On the coaching end, Kiki was trying to make things happen with his rotations, going small throughout the second, even putting Chris Douglas-Roberts (10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 turnovers) at the four briefly, before reverting back to a more traditional rotation in the second half, but it didn’t make much of a difference. It was the frontcourt combination of Maggette (13 points, 9 rebounds) and Randolph (11 points, 9 rebounds) that seemed to turn the game to the Warriors favor. Add in the fact that CJ Watson had 18 points on 8-14 shooting off the bench, and the Nets never stood a chance. You can’t beat a high-energy team like the Warriors with a roster with no energy.

Click more, for the final bullet points:

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So apparently, Terrence Williams is in trouble with the team not because of his antics on Twitter, but because he missed the team bus to the morning shootaround on Tuesday, and was out later than he should have been Monday night.

A proposed plan that would land the Nets at the Prudential Center in Newark for the next two years would create a surcharge for all events at the Izod Center and The Rock.

Rafer Alston rips his teammates after last night for not sticking together more on the sidelines.

Those who like their basketball with a side of business should check out Forbes Magazine’s annual valuation report. The Nets are still losing money, which is a shock to no one.

Chris Douglas-Roberts talks about some of the physical mismatches he’s experienced playing SF.

There’s a screening at 7 p.m. tonight at NYU’s Cantor Center for Atlantic Yards Development-centric documentary, “The Battle for Brooklyn.”

A New York State Senator is calling on Gov. Paterson to step in and stop the Atlantic Yards project.

Just a little article about likely #1 draft pick next June, John Wall.