Nets Are Scorching

Forum Blue and Gold

The final score of this game won’t show you how close this game actually was.  The Nets had a 48-46 lead on the Lakers at the half, and they effectively silenced the pro-Laker crowd.  Now all of the reporters covering the game are going to talk about how the Lakers took the first half off, and that was the only way that the Nets were in it.  I hate that excuse.  The Nets went out and worked their butt off in the first half, they can’t control how hard the Lakers play.  But, maybe the Lakers were taking it easy on the defensive end, but that doesn’t take away from the Nets’ effort defensively, they only have up 46 points in the first half, including a 17 point quarter for the Lakers.

For at least one quarter last night, we saw glimpses of the old Devin.  In the second quarter he was 7-7 from the field including a 3, totaling 17 points.  Other guys for the Nets were scoring, Brook was doing his thing and CDR was effective as well, all of a sudden, Devin went off.  After his spurt though, he was effectively shut down for the rest of the game.  This just shows that Devin can’t be the number 1 guy on a basketball team.  That isn’t a bad thing though, and it doesn’t mean that Devin is a bad player, it is hard though to get open looks as a PG when you are the guy bringing up the basketball.  Hopefully, when there is more talent on this team, this is how Devin is going to operate, distribute the ball and as the defense starts to focus on everyone else, he will be able to get to the lane and do his thing.

After the game, I thought I was going to have to talk about how Brook struggled, but then I looked at the boxscore to see he was 6-16 with 18 points and 11 rebounds.  I love how off-nights for Brook end up being double-doubles.  This was a game where it was hard for Brook to be dominant.  At first the Lakers were playing him straight up with Bynum, but after he got in foul trouble, they were matching Pau on Brook and sending Lamar Odom on a double.  That is two 7-footers, and that didn’t allow Brook much room to operate.  He was patient when he got the ball, made his move, and was somewhat effective.  Oh and his passes out of the high post are awesome.  After the jump, check out a few bullets:

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Filip Bondy of the Daily News on the Nets relationship with the Knicks once they move to Brooklyn: No matter what, however, the Knicks better get used to the idea of having a very real rival in the city, competing both for fans and for talent. The Knicks have fared poorly enough without such a challenge. If they don’t get LeBron James, they may well be the second-most popular NBA team around here within four years.

Wondering what’s up with the Nets and their defense? Maybe they’re not having enough practice writes Al Iannazzone: Vandeweghe, who believes in pumping up players and keeping them upbeat, has said the Nets haven’t had enough practice since he took over, but that seems to be an excuse. The Nets have had six practices and six shootarounds since he became coach. They have been banged up, but have had time to go over general sets and principles on both ends of the floor.

Kiki also has a simple approach to defense: “Obviously there are offensive-minded players and defensive-minded players,” Vandeweghe said. “But rather than focus on more rotations and things like that, we’ll focus on guarding your own man.

The Bleacher Report looks at the Nets roster and tries to determine who should be part of the future. An interesting nugget about Courtney Lee: Perhaps his injuries have held him back? Perhaps he’s still psychologically scarred from the abuse he took at the hands of Kobe Bryant during last season’s NBA Finals? Or perhaps he’s simply not as good as expected to be?

The Merced Sun Star lists Brook Lopez as an all-star you may not have heard of.

Could the Nets be interested in George Karl as coach next year?: With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh among those who could be free agents next summer, the Nets have cleared an enormous amount of room under the salary cap — potentially $30 million or more. Former Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe is interim coach of this year’s stripped-down roster, but if a big-name coach is available, Prokhorov is not expected to be shy.