Nets Are Scorching

The Nets played the Spurs tough in the first half, but San Antonio was able to use a 28-18 third quarter to pull away and beat New Jersey 97-85.

Brook Lopez had his best game in weeks, scoring 28 points on 10-17 shooting, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking 3 shots before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

Yi Jianlian on the other hand wasn’t afraid to shoot, but he probably should have practiced more restraint, going 4-17 from the field and scoring 16 points. He did do a good job of getting to the rim and drawing fouls, shooting 10 free throws (making 8).

Courtney Lee followed up his great night on Friday with a dud, scoring 4 points on 2-11 shooting.

Tim Duncan is insane, scoring 14 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in 27 minutes. He sat most of the fourth quarter with Tony Parker, who struggled from the field, scoring 8 points on 3-12 shooting.

Manu Ginobli scored 21 points, including 2 on a rim shaking dunk towards the end of the third quarter.

Nets were outrebounded 48-35, but only turned the ball over 6 times.

Quick note on Friday night’s game.  Chris Paul’s play was just a great player doing a great thing there.  Not really much they could have done since defending Chris Paul coming off a screen is one of the hardest things to do in the NBA.  Also, that “moving screen” call on Yi is something that needs to not get called.  You watch a basketball game, you see screens set like that 3 or 4 times a game, and they don’t get called.  So why did Yi’s screen get called?  1) It’s late in the game so the refs are looking at everything very closely.  2)  It’s the Nets.  When you are a 3-32 team as the Nets were going into the New Orleans game, people think that they have no business being in the game, and when they are, the refs start looking for stuff to call to make things make sense.  Don’t take this as me blaming the officiating, because I am not doing that.  I know this happens, and I accept it.  Just stating what I think happens.

As for tonight, Harris is a game time decision with a hurt wrist.  From Dave D:

Point guard Devin Harris had an MRI taken on his achy right wrist, and for now, the Nets are calling it tendinitis, but it’s enough to make him a game-time decision tonight against San Antonio.

Harris wore a wrap on the wrist Friday at New Orleans, and he was clearly struggling with it, finishing with four points and four assists in 34 minutes. He shrugged it off as “a little sore,” and said a doctor would take a look at it when the team got to Texas.

Keyon Dooling stepped up mightily against the Hornets that night, going for a season-high 21 points and hitting four 3-pointers. The 3-33 Nets also have Terrence Williams and Chris Quinn in reserve for the 7 PM game against the Spurs.

If he doesn’t play we could be in trouble.  I know Dooling is a better defender than Harris, but Harris’ speed matches up well with Parker, and he makes Tony work on defense, which makes him less effective on offense.  Onto the lineups.

Devin Harris vs. Tony Parker

According to Dave D, Devin’s wrist has been bothering him since before the Hornets game.  His wrist was wrapped up, and he wasn’t really playing well with it.  Dooling played great offensively against the Hornets, but on the defensive end Harris/Dooling combined to allow Paul to get 18 assists.  Tony Parker could have a similar stat line tonight.

Advantage:  Tony Parker

Courtney Lee vs. Manu Ginobili

Courtney Lee is another guy coming off of a big game.  Now he won’t be going 5-7 from 3 every night, but this is the kind of effect he can have on a team when he is shooting well.  He also chipped in with 6 assists.  I don’t think he will ever be a #2 scorer on a team (unless his shot starts falling consistently), but he is a guy that can make a shot or two, play good defense, and be smart with the basketball.  As for Ginobili, he has struggled returning from injury, but he is at his best when he is very aggressive with the basketball and forcing the issue.  I think Lee can do a decent job of slowing him down.

Advantage:  Push

Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Richard Jefferson

CDR only made 3 shots last game, but he still finished with 10 points because he was able to get to the line.  It is important for the Nets to get to the line, because there are times where the shots just don’t fall.  If the Nets don’t get to the foul line during these stretches, they just aren’t going to score.  Plain and simple.  Richard Jefferson is back playing in New Jersey.  I never really like Richard Jefferson.  Didn’t have a reason, but I always thought that he was overrated.  Wasn’t his fault, but just never liked him.  Anyway, Al Iannazzone has a real nice piece on Jefferson, you should go check it out.

Yi vs. Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan is an all-time great, and I agree with a lot of other experts who say he was the best of the last decade.  People call his style “boring” but he is one of my favorite players to watch, so I will be paying attention to him.  Yi may get a good amount of open looks from 3 tonight though, because I just don’t see Duncan coming out to challenge Yi’s outside shot (until he starts making it).

Advantage:  Tim Duncan

Brook Lopez vs. DeJuan Blair

DeJuan Blair is the steal of last year’s draft in my opinion (narrowly edging out Casspi).  I know he had health issues, but he at least deserved someone taking a flier on him early in the second round (he lasted until the 54th pick).  The Nets’ didn’t have a second round pick, but I would have loved to see them buy one and try to scoop Blair.  It figures the Spurs get him, they always win on picks like this.  Brook should be able to have a big game though.  Blair is strong and a hard worker, but Brook has such a size advantage that he is just going to be able to turn and shoot over him.  I wouldn’t be surprised of Duncan ends up defending Brook and Blair picks up Yi.

Advantage:  Brook Lopez

When the Nets picked Sean Williams 17th in the 2007 Draft, there were red flags immediately. He was kicked off the Boston College basketball team for numerous infractions involving marijuana use. But the Nets were seduced by his athleticism. This was a guy who had 75 blocks in a college season where he only played 15 games.

But now that he’s on his way to being out of New Jersey, I think we can safely say that it never worked out for Sean Williams. And this shouldn’t surprise anyone. One of the lessons learned from the Sean Williams experience is that freakish athletic ability can’t be taught to players. But in the same vain, it’s incredibly difficult to try and redeem someone with so many character issues. Swat had draft lottery talent, but his penchant to make serious mistakes on and off the court will likely keep him from catching on with another team and finally realizing his talent.

Fred Kerber wrote a spot on sendoff of the Sean Williams era. Naturally, the article focuses on a lot of the bad – the D-League disaster, the arrest in Denver last season, and Swat’s knack to infuriate his superiors:  “Watch Sean warm up,”  Kerber quotes on Nets executive. “Have you ever seen him work on things he actually can use in a game?”

But Kerber also captures another wrinkle in the saga:

It is a shame because Williams has never seemed like a really bad guy. Immature, sure. Bad, no. There was a time last year when the Nets talked about their young players, Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, then-Net Ryan Anderson, when he said sadly, “I guess I’m not one of the young players they want to develop.”

When Sebastian and I attended our first practice before the season started in October, one of the things we were immediately taken by was Sean Williams, working on his post game with assistant coach Roy Rogers. Wasn’t this the guy who was supposedly a flake and a bad seed? What was he doing practicing while everyone else was either talking to reports, or launching half court shots? But like Kerber says here, I don’t think Williams was a “bad guy.” Just one who couldn’t get his act together.

Unfortunately, the Daily News gossip duo, Rush and Molloy, have a story today that most people will likely relate to when they talk about Sean Williams’ career a few years from now.

A battalion of security guards recently carried the 6-foot-10 power forward out of Chelsea’s M2 UltraLounge after he allegedly annoyed female patrons, hurled an ice bucket at a busboy and threw a punch at a bouncer, sources tell us.

Trying to be an optimist, my lasting image of Swat will be his post-game interview from November, after the Heat edged the Nets by a point off a Dwyane Wade three-pointer. Williams wasn’t getting much game action, but Lawrence Frank subbed him in against Miami, and Swat responded with 12 points and a huge block on a Michael Beasley three-point attempt. After the game, Williams looked inconsolable. He played his heart out and the team still lost. It was almost as if he knew another opportunity came and went, even if the team’s struggles weren’t his fault.