Thoughts on the Game: Nets Bounced by Boykins
Hoopdata Box Score – Truth About It – Bullets Forever
For six years, I owned a car that never really ran well, but got the job done. The problem was, I drove the thing to the ground, and by the time I had amassed about 150,000 miles, every time I got into the car, I would hope against hope that the piece of crap could just get me through this one last trip. If the car could just get me a little further, I vowed to never take another long trip again, retiring the thing for grocery shopping and the occasional trip to Target.
And then one day the car just died. And I realized that my plans for using the car going forward were irrelevant. It was never a good car to begin with, and the abuse I put it through for most of its lifespan gave it a specific expiration date. That date had passed. Game over.
I guess this terrible, terrible analogy I made regarding last night’s Nets/Wizards game would have worked better if I told you that my car died when the smallest person in my town jumped in front and slashed my tires, while smashing my hood in with a baseball bat. Sadly, things don’t happen like in real life, only in the NBA.
Last night’s 81-79 loss to the Wizards just felt weird, and despite the overall shock value of it – Earl Boykins, a guy who wasn’t even in the league last year hits the decisive shot with .4 seconds? – the outcome also seemed inevitable. Despite a solid defensive effort, holding the Wizards to 81 points and 42 percent shooting, the Nets were never able to put away a clearly inferior opponent and it came back to kill them. Up 12 in the first half, the Nets were owned on the boards throughout, getting outrebounded 40-32 and allowing 15 rebounds on the offensive end. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Nets, who had been shooting around 50 percent for most of the game, just seemed to sputter offensively, as Kiki Vandeweghe seemed to lose the Midas touch had had Wednesday night with his rotation choices. Kris Humphries, a hero against the Clippers, was the goat last night, going 1-8 from the field, including way too many long twos in crunch time. Terrence Williams, who seemed to do everything right a few nights ago, was on the bench for the Wizards. Courtney Lee, who didn’t miss in the first half, scoring 17 points, disappeared in the second, finishing with 19.
So, like my car, the Nets had an expiration date in this game. I wasn’t sure when the nail would be driven in the coffin, but I was fairly certain about the outcome. It was clear to me after Yi Jianlian hit a jumper with about 5:30 left in the third to put the Nets up by 8, and they ended tied with the Wizards towards the end of the quarter. After failing to score the knocking blow, it was just a matter of time before the Nets were going to stall out and be stranded by the side of the road.