Nets Are Scorching

Tonight matches up two coaches in Kiki Vandeweghe and New Orleans’ Jeff Bower, who were just GMs before the season began. Plus here’s a money quote from a scout, as reported by Al Iannazzone: As the Nets were blown out by 22 and 30 points in consecutive games against Milwaukee and Atlanta, the little life they showed came in the form of frustration and bad body language. One NBA scout said the Nets are “playing like 15 guys in the last year of their contracts.”

The Nets have banned gambling on the team plane which is an indicator that Gilbert Arenas’ indefinite suspension, was not only about guns.

Dave D’Alessandro talks to Rod Thorn about what might happen with the head coach position once the summer comes: “We’re still going to have a large number of young guys next year no matter what happens in free agency,” Thorn said the other day. “So undoubtedly the next coach has to be good at working with young people, because he’s going to have to bring out the best in those people. Somebody who’s a good X-and-O guy also.”

Bruce Ratner may have some legal trouble.

Apparently Fred Kerber and Terrence Williams have kissed and made-up as Kerber talks to TWill about his recent lack of playing time: “I’m learning from Trenton and KD and these guys [say], ‘Worry about what you can control. Don’t give anybody a reason to take your money or humiliate you,’ ” said Williams, the rookie selected No. 11 from Louisville.

Brook Lopez is featured in a NBA.com video about Centers:

It’s a topic that’s been slowly gathering steam since Yi Jianlian’s return from injury a few weeks ago – yes, Yi has been a revelation on the offensive end, averaging 20.3 points per game, but is his success coming at the detriment of Brook Lopez?

The Star-Ledger’s Dave D’Alessandro officially opened this Pandora’s Box when he asked Brook Lopez before yesterday’s game against the Hawks if Yi’s return has contributed to Brook’s recent slump (he’s averaged 14.3 points the past 7 games). Brook responded in the affirmative:

“Yeah, I think it’s just been a tough adjustment having another post guy out there – reading when and where he is, and where I need to be, I guess,” Lopez said.

Here are the facts: Since Yi’s return, Brook has averaged 10.6 field goal attempts per game. Before Yi came back, Brook was averaging 14.6 shots per game. Yi meanwhile is averaging 14.7 shots per game since his return.

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Hoopdata Box Score - Hoopinion - Peachtree Hoops

Is there was ever a better analogy for the New Jersey Nets 2009-10 season than last night’s 119-89 drubbing to the Atlanta Hawks? Poor shooting and defense puts the Nets in an insurmountable hole early on, yet they found themselves down only 14 with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter. The Hawks then put the jets on again, and ended up winning by 30.

Four days ago, I was recapping a loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers and I thought the Nets were maybe turning a corner. Sure, they still lost the game, but they were at least competitive in their loss, and they were still relatively fresh off of beating the Knicks and earning their third victory of the season. I wasn’t predicting a run at the 8th seed after an 0-18 and 3-30 start, but was it wrong of me to think that maybe the Nets would soon find themselves past the dreaded 9 win total so the talk of “worst team ever” would die down?

Simply put, yes. If Tuesday night’s waxing by the Bucks was an embarrassment, than last night’s loss to the Hawks kicked it up yet another notch. The Nets don’t even look competitive out there folks, and I think if the league started tracking “demoralizing losses” it would be the one thing the Nets would head their class in.

How do you even break this game down? The Nets went nearly 6 minutes without a field goal to start the game and found themselves down 17-3 against the league’s best offense. And just when you thought they maybe were going to show some pride, cutting the lead to 14 in the third and possibly making the Hawks work for the victory, Atlanta went on a 20-6 run to start the fourth quarter, essentially building a palatial estate on top of a Nets team that was already buried six-feet underground.

I don’t know how those of us still trying to play armchair psychiatrist with this team can keep coming up with more theories. First it was the injuries. Then it was the coach. Then it was the lack of veteran leadership because Keyon Dooling and Jarvis Hayes hadn’t played much this season. Then there was talk that Rafer Alston’s attitude was starting to irk the team’s younger players. There was even talk that Yi Jianlian, a guy who couldn’t hit water from a boat with his jumper last season, was the missing link. Yi actually put together another decent night (19 points, 11 rebounds). So the squad is (relatively) healthy, Lawrence Frank is gone, Jarvis and Keyon are playing, Rafer was bought out and Yi has been pretty good since his return. Is any of this making a difference? Sure, the Nets, even when they’re at their best, are not expected to beat a team like the Hawks on the road, but to consistently come out, night after night and lay up eggs … I think the optimist in me was trying to avoid this kind of talk at all costs, but after the last two night’s – I think it’s fair game: watch out 72-73 76ers. You may have company soon.

A few more quick thoughts.
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Chris Quinn, welcome to the New Jersey Mess: “Hopefully, I can bring a positive attitude and some positive thoughts and maybe help swing it in the right direction to some extent,” said the 6-foot-2, fourth-season guard from Notre Dame who was inactive all season with Miami after spraining an ankle in training camp and never cracking the rotation.

Nets react to the Gilbert Arenas suspension (per Al Iannazzone):  “It’s unfortunate,” said Jarvis Hayes, who played with Arenas in Washington. “I’m at a loss for words. It’s a serious matter. Commissioner Stern did what he thought he had to do to gain control of the situation I guess.”

Keyon Dooling defends the perception of the NBA in light of the Arenas situation:  “I think our league is a great league,” Dooling said. “However, there are slip-ups. Sometimes one bad apple can have an effect on the whole bunch. Me personally, I would like some of our positive things to get the same attention as our negativity, because people do so many great things.”

In news that has my 1993-self marking out, the arcade classic NBA Jam is making its return with a rumored Wii-exclusive. One blog takes a gander at who the twosomes will be. Can you guess the Nets twosome?

Quick, someone let Brook Lopez tell Brook Lopez about The Onion.

A little late to post, but NBA.com looks at the impending summertime showdown for free agents between the Knicks and Nets.

Speaking of free agents, Hawks free agent to-be Joe Johnson cares about the record of the team he signs with next summer.

In former Nets news, John Hollinger argues against the Heat picking up Rafer Alston.

Video Clip of the new Atlantic Terminal Pavilion opening, which will eventually tie-in to the Nets new arena in Brooklyn (hat tip NetsDaily).

Maybe we’re better off pretending this game didn’t happen as the Hawks dominated the Nets from start to finish, winning 119 to 89 in Atlanta tonight.

• The Hawks jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the first quarter, and finished the first up 32-15.
• Similar to their first match-up last month, the Nets were defenseless. The Hawks shot 57 percent from the field and were 13-22 from three point range. They also outrebounded the Nets 42-32. The Nets have now been outrebounded for 23 consecutive games.
• Meanwhile, the Nets shot 42 percent and were only 3-13 from three. They were led in scoring by Yi Jianlian who had 19 points on 7-17 shooting. He also had 11 rebounds.
• Devin Harris had 15 points, 9 from the free throw line. He chipped in with 8 assists.
• Chris Quinn made his Nets debut, netting 7 garbage time minutes and scoring 3 points.
• The Hawks were led by former-Knick Jamal Crawford who finished with 29 points on 10-14 shooting, including 4-7 from three. Joe Johnson pitched in with 20 points.

Last night was rough huh?  It is starting to become a pattern though, right when you think that the Nets are going to take the next step, they regress.  It’s like I said over at the Daily Dime this morning:

This has been a trend for the Nets all season. Whenever one of the top teams plays New Jersey, the Nets seem to hang for a half or longer, but when they play lesser teams, it usually ends in an embarrassing loss.

This is a young team, and they are going to have to realize that they will be getting everyone’s best effort from here on out.  Team’s don’t want to be the next team to lose to the “sorry ass Nets,” so they are going to come out and play their butts off.  The Nets aren’t going to be able to take nights off, and if they do, it will be a repeat of the Bucks game.  As for the lineups, here they are.  Oh and Chris Quinn is here!

Devin Harris vs. Mike Bibby

Devin Harris has been playing poorly, there is no question about it.  I just can’t not give him this match-up though.  This is a perfect chance for Harris to get himself out of this funk (he had 23 and 9 on 9-18 shooting last time they played).  Sure Bibby can knock down a three or 2, but he is slow defensively.  The only way Harris won’t get in the middle is if Harris starts settling for jumpers.  I don’t think that will happen though.

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Courtney Lee vs. Joe Johnson

Lee did an ok job on Joe Johnson last time out (yes holding Johnson to 21 one is an ok job.  He could drop 30 at any point).  Lee hit his first 3 shots last game, and they were open shots where he could step into the pass and take the shot.  The rest of them looked forced.  He needs to let the game just come to him, he can’t force shots.

Advantage:  Joe Johnson

Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Marvin Williams

After Brook saw his touches in the second half diminish, it is now CDR’s turn.  He had a solid first half, but only got two shots in the second.  It was especially interesting to see it in last night’s game because nobody except Yi was even close to being effective, so why didn’t CDR get more shots.

Advantage:  CDR

Yi vs. Josh Smith

This is the first time since we have seen “new Yi” play against a PF like Josh Smith.  A smaller but athletic guy.  I don’t know how Yi is going to be able to defend him, but I can’t wait to see Yi take advantage of this mismatch in the post.

Advantage:  Josh Smith

Brook Lopez vs. Al Horford

Look at the post I did on the Nets’ offense today.  Notice how all of the successful plays the Nets run go through Brook Lopez.  None of that happened against the Bucks.  When the ball gets passed to Brook Lopez, it makes the entire defensive unit react.  You want a defense to react like that, the ball needs to go to Brook Lopez more.

Advantage:  Push

On Sunday, Dave D’Alessandro wrote some very interesting stuff about the Nets, and their search for an offensive identity:

But one of the emerging problems is their lack of an identity at the offensive end, particularly since point guard Devin Harris has returned from injury and Kiki Vandeweghe has taken over as head coach.

It was funny though, because I was working on a post about the Nets and a few new wrinkles they had on offense.  What I have been noticing is that the Nets have been running the pick and roll less and less.  Even though they aren’t really good at running it, it was still their bread and butter (sounds silly I know).  As they continue to shy away from the pick and roll, the Nets are starting to run some new stuff, and some of it seems to be working pretty well.  After last night’s game against Milwaukee (don’t get me started), I feel like there is enough of a sample size to look at some sets that the Nets have been running, and to see which one is their new, “bread and butter” offense.  A offense they can go to whenever they need a bucket, whether it be early or late.

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(You would think the AP would grow tired of taking the same pictures of the Nets bench)

HoopData Box Score – Bucksetball – Brew Hoop

The old adage about NBA basketball is it’s a game of runs. For the Nets last night, they got their one big run against the Milwaukee Bucks early – an 8-0 spurt in the game’s first three minutes, featuring alley-oops, transition offense and solid jump shooting. The Nets then proceeded to put up one of their bigger stinkers of the year – and for a team that’s now 3-31, that’s saying something.

The complete and utter collapse on both ends of the floor in the Nets’ loss to the Bucks started quietly enough. After falling behind early, the Bucks benched Andrew Bogut. Hakim Warrick and Brandon Jennings made a few buckets, while the Nets seemed to go cold. Yi Jianlian, who was one of the few bright spots for the Nets past the game’s opening minutes, finishing with 22 points on 7-12 shooting, got into early foul trouble and Eduardo Najera made a surprise return to the rotation. I would call it a trade showcase, but I don’t know who’s going to want him after scoring 0 points on 0-4 shooting. Not to mention a boneheaded play to end the first half when he failed to even attempt a box out on Francisco Elson, who got the offensive rebound and was then fouled on the putback, to get his first two free throws of the season. Isn’t Najera supposed to be one of those guys who does the “little things?”

What started out so promising turned into a very sloppy first quarter for the Nets as they finished with 10 turnovers, four in the closing two minutes. They went the final 4:10 without scoring a point and the Bucks continued to tack on points with layups and free throws.

In the second quarter, the Bucks bench took over. The shooting combination of Carlos Delfino (17 points, 7-11 shooting) and Luke Ridnour (11 points, 4-9 shooting) helped the Bucks push their lead into double-digits. Bogut then turned it on in the third quarter, scoring 8 points in the first three minutes, and finishing with 18 on 9-12 shooting. Still, the Bucks never had that big nail in the coffin-type quarter that usually puts a team away, so I kept thinking the Nets would be able to get back into this – they just needed to start getting some plays from Devin Harris and Brook Lopez. It never happened.

Lopez looked out of sorts all evening, which is no surprise, because he had trouble with Bogut and the Bucks when the two teams faced-off in November. While Bogut showed how a young center could overcome a rough start, Lopez only attempted 2 shots in the first half and six for the game, finishing with 11 points. He was able to get to the foul line six times in the first half, but that part of his game disappeared as well, as he only attempted two more FTs in the second half.

And what about Devin Harris? Was he even on the floor last night? Of course, I’ve been searching for the 2008-09 Devin Harris all season. He finished with 5 points on 0-4 shooting. Just doing a quick look on Basketball-Reference, it was Devin’s first game wit 0 FGs in 30+ minutes since December 10, 2007, when he was with the Dallas Mavericks.

Regardless of how well Yi Jianlian is playing, the Nets were/are a team built around Lopez and Harris, the point guard and center combination that was supposed to make this team attractive to this summer’s free agents despite the Nets overall team record. There’s obviously still plenty of time for both to get on another roll this season, but when both are simultaneously out of sorts, the Nets are going to resemble what they were tonight – the worst team in the league, and perhaps one of the worst of all time.
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