Nets Are Scorching

If you weren;t able to win tonight’s game game it’s ok, because it was exactly like the game before…and the game before that…and basically the entire season.  The Nets were able to keep it close through the first half, as they only trailed by 6, but the Warriors used a 38 point 3rd quarter to pull ahead for good.

Now this brings up something that I have been wanting to talk about for a long time.  People ask me why are the Nets so bad, they have decent talent in the starting lineup.  Every single time I respond with something along the lines of “The Nets have the worst roster 6-16 I have ever seen.”  Tonight exemplified that perfectly.  The Nets kept it close the duration of the first quarter, a quarter that had all the starters play for most of it.  The Nets’ bench enters and the Warriors lead stretches out to 17.  The starters return and are able to close the half only down by 6.  At the half the +/- for Brook Lopez was 0.  It was -1 for Courtney Lee and it was -3 for Devin Harris.

The second half started with Devin Harris on the bench, he aggravated his wrist injury and didn’t return.  I thought the game was over at that moment, but the Nets were actually feeding the ball into Brook and they were able to keep the game under double-digits.  Then Brook picked up his 4th foul.  That’s when the 38 point quarter happened.  In a 30+ point loss, Brook Lopez posted a -7…Lee a -10.  Hayes the Nets best bench player posted a -19…Dooling a -21.

• We are probably looking at another few games without Devin.  This is going to be interesting.
• The Nets were able to hold Monta Ellis to 4 points…because he only played 1 half.
• Courtney Lee looked good shooting the ball, his feet were set and he was knocking them down.
• CDR looked good as well.   He looked much more aggressive, looking for his own shot and attacking the basket.  Good things happen when you attack the basket.
• Maggette hit the Nets for 29 points…he got to the line 12 times.
• Steph Curry killed the Nets dropping 32 points.
• The Warriors held the Nets under 80…let that sink in.
• Hey, we get another game tomorrow!

Alright, we are now starting the second half of the season, and hopefully the Nets will be able to outperform the first half (shouldn’t be hard, but we are talking about the Nets).  In my opinion the Warriors are like a watered down version of the Suns, they run up and down the court a lot, don’t play that much defense, and they like to shoot threes.  That’s all I really got, so onto the matchups!

Devin Harris vs. Stephen Curry

Steph Curry is doing an admirable job playing the point guard even though that isn’t his natural position.  He sets up his teammates, and if you don’t watch out, he can get to the hole on you.  You need to be careful though with Curry, because sometimes he doesn’t bring the ball up, and when that happens, it is usually a set-play to get Curry an open three.  If he does get open, he’s knocking it down, so the Nets need to watch out for that.  Despite the perceived lack of speed, he is still getting a good number of steals defensively, but I do think that Devin Harris will be able to get in the lane and hopefully be successful tonight.

Advantage:  Push

Courtney Lee vs. Monta Ellis

Monta Ellis has been putting up a lot of points, but something that really hasn’t been talked about is the number of shots he’s taken.  Over his last three games he has taken 98 shots.  That is over 30+ shots a game…you know how we talk about Yi shooting too much?  Monta shots about 10-15 more shots than Yi…that’s a lot.  Sure, he has put up 30+ each of the last three games, but 98 shots in three games…damn…

Advantage:  Monta Ellis

Chris Douglas Roberts vs. Devin George

Devin George has been forced to play because of the injuries the Warriors have suffered this year.  A lot of these guys have been logging 40+ minutes, so maybe their will be a fatigue factor?  Anyway, if CDR chooses to be aggressive, he could  have a big game.  George isn’t as quick as he was like 5 years ago, so CDR should be able to get to the basket consistently.

Advantage:  CDR

Yi vs. Corey Maggette

This is going to be a real tough match-up for Yi.  The Warriors love playing small, and Maggette at the 4 is crazy to think about, but it works.  Especially on the offensive end.  Maggette is a good enough scorer that he forces teams to go small to match-up with him.  If teams don’t Maggette can drop 30+ on you.  Expect to see some Hassell/Hayes at the 4, and don’t be surprised to see limited playing time for Humphries at the PF, this is a tough game for him in terms of match-ups.

Advantage:  Push

Brook Lopez vs. Andris Biedrins

Biedrins is a nice help defender (he gets a ton of blocks that way), but I think Brook Lopez will be able to eat him up on the post one-on-one.  On the offensive end Biendrins could give Brook some trouble with his speed, but I don’t see that effecting Brook too much.

Advantage:  Brook

In Dave D’s latest article, he briefly glosses over something that I find really interesting:

For starters, we’d consider sending Terrence Williams to Springfield for a few weeks. He’s not getting much out of being here, and everyone can see that. He doesn’t play much anymore — 8.4 mpg this month, with no discernible contribution across the board — and maybe a short vacation convinces him to start playing a team game again, which he hasn’t shown much interest in doing lately.

The D-League is there for a reason. And as long as there’s roster space for a call-up who will bust his tail for a chance to play a few weeks in the NBA, you might as well use it.

At the beginning of the year, I would have scoffed at this.  Not only because I was (still am) one of his biggest supporters, but also because I saw him playing a very big role on the team at this point in the year.  Instead Terrence Williams has logged just 78 minutes in 9 games this month.  Let’s look at the pros and cons of sending Terrence down:

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Josh Boone never had the look of a budding superstar, but there was a period where he looked like an above average big man, that could spot start when needed and be productive enough to help the Nets off the bench.

But now, Boone looks to be spending his finals days in a Nets uniform at the back of the bench. He’s been connected to trade rumors for weeks now, and has been predicted by beat writers and others in the know as “the next Net to go,” but additionally, a chronic knee injury and the arrival of Kris Humphries from Dallas has rendered Boone pretty useless.

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A fantastic and thorough look by Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm at the potential conundrum the Nets have on their hands if they trade Devin Harris, but fail to get PG prospect John Wall in the draft.

Speaking of trading Devin, Rod Thorn tries to put an end to these rumors: “It’s very, very unlikely that we’d trade Devin. I never say never, but it’s very unlikely that he’s going to be traded,” Nets president Rod Thorn said as he watched the start of practice at a health club in the city’s financial district.

Julian Garcia talks to Indianapolis native Courtney Lee about the Colts resting their starters down the stretch. I would like to add Go Jets (sorry Sebastian).

The San Francisco Chronicle profiles Brook Lopez, calling him one of the few bright spots on the Nets.

On the heels of his somewhat favorable comments about coming to the Nets this summer, the Bright Side of the Sun Phoenix Suns blog talks exclusively to Amare Stoudamire regarding his thoughts on getting trading and free agency.

Rory of Slippery When Nets fame, talks the halfway point of the season and Bon Jovi.

For those who want to keep reading up on John Wall, the Charlotte Observer looks at how the Raleigh, NC, native chose the University of Kentuckey over local powerhouse schools Duke and North Carolina.

While I understand a growing contingent of Nets fans would be willing to personally drive Devin Harris to the airport if he were to be traded in the near future, I can only plead to those fans to please think about what you’re possibly getting in return. Because when it comes to the recent Devo for Caron Butler rumors that are making their rounds, I really don’t think this is the kind of the deal Nets fans should be looking to make.

In 07-08 and 08-09, Butler averaged more than 20 points per game on about 46 percent shooting, including 35 percent on threes two seasons ago. In 07-08 he put up a fantastic 20.59 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and last season, he put up a respectable 18.84 on a depleted Wizards team.

The problem is, Butler’s 2009-10 numbers come nowhere close to what he put up the past two seasons. With a True Shooting percentage of 51.4 and a PER of 13.67, these are Butler’s worst numbers since 2003-04, his second season in the NBA. He is the epitome of a below average offensive player at the SF right now, averaging 16.9 points on 43 percent shooting, including 29 percent from three.

And while the Wizards play better D with Butler on the floor than off (defensive efficiency of 110.2 per 100 possession on the floor vs. 111.1 per 100 off) Butler has been called out by some as being a bit lazy on defense. ESPN’s John Hollinger said he easily lost focus once Washington’s season went in the tank last season. Basketball Prospectus said in its preseason preview that Butler “gives back some of that value at the defensive end.”

So we have a player posting near career-low numbers who’s inconsistent on defense. Sounds like he’ll fit right in around here, right?

While I’m not opposed of acquiring a player like Butler before the trade deadline, it can’t be at the expense of Devin Harris. While Harris has struggled mightily, he proved last year with Vince Carter that he can be productive with an offensive-minded running mate. Plus, who’s your point guard after this season? As we already know, John Wall is no guarantee.

I still think Devin Harris needs the benefit of the doubt here. I’m as unhappy with him as the next guy, but I only think you’re in a position to move him if you get the number one pick in June. Until then, Harris is an average player at a tough position to fill, who has shown the ability to raise his offensive game when he has other players around him who can take some of the scoring burden off his shoulders. While I can’t imagine they have a terrible amount of value, the Nets would be better served looking to package Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts or Yi Jianlian with some of their expiring contracts if they’re trying to acquire a “core” piece. I was semi-satisfied to read this morning that the Nets might back down from their Devin trade talk, but with the way this organization is being run, anything can happen it seems.

Advanced Box Score | Valley Of The Suns | Bright Side Of The Sun

In what seems to be the story of the Nets’ season, a team coming in struggling gets healthy at the Nets’ expense.  The Suns came into the game on a 4 game losing streak, blowing a number of different double-digit leads, but last night, the Suns ending up winning by a final score of 118-94.  It looked like the Nets were going to hang around for the long haul, especially after the Nets’ responded to a Suns run with a run of their own.  In fact the Nets had a lead late in the second quarter, and when is the last time we can say that (It’s all about the little victories at this point)?  The Nets were able to get as close as 6 in the third quarter, but the Nets hit their little cold streak and that gave the Suns enough opportunity to pull away.

So why were the Nets so successful in the first half?  Well, they prevented the Suns from running, and that is the key to their game.  The Nets did this by limiting running opportunities.  First, they hit their shots (they shot over 50% in the first half) and this forced the Suns to pull the ball out of the basket and inbound it instead of just grabbing the rebound and running.  Hitting shots also allowed for the Nets to get back on defense and keep the Suns in front of them.  It doesn’t sound like much, but when you make the Suns walk/jog it up court it makes them less effective offensively.  The Nets also limited their turnovers in the first half, and this cut down their running opportunities as well.  During the second half though, the Nets missed more shots and committed more turnovers.  This allowed for the Suns to get out and do what they do best.  Run.

Remember that whole zone defense issue?  Well prepare to hear about the zone again after this performance.  Brook Lopez was doing a lot of damage to the Suns’ man-to-man defense, and in the middle of the third quarter, the Suns decided to switch it up and throw a little zone at the Nets.  They struggled with it, so the Suns stuck with for a large portion of the rest of the game.  The Nets weren’t hitting shots from the outside, so the Suns were able to pack it in and crowd Brook Lopez.  It was like a vicious flashback, we haven’t seen Brook getting double/triple teamed like that since Yi’s return, and with Yi not really shooting it well from the outside, the Nets had nobody to shoot over the top of the zone.  The Nets stalled and the Suns pulled away.  Some quick hitting bullets after the jump:

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Could the trade talk with Devin Harris finally be dying down?

Jarvis Hayes is still having his ups and downs since returning from a hamstring injury: “I’m still in camp,” the Nets’ valuable wing said. “But unfortunately, time is not on my side.”

Al Iannazzone lashes out regarding the Nets’ pathetic play: You can attribute the Nets’ historically bad start to early season injuries, but now there are no excuses for them dropping 18-of-19 games before Wednesday. All their main guys are back and playing heavy minutes, although not always hard.

At least Amare Stoudamire doesn’t hate the Nets the way Chris Bosh does: “There are some teams you may say no way (to),” Stoudemire said. “But I don’t think the Nets are one of them.”

Could the Nets get LeBron via John Wall?