HoopData Box Score | Philadunkia | Liberty Ballers
It happened again! The Nets were able to get down three, foul, and have the Sixers miss foul shots. Again, they were unable to get a good look, as Hayes airballed a contested three. Last night marked the Nets second close loss in a row, as the Nets lost to the Sixers 83-79. Another tough loss against the Sixers (The 3 games against them have been decided by 10 points), but hey, at least we got a game-tying attempt up…right? In all seriousness, the Nets had another poor offensive stretch in the second half. The difference was the defense. Now, this could have been helped by the Sixers, who aren’t lighting up the scoreboard this year (they are in the bottom half of the league with an 103.5 Offensive Efficiency). The Nets are a team that will stall offensively once or more in a basketball game (I have written this far too many times to account). Against the Sixers, this stretch came in the third quarter. Instead of the game turning into a blow-out, the Nets were able to keep it close because they only allowed the Sixers to score 23 points. In the fourth quarter, they were able to make a game of it because they only allowed 14 points.
Despite the good defense, the Nets still lost, and now are 1-2 in their last 3 games. The close losses is a little frustrating because this is a pretty easy stretch for the team. In his game recap (which is a must-read after every game) Ben Couch talked about the team’s play:
After seven-straight double-digit losses, the Nets have begun to tighten up on defense, holding three consecutive opponents below 90 points and allowing no better than .421 shooting.
Though the offense matched the intensity against the Clippers in Wednesday’s 103-87 victory, topping 100 points and 53-percent shooting, it fizzled in the fourth quarter against Washington (13 points) and the final three quarters against Philadelphia. The droughts have left the Nets with a 1-2 record despite taking both of the losses down to the final minute.
“This was a stretch we looked at as an opportunity to win, put some wins together and unfortunately, we weren’t able to do it,” said point guard Keyon Dooling. “We started out pretty good against the Clippers but the last two we just haven’t had enough to get over the hump.”
Ben sums it up pretty nicely. The Nets have the right mentality though, they need to break up the schedule into groups of games, and look at it just like Keyon Dooling talked about. They have one more chance to get a W at home when they play Detroit Tuesday night at the IZOD. Now the Pistons are a really bad team right now, a combination of injuries and poor play make them a potential candidate for the next Nets win. We’ve been down this road before though. Some more thoughts on the game after the jump.
In his post game recap, Ben notes that Terrence Williams has now played over 15 minutes in 6 straight games. Terrence has been doing a great job of breaking down his man and creating opportunities for teammates on the perimeter by kicking the ball outside. Kiki is showing his faith in Terrence, and he isn’t disappointing. Again, quoting Ben:
After getting 26 ½ minutes against the Sixers, Terrence Williams has played at least 15 minutes in six straight games after doing so only once in the previous eight. The rookie swingman has earned the extended run by contributing across the board, and allowing his offense to come in the flow of the game, as evidenced by Sunday’s line of six points, 11 rebounds, three assists and a steal against only one turnover.
A two play stretch in the 2nd quarter showed flashes of brilliance from Williams. First dribbled the ball up, and nicely left it for Yi who drilled a jumper. He then brought it up and zinged a cross-court pass to Jarvis Hayes, who calmly knocked down the three. That stretch from Terrence came when Chris Quinn was on the court. Quinn has been getting some playing time and has been playing well (0-3 last night though). Quinn is a very good shooter, and he stretches the court for the Nets. The great thing about playing Quinn and Williams at the same time is that Terrence Williams can run the point on offense (which is what happened last night) and let Quinn work as the 2 where he is more effective. This doesn’t hurt the Nets though, because they cross-match Quinn and Williams defensively (Quinn guards the point/Williams guards the 2).
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