Nets Are Scorching

In a back and forth game that saw both teams with double-digit leads in the first half, the Toronto Raptors had the last laugh, pulling away late and beating the New Jersey Nets 108-99 in Toronto tonight.

• The Nets had a balanced scoring attack, with six players in double figures, but they only shot 44 percent from the field, including a 4-17 performance from Devin Harris, who finished with 15 points.
• Strong bench performances for the Nets, led by Kris Humphries with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Terrence Williams had 5 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in 20 minutes and Chris Douglas-Roberts looked much better off the bench with 8 points and 5 rebounds.
• Former Net Antoine Wright burned his old mates for 18 points.
• Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani each scored 20 points for Toronto.
• The Raptors were 10-19 (53%) from three.

Before we get to tonight’s game, I did a post on last night’s Nets-Pistons game for my other website NBAPlaybook.  You can check it out if you want, but it basically comes down to the Pistons executing and the Nets no executing.

As for tonight, well, tonight is going to be tough.  I don’t expect to see the type of blowout that happened the last time the Raptors and the Nets met, but with the Nets coming off a tough home loss last night then hopping on a plane and having to play again today, things could get messy (especially with the Raptors a team that loves to run it up and down the floor).  No word on Keyon Dooling yet, but expect to see some Tony Battie, Josh Boone, and more of Chris Quinn tonight as the Nets regulars made need more breathers.  Onto the lineups:

Devin Harris vs. Jarrett Jack

For 47 minutes and 45 seconds, Devin Harris looked really good.  Those last 15 seconds, not so much.  Still we shouldn’t discount the rest of the game for those final few seconds (even though that was a really really bad shot).  Devin looked great, he was getting into the lane and either finishing or getting the ball to teammates in position where they can score.  What I really liked is that Harris was looking to score when he got into the lane.  Sometimes Harris gets into a mode where he is exclusively looking for the foul call and just throws stuff up there while trying to draw contact.  The refs haven’t been giving him that call, and it seems like Harris has finally made the adjustment.

Advantage:  Push

Courtney Lee vs. Sonny Weems

A lot of CDR fans are pointing to Courtney Lee and saying that he should be the one moving to the bench instead of CDR.  Well, a quick stretch in the fourth quarter last night shows why he is on the court.  Lee hit a spot up three, and in the next possession, he got a steal, one that lead to another basket for the Nets.  Even when Courtney isn’t getting the ball, he is still out there working hard and making things happen, and that is why he is on the court.

Advantage:  Push

Jarvis Hayes vs. Hedo Turkoglu

Hayes had another solid game, and at some point during the game, Mike Fratello said of Hayes, “It just looks like it is going to go in every time he shoots it.”  Whenever Hayes is in the game, the defense needs to pay attention to him, because he can shoot it.  That makes it easier for everyone else.  He has his work cut out for him tonight.  Turkoglu is a solid player on both ends, and his height can, and probably will, give Hayes problems.

Advantage:  Push

Yi vs. Chris Bosh

This is going to be a tough match-up for Yi, and if he starts out cold, I can see Humphries getting a good amount of the minutes, just because he is a guy who will try to body up Bosh on the defensive end.  If Humphries can even contain Bosh just a little bit, I think the Nets have a chance tonight.

Advantage:  Chris Bosh

Brook Lopez vs. Andrea Bargnani

Bargnani is the type of player who can give Brook some trouble on the offensive end, so if Brook is covering him, he is really going to have to work to close out and get in Bargnani’s face to prevent easy three point shots.  Also, the Nets are going to need to go to Brook into the post and force Bargnani to cover him down low.  Make him work and he should tire by the end of the game.  Also, who knows?  The Nets may be able to pick up some fouls on him as well.

Advantage:  Brook Lopez

We got a bonus edition of Bloggers Talk today, as the Nets hit the road for Toronto. Here’s Sam Holako from the great TrueHoop Ratpors site, Raptors Republic. I also answered some questions for him over at his site, so as good citizens of NAS, you should check it out.

NAS: A 7-13 start caused a little bit of panic in Raptor-land but the team has settled in nicely and is now above .500 and in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Is there anything you can credit for the turnaround?

The turnaround was due to an improvement on a couple fronts: 1) Bargnani just seemed to turn it on in December, and played the fiercest defense we have seen from him. He has also made a real effort to crash the boards, which has been one of his biggest knocks 2) Calderon went down, and Jack moved to starting unit bringing a bit more defense 3) Production from the bench has increased dramatically. Beinelli and Weems are legitimate threats to score, Wright is our version of Bruce Bowen and Amir Johnson is the best big man we’ve had coming off the bench ever.

NAS: Obviously all eyes continue to be on the Chris Bosh situation. Is there any shot he stays in Toronto beyond this season, and do you really see a suitable trade partner out there if the Raptors want to go in that direction?

The only way Bosh wont be in a Raptor uniform next season is if he comes out and says that he wants to be traded. Given his tone the last few weeks and his comments during the summer (how he considers Toronto home), I don’t see him wanting out. Once you factor in the Raptors reversal of fortunes, and this being his team, and his country, it is tough to leave that and go. Also, if he doesn’t resign, he leaves $30mil on the table, that’s a lot of dough with the CBA coming up ant the end of next season.

NAS: A lot of Raptors fans were seemingly pumped for Andrea Bargnani entering this season (including a few who took umbrage with our site ranking Brook Lopez ahead of him at the C position). Are you happy with the progression he’s show this season or do you still feel like he has room to grow?

The comparison between Lopez and Bargnani is interesting. I bet Thorn wouldn’t trade Lopez for Bargnani if he was offered. Bargnani started the year scoring well, but has really picked up the defense since early December. He is a beast in the paint, just ask Duncan and Howard. The sky is really limit for the guy; if he can rebound at a higher rate (8-9 a game) and take a few more shots a game, that extension he signed in the summer (5yr/$50mill) will be one of the best contracts in the league.

NAS: Putting aside the contract if you can, are you happy with Hedo Turkoglu’s performance so far this season?

The Hedo signing was absolutely terrible. Triano is having trouble getting him enough touches since he, Calderon and Jack all need the ball to be effective on offense. Aside from giving the greatest post-game interview in NBA history (ball), he hasn’t lived up to that contract. It’s hard to separate the contract from whether I am happy with his performance since if he was making the mid-level, I would be super happy. He hasn’t helped his own cause with poor shooting from the perimeter. I’m just bitter with the whole Hedo situation…

When you talk about Kris Humphries (and really, who here doesn’t?), you have to talk statistics, but because prior to joining the Nets, he was one of the better per 48 minute players in the league. Now that Hump is getting more playing time in New Jersey, he’s still putting up some nice numbers.

For example, his PER of 15.99 is better than some of these “better known” PFs:

Danilo Galinari, Lamar Odom, Rashard Lewis, Anderson Varejao, Yi Jianlian and Joe Smith.

His rebound rate of 16.9 is better than some of these big names:

Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, Josh Smith, Amare Stoudamire, Elton Brand and David West.

Hoopdata Box Score – Piston Powered – Need 4 Sheed – View From the Couch

It’s just been one of those seasons for Devin Harris. The guy comes back after missing four games with a wrist injury and probably has his best all-around game of the season last night, finishing with 24 points and 11 assists on 7-14 shooting, but one inexplicable play in the closing seconds makes him the goat.

With the Nets getting another gift via the missed free throw, trailing the Pistons 96-93 with 17.7 seconds, they opted to push the ball up the court rather than call the timeout. After getting the ball past halfcourt, Courney Lee handed the ball back to Devin who decided to take a very ill-advised three-pointer a good three or four feet away from the line, airballing it.

There were a number of things wrong with how that played shook out besides the fact that Harris didn’t even hit the rim on the shot. First, why not call the timeout after Kris Humphries recovered the rebound off the Richard Hamilton free throw miss? Second, if you wanted to push the ball and saw no play open up immediately, why not call the timeout then? Third, if you’re still eager to go for it all then, why is Devin Harris shooting the ball with 7 seconds a yardstick away from the three point line?

Just odd playcalling/decision making by one of the guys who’s supposed to be the veteran presence on this team. The Nets are now 1-6 in these close and late games, and that’s obviously not a surprise given the inexperience on the roster, but even in the midst of this awful season for the Nets, I still expected more from Devin. I can understand that he was brimming with confidence after his performance last night, and rightly so. He was doing a little bit of everything, and from the opening tip, he looked like he had an extra bounce in his step. He was drawing fouls (10-11 free throw line), finishing at the hoop and even hit a few midrange jumpers, an element of his offensive game that’s been missing all season. It was a performance that gives credence to the theory that his struggles this season are due in large part to the ongoing list of injuries he’s experienced. But still, that last play. It’s hard to just look past it.

The Nets finished this home stand against some of the league’s worst teams 1-3, their one win coming against the Clippers, probably the best team of the four they faced. In a season where the Nets are on pace to have the worst record in NBA history, losing the past three games because of mental errors and poor execution in crunch time situations feels like an opportunity lost. It’s hard to disagree with that assessment, but there were a number of positives to take away from the homestead.

Brook Lopez continued his string of solid games, getting off to a hot start from the field and finishing with with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.  He even hit a straightaway jumper from about 20-feet out with 3 minutes remaining that had me cringing when he released, but was right on target, to put the Nets up by 4.

I thought Courtney Lee also had a nice all-around performance, finishing with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. He was 3-4 from three pointers, his one miss coming with less than a minute to go. But I thought he was very active on the defensive end, doing the best you can do against a guy like Rip Hamilton who just moves so well without the ball. There seems to be a lot of hand-wringing over the benching of Chris Douglas-Roberts with some fans asking why CDR got demoted over Courtney Lee. I honestly think it’s games like last night’s that keep Courtney in the coaching staff’s good graces. He very quietly does a lot of little things that help the team win.

And on the topic of CDR and starting rotations, I thought Jarvis Hayes settled into the starting five nicely. He hit a couple of jumpers early, and had a nice bucker in the first when he cut to the basket  and got the layup off the Devin Harris assist. CDR on the other hand, looked tentative again, and was limited to just 10 minutes.
Read more…

In an interesting reunion of former Nets, Lawrence Frank is in Orlando to give the struggling Vince Carter some advice.

Given that he really didn’t talk to the YES crew after the game, here’s Del Harris’ statement on why he’s leaving the team.

Good old Dwyane Wade has taken to using the Nets as a barometer for how bad it can get, after talking to Rafer Alston and Chris Quinn: “When I was a little younger, I’d have been ready to explode,” Wade said of the Heat’s performance. “As I get older, I understand you take the good with the bad. In this league to come back and fight another day is always a blessing . . . of course there are times when you’re angry. Everyone has those times. But I look at Rafer some times and I think, ‘You know what? It can be worse.’ I talk to Quinny all the time. It’s worse other places.”

Hoops columnist Peter Vescey talks about the Nets proposed move to Newark and throws some cold water on the Amare Stoudamire trade rumors.