Nets Are Scorching

It was a tale of two halves once again (surpise, surprise) and the Nets went from having a three point lead in after 2 quarters to trailing by ten after three.  That ended up being the difference in the game as they lost 100-90:

• So this Chris Bosh fellow is pretty good.  His mobility and outside shot making ability makes him a tough match-up for Brook Lopez, and he showed why as he finished with 36 points (on 27 shots) and 8 rebounds.
• Brook Lopez himself had a pretty solid game, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
• Yi struggled in his return, going 3-10 and only finishing with 9 points.
• Courtney Lee was covering Hedo most of the game, and you could see that his focus was on the defensive end tonight.  Only three shots (hitting 1), but he held Turkoglu to 13 points on 13 shots and stopped a 3-1 fast break all by himself.
• Jarvis Hayes put together a terrific effort today, and it seems that he is pretty comfortable coming off the bench.
• The Nets went from attacking the basket in the first half to standing outside and shooting jumpers in the second half.  Story of the season.

Well, that game against the Sixers was a bit of a disappointment huh?  That shouldn’t mean the Nets aren’t going to get to 10 wins.  I am still pretty confident this team is going to get there, especially with Devin coming back.  Oh yeah, Yi is coming back to.  Yes, he struggles on the defensive end, but every couple games he will have a game where he hits his shots, and the Nets could use that scoring to put themselves over the top.  We shall see what happens…onto the lineups…

Devin Harris vs. Jose Calderon

Mark and I have been saying that the old Devin Harris has been back for a couple of weeks now, but the beat writers are starting to say the same thing.  These guys are around the team more than we are (obviously), so if they are saying it,it tends to be true.

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Courtney Lee vs. DeMar DeRozan

One of our commenters (can’t remember off the top of my head who) showed us some stats that say Lee plays better with Devin Harris in the lineup.  Well, Devin is back tonight and this means more open shots for Courtney.  More open shots means he can jump straight up on his shot, and that is where he has success.

Advantage:  Courtney Lee

Terrence Williams vs. Hedo Turkoglu

Terrence Williams struggled in his first start in a while last game, but he had a really tough matchup in Andre Iguodala.  Iguodala is one of the few guys who can match up Williams in terms of size, speed, and athleticism.  Hedo is the better player at this time, and with his size he might get the better of Terrence on the offensive end, but when Terrence has the ball he should be able to use his speed to get some things done.

Advantage:  Hedo Turkoglu

Yi vs. Chris Bosh

Yi is back, and he gets a very tough matchup in Chris Bosh.  Bosh is one of the few Raptors playing really well as of late, and you can expect that to continue.

Advantage:  Chris Bosh

Brook Lopez vs. Andrea Bargnani

Brook has been frustrated with his (and the teams) play as of late, and here is Devin’s take on it:

“Teams have been a little bit more aware,” Harris said. “He’s been more of the focal point of the offense. His catches aren’t as deep as they were earlier in the year. It’s probably both on myself and him – it’s kind of a partnership that way.

“We need to make more of a conscious effort that when he has deep position we need to give him the ball regardless of if he has an open shot or not. He’s our focal point in the paint. We need to first and foremost try to get him going and try and get the rest of the guys going.”

I have been saying this all year basically, so it is good that the team recognizes this.  Hopefully they can make some adjustments to get him the ball down low.

Advantage:  Push

Another struggling, spiraling team makes its way to the Izod Center tonight as the Nets desperately try and get to 10 wins. Sam Holako, from the fantastic TrueHoop Raptors blog, Raptors Republic, has answered a few questions for us, explaining why things have gone south up north.

NAS: The last time the Raptors came to Jersey, they were on an upswing, but they’re sliding back down again and are in danger of missing out on the playoffs? Can you provide any explanation for their schizophrenic season?

The knock on this team was that it was built to outscore their opponent, and not outplay them. When games came down to a defensive battle, most Raptor fans had doubts about the teams ability to make stops, and those doubts had lots of legs. That upswing was the result of the players having a closed door meeting and working things out; but when Bosh got injured after the All-Star game, the team lost 4 in a row, and continued the losing when he came back. Toronto was able to hang on and capitalize on the Hawks mistakes down the stretch, but have otherwise regressed back to early season form against the Thunder. Fortunately we get the Nets tonight.

NAS: Chris Bosh seems to be lashing out regarding his role on this team and how much he’s able to take on. Is his attitude making Raptor fans uncomfortable about his status with this club beyond the season?

In all fairness, he has been getting more than the lion’s share of the blame even though he has producing, very consistently (and at an elite level) for the whole season. When Turkoglu and Bargnani aren’t producing, ducking the media and not having even a finger pointed at them, you can sort of understand his frustration. His comments have definitely concerned me (us), but I still think he resigns with the Raptors after getting courted by a few teams in the summer. There is nothing really new going on, just that it’s in the public now.

Dave D’Alessandro said the Nets look fired up in practice yesterday. He also believes the “old” Devin Harris, who along with Yi Jianlian should suit up tonight, is back: “And if you can still be objective about it, you can also admit he’s got much of his old game back — circle-to-circle speed, penetration, jumper touch, and ability to take the hit and finish.”

Al Iannazzone on Brook Lopez, after he reportedly stormed off the court in frustration at practice yesterday: “I like Lopez as a player and a person, but he needs to grow up a little. He was short with reporters on the trip, got annoyed during one interview I had with him in OKC, snapped at someone in Philadelphia.”

Devin on Brook’s struggles: “Teams have been a little bit more aware. He’s been more of the focal point of the offense. His catches aren’t as deep as they were earlier in the year. It’s probably both on myself and him, it’s kind of a partnership that way,” Harris said. ” We need to make more of a conscious effort that when he has deep position we need to give him the ball regardless of if he has an open shot or not. He’s our focal point in the paint.”

Ben Couch talking to Terrence Williams yesterday about his performance on Wednesday: “I think I played horribly,” Williams said. “Some people may look at it as: 13 points, 7 rebounds and think it’s a good outcome, but not for me. I know what I’m capable of doing and what I was doing in the past. The last two games, I’ve been shooting the ball horribly, and I let Andre Iguodala get too many easy shots (on Wednesday).”

The Times profiles Marco G., the Nets MC at the Izod Center.