The Nets assault of the 72-73 Sixers W.O.A.T. continued, as the Nets fell to the Miami Heat 97-87 at the Izod Center tonight, dropping New Jersey’s record to 7-63.
So why did the Nets lose tonight? Without even getting into specifics you can start with shooting percentages. The Heat were good (55 percent) and the Nets didn’t (38 percent). Then there were more third-quarter blues, as the Nets were outscored 27-14 in the period.
Unfortunately, the Nets also lost Terrence Williams for the foreseeable future, with an ankle/foot injury in the third quarter. What was most frustrating was TWill looked well on his way to a triple-double, finishing with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 23 minutes of play.
Strange game statistically for Brook Lopez, finishing with 26 points, but only 1 rebound.
Miami was led by the two-man game of Dwyane Wade (27 points, 12 assists) and Jermaine O’Neal (25 points, 9 rebounds). Michael Beasley also chipped in with 16 points.
The Nets PF tandem of Yi Jianlian and Kris Humphries combined for 10 points on 3-14 shooting.
The Nets only totaled 5 fast-break points and 34 points in the paint.
Last game against the Raptors, the Nets had a pretty good first half, but like they tend to do, they couldn’t hold onto the lead, and the Raptors ended up pulling away late. It comes down to something we have talked about at length here. The Nets just settle for too many jumpers in the second half.
I don’t know what it is to be honest. Maybe it is because teams amp up their defense (though the Raptors are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, so you figure it out). I honestly think that the Nets get so nervous that they just want the game to end when they get the lead. They hold onto the ball at length, there isn’t a lot of passing, and the ball goes up on the outside. The Nets are going to have to play better in the second half if they are going to want to win three more games (and let’s be honest, that is the goal here). Onto the lineups (a quickie):
This post is a little late considering that it is from the Sixers game last Wednesday, but I still think that this is something we need to look at. This game Chris Douglas-Roberts had one of his “old games.” What I mean by this is that he was being efficient, attacking the basket, and getting himself to the foul line.
Before we get to the post, yes I know CDR finally got minutes and yes Devin Harris and Yi were out, but that isn’t why he was so successful against the Sixers. In my opinion, there is only one reason why CDR was so productive was that he was aggressive.
Even without the basketball, Chris Douglas-Roberts looked different. The past 30 or 40 games, CDR was kind of just standing in the corner, not really looking for the ball. Here, CDR just looks different. He is looking for an opportunity to cut, and as soon as he gets the ball he knows what to do with it. He quickly swings it to Hayes who knocks down the jumper.
Desperation for the Nets is increasing, according to the latest report from Al Iannazzone: Veterans Devin Harris, Keyon Dooling and Tony Battie spoke during a players’ meeting last week about doing whatever it takes to win three more games. The general message: It doesn’t matter how dysfunctional this situation and season have been, avoiding the NBA record for fewest wins in a season should be everyone’s focus.
Jarvis Hayes on the remaining 13 games: “It’s too late in the season to be looking for luck,” Hayes said.
More from Jarvis in the New York Post: “We’re definitely pressing,” he said. “Everybody’s pressing, myself included. We have to look at it like this is our playoff. Every night we’re getting teams’ best shot because they don’t want to be the team that loses to us . . . and we gotta come out with the same mentality.
Dave D’Alessandro on Jarvis: It is a virtual certainty that Jarvis Hayes will have his pick of jobs this summer, because he has the kind of game that every contender can use, the kind of professionalism that rebuilding teams covet, and the kind of versatility that middling teams value, just to plug whatever hole might arise. But all things being equal, the pending free agent is just fine returning to a team that’s 7-62.
