The Nets had their winning streak (still feels funny to say) snapped tonight against the Chicago Bulls with a 106-83 loss. The Bulls jumped on the Nets early, taking a 16 points halftime lead and not looking back.
- No Net was really able to get into a flow, but Yi showed glimpses early. However, he picked up his 2nd foul after 3 minutes, and never really got back into the game.
- Brook Lopez struggled with a 2-11 night for 7 points.
- The “other guys” were able to beat up on the Nets as Taj Gibson put up a career high 22 points (16 in the first half), and Jannero Pargo scored 27.
- The Nets cut the lead to 7 in the third quarter as Jarvis Hayes went on a personal 9-0 run, but that was the closest they got as the Bulls pulled away and beat the Nets by 10 in the third.
- The Nets actually shot pretty well from 3 (10-22), but they allowed the Bulls to outshoot them going 7-13 (better than 50%).
I talked about it at length this morning in my Thoughts On The Game, but I really expect the Nets to come out loose tonight. Combine that with the confidence they have from beating the Bulls’ earlier in the year and I think the Nets may be able to leave Chicago with a three game winning streak. The Nets should have everyone available and ready, but the Bulls are missing Luol Deng tonight. How important is he, well the last time these two teams played, Deng had 27 points and 9 rebounds (both team highs). I also expect Brook to have another big game as he should be matched up with Brad Miller. Onto the lineups…
Devin Harris vs.Derrick Rose
Advantage: Push
Courtney Lee vs.Kirk Hinrich
Advantage: Kirk Hinrich
Terrence Williams vs. James Johnson
Advantage: Push
Yi vs. Taj Gibson
Advantage: Push
Brook Lopez vs. Brad Miller
Advantage: Brook Lopez
Piston Powered
The Nets’ second half against the Pistons might have been the best half of basketball the Nets have played all season (it was the most points they scored in the half). Even with this surge, the Nets tried really hard to give the game away at the end. There was a few turnovers, combined with a few threes from the Pistons and the lead got cut to 6. After a steal from Keyon Dooling, the Nets were able to ice the game from the line.
The main reason the Nets were able to come away with the win was the play of their frontcourt. Brook Lopez put in 37 points, but the real surprise was Yi Jianlian. Right from the start, Yi looked aggressive and knew what he was going to do with the ball before he even got it. Yi was able to get himself to the line (7 FTA), knock down his threes (2-2), and he was knocking down his jumpers. Yi’s ability to have games like these is the reason the Milwaukee Bucks drafted him so high, and it’s why the Nets were willing to take on Bobby Simmons contract to get him. Yi has just been unable to take the next step, which is doing it on a consistent basis. When Yi has things working for him, it makes the game so much easier for Brook Lopez (and this is why I think a guy like Chris Bosh would be a perfect fit as a Net), and it really showed yesterday. In his postgame recap, Ben Couch had an interesting quote from Brook Lopez about it:
“He’s been really working. We really jelled together and it’s improved. Now we get to the point where you can have us both in the game at crunch time and play off the two of us.”
Devin Harris also impressed me with his play. Usually when you see him have a low scoring game, it is because the shot isn’t falling and he will end up with a 1-15 night or something like that. Last night, Devin felt the shot wasn’t working and decided to get his bigs involved. He only attempted 4 shots the entire night, but he was able to rack up 12 assists. I think games like these are important to his development as a “true” point guard. He was able to gauge the Nets’ offense and what was working and took advantage of it. He was also dedicated to getting Brook Lopez the ball throughout the game, not just in the first half (which is something that has happened all year). With another game against a small/injured front-court (the Chicago Bulls), hopefully we can see this again.
One more thing on the Nets’ near collapse. It was obvious that they were playing tight late, trying to hold onto that elusive ninth win. If the Nets end up in that situation once again, I think they will handle it much differently. Now that they got win number 9, all the pressure is off of their shoulders. You can sense it in the way they celebrated/congratulated each other after the game and when listening to Brook Lopez and Devin Harris talk to reporters after the game. Without the whole W.O.A.T situation hanging over their head they don’t have to think and they can just play basketball. That’s when the game comes easy. When you don’t have to think and you can just play.
Some more thoughts after the jump…
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