Nets Are Scorching

Here’s the feed of yesterday’s press conference about the Nets’ move to the Prudential Center, courtesy of njnets.com:

The Orlando Magic jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, as they never trailed the New Jersey Nets, winning 97-87 at the Izod Center tonight.

• Statistically, Brook Lopez held his own against Dwight Howard tonight in the match-up of elite Eastern Conference centers. Brook finished with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block and Dwight finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks.
• The Nets got killed from long-range tonight, allowing 13 threes to Orlando, who shot 42 percent from beyond the arc.
• Yi Jianlian finished with 2 points and 5 fouls in 33 minutes of play.
• Another strong night for Terrence Williams off the bench, who finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Trenton Hassell, meanwhile, finished with 4 points in 18 minutes as a starter. He’s starting because…?
• It what will be his last game at the Izod Center, Vince Carter finished with 13 points on 4-11 shooting.

Sure last game against the Cavs ended up being a 20 point loss, but I liked how the team played.  Essentially, the Nets played with the Cavs for three quarters, and you can say that the Cavs coasted, but I didn’t see it.  The Magic are a team that runs hot and cold, and if the Nets catch them on a cold shooting night, then who knows what could happen.

As for Courtney Lee, I assume that he is pushing to play against his former teammates, but I just don’t think they will let him out there.

Devin Harris vs. Jameer Nelson

Devin Harris has had some trouble with his shot the last couple of games, and I think that has to do with him settling for outside jumpers a little more.  Against Jameer Nelson, he is going against a PG who can’t match his speed.  I see him getting into the paint and having a pretty successful game if he can finish.

Advantage:  Push

Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Vince Carter

Mark summed CDR’s performance as of late perfectly:

Chris Douglas-Roberts had a very short stretch in the third quarter where in the span of 2+ minutes, he took over the game offensively, and made three consecutive short runners in the lane – vintage CDR style. Sadly, they were the only three field goals made by Douglas-Roberts all game, missing his other 7 attempts. It’s just so frustrating because as a fan, you can see what CDR can accomplish, but you’re left wondering who that player on the court is the other 20+ minutes a game.

No matter what CDR and his supporters say, it isn’t the system.  He just doesn’t seem as aggressive as he used to be.

Advantage:  Vince Carter

Jarvis Hayes vs. Matt Barnes

I think Jarvis will be back in the starting lineup since the Nets really need an outside shooting threat to help clear things up from Brook in the center.

Advantage:  Matt Barnes

Yi vs. Rashard Lewis

Andre Blatche is like a poor man’s Rashard Lewis, and we saw what he did against Yi and the Nets.

Advantage:  Rashard Lewis

Brook Lopez vs. Dwight Howard

Because Dwight is such a good defender, Brook might get single coverage tonight.  Brook has been playing very well as of late, and hopefully that can continue.

Advantage:  Dwight Howard

Andrew Melnick from the Magic blog, Howard the Dunk is back with NAS again to discuss his team headed into the season’s final six weeks (and likely more for Orlando). I also answered some questions for him at his site, so be nice and check it out for all of our sakes.

NAS:  Vince Carter has had an up and down season and is averaging a career low in ppg. Is there any buyer’s remorse in Orlando?

After a disastrous month of January, there was. Carter was not expected to post the same kind of numbers he has throughout his career, but he doesn‘t need to. In the offseason, he joined a team featuring three All-Stars (Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson), so his attempts, minutes and subsequently his points per game were going to drop. Carter’s struggles were often discussed heading into the new year but in January, Magic fans began to turn against him. Carter averaged just 8.7 points per game on 22.4% shooting in the month and even watched a few close fourth quarters from the bench as J.J. Redick closed out games.  In the month of February, things began to change. Carter finally found his place on the team. After proclaiming that he would turn it around in February, he has done a much better job of driving the ball into the paint and getting his teammates involved. Plus, his shot is finally falling. Carter averaged 18.6 points per game on 51.5% shooting, highlighted by Carter‘s 48-point performance on February 8th against New Orleans. He is not only taking less shots but he’s taking much better shots.

Carter is still going to be called upon to make plays down the stretch in games and as of late, he’s done a good job of doing that. If Carter keeps getting into the paint and continues to make good decisions with the ball, that remorse should disappear.

NAS:  Judging from his per 40 minute numbers, it looks like Ryan Anderson is a player, but he’s also been racking up some DNP-CDs it appears. Is it just a result of the numbers game in Orlando, or are the other reasons he’s not getting PT?

It’s a mix of both. Anderson has struggled at times defensively and that has prompted Stan Van Gundy to turn to Brandon Bass in certain situations to provide a spark on that end, which is the cause for Anderson‘s recent string of DNPs. Anderson was a starter early in the season because of the suspension of Rashard Lewis, but now Lewis is playing heavy minutes. In fact, Van Gundy recently said that Lewis was going to play even more. Without consistent playing time, Anderson’s shot hasn’t been falling like it was earlier this season.

Remember also that Anderson is also a very young player – he’s 21, is in his second year of the league and is trying to find a role on a team who has their sites set on a championship.

Anderson is a better player than I originally thought. His rebounding (Anderson has a rebounding rate of 12.3%) and ability to get to the basket (34% of his shots have been close, dunks or tips) are better than most thought.

Anderson’s youth, Bass’ athleticism and Rashard Lewis’ extended minutes are the reasons that Anderson’s minutes have been limited.

NAS: Besides Cleveland, do you see any other legitimate threats to the Magic in the Eastern Conference as we head into the playoffs? Any first round match-ups that could pose a problem?

It’s too early to completely rule out the Boston Celtics. It does however, seem like the Magic are better equipped to deal with them this season. The Magic have used their depth and at times they have matched Boston’s size (playing Howard alongside Marcin Gortat) to wear Boston down, which has resulted in two come-from-behind Magic victories in their last two games against the Celtics.

Sure, the Celtics are old, Rasheed Wallace has been a terrible signing and KG’s knees look like they can fold at any time, but if Boston enters the playoffs with their starting five of Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Paul Piece, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo intact, they are still a dangerous team.

Atlanta is another team that is much improved and you can’t rule them out, but Orlando has dominated the Hawks this season, blowing them out in all three meetings so far. The Hawks have no answer for Dwight Howard and the Magic have good athletes and great depth to match the Hawks in that department.

From talking to the players, it is obvious that the Magic would prefer not to have to deal with Dwyane Wade in the postseason. John Salmons has also been a great addition for the Milwaukee Bucks, who have been playing very well lately. The Magic have played more consistent basketball lately and if they do that in the first round, they shouldn’t have anything to worry about, but if they don’t they will be in for a fight. Remember, the Philadelphia 76ers took the Magic to six games last year (even though it did take two buzzer-beaters).

It has taken a lot longer than expected, but I think Terrence Williams game (on the offensive end) has finally reached a level that Nets’ fans were hoping to get from him at the start of the season.  Before looking at his game Wednesday night, let’s talk about what the problem was early on.  I attribute it to him logging so many minutes early at so many different positions that he was unable to get comfortable and learn.  Yesterday, Williams talked to Colin Stephenson about it:

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” he said Thursday. “I tried to come here and use the same game that I used in college, but my shot wasn’t falling. I had to re-evaluate myself as a player and change my game to more so going to the hole, but still do the other little things that I do and love to do, as far as, like, passing, playing ‘D’ and rebounding.”

The little things are coming along for Terrence Williams, and they added up to a great game against LeBron James and the Cavs.  Let’s look at what makes him a threat on the offensive end.

In The Halfcourt

Terrence Williams’ first step is amazing, and he is starting to really use that to his advantage now.  Look at the above clip.  When he makes the catch, Anthony Parker (his defender) doesn’t even worry about Williams’ shot.  He is defending the drive, and that is what makes this move even more amazing.  He takes the space that Parker gives him, puts him on his heels, and crosses him over, getting right to the rim to convert the lay-up.

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Ben Couch gives a nod to us, so let’s nod right back and mention his great piece on Courtney Lee, who was really settling into a groove recently until he injured his ankle: “Once you start getting back to your normal self and playing well, something always pops up. I just look at it as adversity, and I can overcome it: just continue to work on my game and just work myself back into shape and being healthy and go from there.”

However, Kiki lists Lee as “doubtful” for tonight’s game against his former mates.

Make sure you check out njnets.com at 1 p.m. as the live stream their press conference from the Prudential Center.

Rod Thorn, meanwhile, is unsure of the impact Newark will have on this year’s free agent class: “It’s hard to say,” Thorn said when asked if the Nets will have an edge because of their arena situation. “I think Newark will be a good place to play but I don’t know what it means for free agents.”

Kentucky coach, and former Nets coach, John Calipari talks with Al Iannazzone and pays a compliment to the current Nets roster, while naturally saying how bad the roster he took control of was in the 90s: “You got other guys that are legitimate NBA players,” he said. “I go back and look at our team my first year [1996-97], and whew. You look at our roster … when we won our 10th game I had a celebration because I thought we were only going to win nine. The team I had, I couldn’t believe it.”

Terrence Williams has been playing better lately, but as Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger captures, it hasn’t been easy for him this season: “I really didn’t know what to expect,” he said Thursday. “I tried to come here and use the same game that I used in college, but my shot wasn’t falling. I had to re-evaluate myself as a player and change my game to more so going to the hole, but still do the other little things that I do and love to do, as far as, like, passing, playing ‘D’ and rebounding.”

Al Iannazzone looks at whether or the not the Nets miss Vince Carter’s leadership.

Dave Markowitz of the Daytona Beach News Journal assures Nets fans that the 72-73 Philadelphia 76ers were worse. Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel looks at the worst team’s in sports history and mentions an NJIT team I believe Sebastian is familiar with.

Another “Buckeye” argues against LeBron bolting for NYC.

View from the Couch – Cavs the Blog – Fear the Sword

When you’re watching your team play the Cleveland Cavaliers, you absolutely expect LeBron James to completely dominate, and with Antawn Jamison now in the fold, I was prepared to see him have a big game last night against the Nets as well.

But when you get big games from those two guys, and then have to rummage through the carnage left by a player like JJ Hickson, that’s when you know your team is in trouble. Then again, it’s by no accident that the Nets have 53 losses on March 3 – no matter what Boston Celtics fans are currently telling you.

Despite playing the Cavs relatively well earlier in the season the Nets seemed destined to get smacked around in match No. 4, so the final 111-92 score was not a huge shock to me. But I’m still having a hard time getting over this Hickson thing. Filling in for the injured Shaquille O’Neal, and the absent Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Hickson, who’s averaging 7.6 points and 4.4 rebounds for the season, is exactly the kind of player that can’t beat you. With 20 points and 13 rebounds, that’s exactly what he did.

What’s worse was how he did. In the first quarter, within the first 90 seconds of the game, Hickson  was able to grab two offensive rebounds because of poor boxing out by the Nets. Unlike Yi Jianlian, who grabbed a ton of offensive rebounds on Sunday night but had zero points on cutbacks, Hickson got four points off those two boards.

Maybe you could have chalked the early Hickson buckets for the Nets being a tad unprepared to deal with him, but with about three minutes left in the third, Hickson jumped in for an offensive rebound again, untouched.

It was so frustrating, it almost made me overlook the performances by LeBron (26 points, 14 assists, 7 rebounds) and Antawn Jamison (19 points, 9 rebounds). LeBron was really pushing it early. I remember checking the box score at one point in the second quarter and saw he had 16 points already and I thought he could have gone for 50 if he wanted to, but the Cavs checked into cruise control, only revving the engine again when the Nets cut their lead down to 12 or 11 points.

When the Nets did go on their runs, Terrence Williams (21 points, 8-16 shooting, 7 assists, 5 rebounds), was the primary catalyst. In the second quarter, Williams made three separate plays in the span of four minutes, where he demonstrated what an absolutely dominant player he can be offensively, when he just focuses on scoring near the hoop. He capped off the scoring spurt with a one-handed dunk with about 2:30 left in the quarter. TWill was setting the offense at the top of the key, when he exploded with his first step, carving his way around the entire Cleveland defense before getting the dunk.

A player I was disappointed in was Brook Lopez. Lopez has been pretty successful against the Cavs when Shaq has been in the lineup, averaging 21.7 points in his three previous games. While he finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds last night, it was about as quiet of a double-double from Lopez as you could get. He struggled in the early going, while Hickson was doing his damage, and Lopez didn’t seem to get into a groove until the second half, when he scored 12 of his points.

Final thoughts after the jump:
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The Barclays Center web site now has a countdown clock to the groundbreaking on March 11.

The New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority is still in massive debt, but the Nets move to Newark could help them out, according to a Business Week report.

The always kind (to the Nets) Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus notes that with their expected assets this summer (draft picks, cap space), the Nets could very quickly resemble a 50-win team.

Michael Fensom of the Star-Ledger on last night’s game: Don’t be fooled by the Nets logo scrawled at halfcourt, this lame duck NBA arena belonged to James on this night. Fans jostled during pregame warm-ups near the Cavaliers’ end of the floor for a glimpse of No. 23. On the Nets’ end, Chris Quinn’s autograph didn’t seem as appealing to young fans.

In the New York Post recap, LeBron paid a compliment to the Nets again: “It’s a really good franchise, though. It’s not a franchise that’s lived long, but they’ve got a bright future. We’ll see what goes on in the future for this team. It’s really good, though.”

George Willis of the Post talks with sports marketing experts about LeBron’s financial potential if he came to the Knicks or Nets.

Howard Beck of the New York Times has some fan response to Lebron: Desperation was in the air Wednesday night. Two minutes into the game, a fan bellowed, “Please come, LeBron!” — a plea that was easily heard across the morgue-like arena. Another wore a Knicks jersey stitched with “King James” and the No. 23. He held a sign reading: “119 days left. Please help us!”

Mitch Lawrence heard differently: Unlike Knicks fans, Net fans last night didn’t plead for James to sign this summer with the worst team in the NBA. They booed him. They taunted him. For all that, they deserve a round of applause.