Nets Are Scorching

Well, now Terrence Williams has really gone and done it. Just when it looked like he was ready to come back to the team and contribute, he got himself suspended for two games for violating numerous team policies, Avery Johnson told the Nets before yesterday’s victory against the Hawks:

“We’ll take it day-by-day,” Johnson said. “The focus right now is on the Nets and the guys in uniform that are working their butts off, who have really bought into the program and they try.

“One of the things with the NBA is not about being an NBA player. It’s about being a professional.”

According to Al Iannazzone, this suspension seemed to tie-in to TWill being repeatedly late for practices.

This is incredibly frustrating for Nets fans and fans of TWill in general. The kid has so much talent, and as we witnessed in March and April of last year, when he’s focused, he can help this team win with his unique skillset. But unlike last season, when the inmates seemed to run the asylum under Kiki, I can’t see Avery Johnson being too tolerant of TWill’s nonsense, especially when he’s got solid citizen veterans in Anthony Morrow, Travis Outlaw and Stephen Graham ready to take his playing time.

It was a tough end to the Nets West Coast road trip to say the least, and they’re back in action tonight against the Atlanta Hawks at The Rock. After beginning the season 2-0 (both wins at home) the Nets have now lost 9 of 11 and although they have been competitive, they have not been able to get the W’s. The Hawks are coming off of an embarrassing loss at home to Celtics, where they lost by 23 and were outscored 39-13 in the first quarter. Aside from a Halloween loss to the Heat, the Nets 3 other losses at home have come by a combined 5 points. I’m sure they will continue to be competitive and keep games close but they need to start winning, especially at home.

Morrow and Outlaw. Mark wrote about the Nets starting shooting guard and small forward last week, and one of the team’s major issues has been getting these two to play well on the same night. Against Denver they each scored in double figures but shot a combined 10-25 from the field, not exactly a sparkling percentage. It would be nice to see a game where both of these guys shoot the ball well and contribute consistently.

The Nets Frontcourt. It is no secret that Kris Humphries has been a completely different player over the past few weeks and has really helped the Nets down low. But the Nets overall production in the paint Saturday against Denver was very impressive and is something they should build upon. Humphries, Brook Lopez and Derrick Favors combined for 44 points and 24 rebounds against the Nuggets and although Atlanta has a solid post player in Al Horford, the Nets will need consistent numbers from their inside players to get a win tonight.

Get an Early Lead. The Atlanta Hawks started the season 6-0 but have lost 6 of their last 8 and their effort has been questioned in some recent losses. The Nets are desperate for a home win tonight and the Hawks could be the perfect opponent, but they need to start fast. Coming off of a poor performance last night, Atlanta will be looking to start fast, and it will benefit the Nets to get an early lead and demoralize the Hawks.

For more coverage of the Atlanta Hawks, check out ESPN’s TrueHoop affiliate Hoopinion.

*Ed. note: After this article went up, it was learned that Terrence Williams will be inactive tonight for disciplinary reasons. More information to follow as details become available.

Yesterday morning, I think I ruffled a few feathers of Nets fans by suggesting that their recent performance on the West Coast was a bit of an eye opener for me regarding their need of an established volume scorer. While I understand the reservations of anointing Carmelo Anthony that scorer, especially at the cost of Derrick Favors, there are a few offensive trends developing that show that something needs to be changed about how this team goes about scoring (or not scoring) points.

For the best overall picture of the Nets offensive performance, look no further than their offensive efficiency, which at 100.9 points per 100 possessions, ranks them in the bottom third of the league (23^rd). Yes, they are better on offense than they were last year (dead last, 98.1 points per 100 possessions), but not that much better. If they maintain their current rate, they would have finished tied for 27^th last season. Given that the Nets are still a mediocre team defensively (105.6 points per 100 possessions, 19^th in the league), what they’re putting forward on the offensive end is just not good enough.

So how did the Nets get here? For starters, they currently own the slowest pace in basketball (91.4 possessions per game). Without a reliable scorer, the Nets are not going to be able to win games (i.e. outscore opponents) if they’re going to play at a pace that limits their chances every game. Meanwhile, the Nets are likely using such a low pace because on offense they’re angling to do two things: go inside by either feeding the ball in the post to Brook Lopez or having Devin Harris break down his defender with a drive to a rim, or looking to Travis Outlaw, Anthony Morrow or Jordan Farmar on the perimeter.  The problems with this strategy are two-fold. First, the Nets currently rank 24^th in the league with a True Shooting percentage of 52.3. Since True Shooting accounts for three-point shots and free throws, the Nets are seemingly falling short in both these areas. Second, according to HoopData, the Nets are only connecting on 53.3 percent of their shots at the rim, last in the league. So their work on the inside is going for naught as well.

Again, I’m not saying Carmelo Anthony is a cure to what ails this team, but help on offense is clearly needed if this team is going to start winning with any consistency, which I think they have the potential to do, with an adjustment in the player personnel.

One of the biggest stories to come out of practice yesterday, besides the fact that Avery Johnson has yet to get “mean,” was that Terrence Williams said he woke up and felt 100 percent healthy. He admitted he came back a little prematurely last week, and Avery was right to get him right back on the bench:

And Williams admitted Avery Johnson was right when the coach assessed that he didn’t see a “burst” of energy or quickness from the player in Utah.

“Yeah, I would say that. especially running up the court,” said Williams, who played in two of the four west-coast games.

Despite playing well (and mostly losing) since he’s been out, this team has missed TWill, no question. He offers, perhaps, the most unique skillset on this roster, and when you have one player that can do so many different things and help the team in an assortment of ways, it hurts when he can’t get himself out on the court. I hope he is truly healthy, and Avery gets him in the rotation pretty quickly, because playing TWill allows Devin Harris to be more of a scorer and he seemed to have been developing a nice little rapport with Derrick Favors in the pick and roll game.

It’s a storyline that’s going to follow the Nets at least through February at the trade deadline. While in Denver, Billy King naturally talked up Denver’s front office about the availability of Carmelo Anthony, according to Al Iannazzone:

Favors had to impress Denver’s hierarchy with his career-best 14-point, eight-rebound performance. But the Nets’ 107-103 loss is the latest example of why their brain trust has put a priority on acquiring Anthony.

The Nets (4-9) lack a consistent go-to player and someone who can help them through scoring droughts.

This road trip was a bit of an eye opener for me as a Nets fan about this team’s inability to score. I wasn’t as concerned earlier in the season because they played a bunch of good defensive teams like Orlando and Miami multiple times, but the offense completely fell apart in Sacramento and couldn’t get the job done in Denver. Still, I think trading Derrick Favors for ‘Melo will be a mistake and of course, it’s still unclear whether he would even sign an extension with the Nets. But it is becoming apparent that this group of players is not going to be able to take the next step without a legitimate scorer.

Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

The New Jersey Nets came close to a win once more, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. At the end of the night, the loss was a loss, and the Denver Nuggets came out victorious, 107-103, in the Pepsi Center. As a result, the Nets (4-8) finished their 4-game West road trip 1-3, dropping the final three games of the span. Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets (7-6) with 28 points, and Brook Lopez paced the Nets with 20.

First of all, it has become clear that motivation and resilience are not going to be problems with this year’s Nets team. While Kiki Vandeweghe might have been more or less indifferent to keeping his players in the games last year, Avery Johnson has had no such concerns. He has infused this team with a hunger to win, which is of the utmost importance. The on-court performance will come with time, but the mental mindset of ruthlessly pursuing a win is something that a team can’t acquire — it either has it or it doesn’t.

Unfortunately, that tendency to hang in there means a lot more heartbreak for the fans of the team; last night’s game against the Nuggets was no exception. Denver flirted throughout with putting the game out of reach, but the Nets continually crawled back in with effort plays and timely runs. In this game, it was frustratingly poor execution down the stretch (specifically, a giant blunder by Lopez with 14 seconds to play) that cost the Nets a chance at this game.

With the Nets down 2 points, Lopez found himself with the ball at point-blank range with an open look at the rim. He promptly tried to lay it in, and the ball bricked off the rim into the hands of a Nuggets defender. This comment in the pregame open thread tells the story of what every fan watching this game was thinking:

Brook you have to dunk that bleeping ball. Use your bleeping brain. Have you forgotten how to dunk? Come on!!!

— Joe

It was truly a regrettable blunder for the star center, who put this season’s sudden passivity on center stage by missing the layup. While the layup might have been the easier course of action, going up strong for the hammer and either putting it down or getting fouled was the right choice. That’s the transition that Lopez needs to make to become a truly great center in the league: being assertive and converting those key plays down the stretch. Unsurprisingly, Anthony, the true closer in this game, promptly hit the resulting two free throws to effectively ice the game.

Still, the Nets did not play bad basketball. While they only shot 40 percent from the field for the game, they only turned the ball over seven times and hauled down 45 rebounds. Players who were struggling also stepped up down the stretch.

Travis Outlaw and Jordan Farmar drained key threes toward the end of the fourth quarter to keep the Nets breathing, and Harris, who shot just 3-of-9 in 30 minutes, tapped a rebound away from the Nuggets and took it in transition for an easy layup to bring the Nets within two before Lopez’s brain fart. This is a major component of the newfound never-say-die attitude. Even when the Nets are struggling, the players find a way to help the team stay in the game with the clock winding down.

All that said, it is crucial that the Nets don’t become regularly satisfied with close losses. While this season in no way resembles last year’s disaster, the team is still only 4-8. While winning the championship this year obviously isn’t the goal, the Nets still need to win games now. No, 4-8 isn’t terrible, but exceeding expectations will help significantly in the long run. Combining the effort they put out tonight with avoiding shortcomings like Lopez’s fail will mean the difference in key games upcoming.

Some other thoughts after the break:

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The New Jersey Nets try to rebound from their Friday night loss against the Sacramento Kings on the second half of the back-to-back against the Denver Nuggets. Of course the underlying storyline for this game is the continuously up-in-the-air status of Carmelo Anthony. Evidently, the Nets are still suitors for the services of the Nuggets’ small forward, and you can be sure he’ll get his fair share of questions from the media today regarding his satisfaction with the Nuggets and his trade status in the future.

Meanwhile, the Nets will look to capitalize on a 6-6 Nuggets team that just dropped a game to the Portland Trail Blazers, who were without the services of their All-Star forward Brandon Roy. Compounded with the fact that the Nuggets only mustered 83 points on the contest, and this isn’t exactly the worst time to take on Denver for the Nets.

A few opening  thoughts on the game:

• Kris Humphries’ Anderson Varejao Impression: Over the past few weeks, Kris Humphries has been a huge shot in the arm for the Nets, picking up the slack of the team’s other power forwards. He’s scoring abundantly and efficiently, rebounding incredibly, and even playing very solid defense. But even more astounding than just the stats themselves is the way he has been accumulating them. Humphries has put on his Anderson Varejao cap of late, making all the hustle plays that make a team win, particularly on both the offensive and defensive boards. The value of such a player cannot be overstated, so hopefully Humphries can take advantage tonight with Kenyon Martin still out with an injury.
• Perimeter Shooting: The Nuggets pride themselves on good interior defense, even with both Martin and Chris Andersen out of the lineup. If the Nets can get hot from the perimeter and hit a few three-pointers, it will help them on the offensive end. Points in the paint will probably be hard to come by, especially considering Lopez’s continued struggles to get good shots near the rim.
• Containing Carmelo: The Nets have been great on defense so far this season, but containing Carmelo Anthony will be a tough challenge in tonight’s game. Travis Outlaw, who will start at the 3, will get the first shot at stopping him, but I don’t foresee that matchup going very well for the Nets forward. Figure that Quinton Ross will get some minutes on him off the bench, as will Terrence Williams and Damion James if they’re reactivated for tonight’s game.

Photo by Don Smith/NBAE via Getty Images

Box Score – Cowbell Kingdom – SacTown Royalty

This will certainly go down as a game the Nets should have won. There is flat-out no reason they should have lost this game but in the end they didn’t make enough plays to win, and they fell to the Sacramento Kings, 86-81. No that wasn’t a misprint that you read. The Nets gave up just 86 points and still lost to one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA. I talked about the Nets lack of scoring before this game and it unfortunately reared its’ ugly head again. To score just 81 points against a team like the Kings is utterly disgraceful and the Nets should have never lost this game.

For one of the first times this season both Travis Outlaw and Anthony Morrow played well…and the team still lost. Mark wrote a good article about Tranthony Morrlaw the other day and the two really did produce tonight. A combined 30 points on 11 of 22 shooting is something the Nets would sign up for every night. In the second quarter the Nets shooting guard hit plenty of big shots that seemed to give the Nets a solid edge going into halftime. But as has been the problem throughout this season, they could not preserve the lead.

Perhaps the biggest negative in this game tonight was Brook Lopez. I wrote about the Nets center before the game but he did not live up to his previous expectations. The Nets starting center played 38 minutes and took just 9 shots, making three of them. I know for a fact that 2 of those shots were dunks, which doesn’t bode well for his shot selection. I came into this game thinking that Brook had regained his confidence and was ready for another solid performance, but he was just very unimpressive tonight. Your starting center needs to take more than 9 shots when he plays 38 minutes, and Brook just made no impact tonight. To say I was disappointed in his effort would be an understatement.

Before the game I talked about Cousins vs. Favors Round 2. And frankly the matchup was a wash because of the ineffectiveness and utter irrelevance of both players. Sure D. Favors had a sick dunk that made Sportscenter’s Top 10, but otherwise he was useless and had just 3 points and 2 rebounds on the night. Cousins wasn’t much better, as he had 8 points on 2 of 8 shooting, but did add 10 rebounds. But as I said in this first matchup, getting the W is the most important thing, and Cousins’ Kings got that this time.

Let’s face it, the Nets biggest nemesis tonight was Beno Udrih. He hit big shots all night, most notably the three with under 5 seconds remaining in the game that iced it away. I can’t fault Avery Johnson’s strategy in the last few seconds. There was a clear 4 second difference between the game clock and shot clock, and if the Nets got a stop and Udrih missed that shot, the Nets could have called a timeout and gotten a chance to tie or win the game in the last second. But their inability to cover three point shooters ultimately cost them a chance to tie the game, and Beno Udrih had a lot to do with that.

This is one of those games that will stick with me as a Nets fan. They should not have lost and should be 5-7 right now instead of 4-8. They played very well throughout a good portion of this game, but again did not make enough offensive plays to get it done. So now they go into tonight’s back-to-back with a 2-game losing streak. They will need a much better offensive effort if they’re going to grab a victory in Denver.