Nets Are Scorching

The big question in the Carmelo Anthony/Nets saga has been if New Jersey trades for him, will he sign an extension for the next three years. On Saturday, the Denver Post asked him that question point blank and ‘Melo sort of, kind of gave an answer:

“Wherever I go, I’m going to sign the extension,” he said.

But then he was asked, “If they come to you and say, ‘We have a deal to send you to the Nets,’ would you sign?”

“I don’t know,” Anthony said. “I don’t know. I’d have to deal with that when it comes. . . .

That’s, ummm…. an answer, I guess.

14-22, 15-52. You’ll find out what this means in a minute.

Box Score – Hoopinion – Peach Tree Hoops

Looking at the stat line, you’d be hard-pressed to figure out why the Nets were in this game. They turned the ball over 16 times and shot 41.7% from the field. They suffered quiet performances from Kris Humphries, Travis Outlaw (what else is new?) and a poor shooting night from Brook Lopez. After one quarter, the Nets were down 7 and allowing 64% shooting. But this game wasn’t about the Nets’ “big” names – although you can take the word “big” with a grain of salt – it was about the all-around performance from players you wouldn’t expect and excellent defensive adjustments.

Firstly: Devin Harris had a great game. Despite his four turnovers, a 22-6-8 statline is nothing to sneeze at, and the Nets are now 7-1 when Devin scores more than 21. He really set the tone in the first quarter – scoring 11 and helping put Josh Smith into early foul trouble. Smith had a huge game against the Nets in their previous meeting (34 points on 14-16 shooting) but never could get into a rhythm today. He finished with 15 points, but only shot 3-9 from the field and played only 26 minutes. I’m not sure how many fouls Devin forced on him, but it was certainly more than one, and his constant pressure meant his contribution went beyond his already impressive statline.

But this game wasn’t about Devin. He couldn’t do it by himself, and sure enough, the Nets picked up contributions from almost everyone you wouldn’t expect. Stephen Graham, starting for defensive purposes, surprised the heck out of me – scoring ten efficient points, grabbing seven boards, and keeping Joe Johnson (14 points, 4-16 shooting) mostly in check. Troy Murphy played his best game in a long time and actually looked like a valuable member of an NBA rotation. Favors was given minutes at center, and while he wasn’t ever really in the flow of the offense, played very well in the final three quarters. The Nets bench scored 30 points to the Hawks’ 11. Stephen Graham, who’s normally a bench player, could add ten to that number. That right there is a huge difference.

But of all the bench guys, it was Sasha Vujacic who was the unheralded hero of the game. Look, I don’t want to like Sasha. He’s been an inside joke among me & some friends for a long time. But fast don’t lie, and Sasha is growing on me fast. His hustle is certainly appreciated – he’s getting quick open looks on offense and he’s racking up steals on the defensive end. I’ve made a lot of fun of him since the trade, but I can’t be upset at his contributions today. Here are two examples:

1) At the end of the third quarter, the Nets had the ball with seven seconds remaining and Troy Murphy threw the ball out of bounds. On Atlanta’s inbounds, Sasha poked the ball away, ran it down, and threw it to Devin for a potential buzzer-beater. That sort of hustle is definitely appreciated on a team that desperately needs it.

2) On his first pick & roll with Favors in the fourth quarter, Sasha found Favors at the rim for a layup and-1 to put the Nets up 69-64. Maybe Farmar can learn something from him.

All in all, Sasha finished with 10 points, six rebounds, three steals, three assists, one bloodied lip (which he played through all game) and a game high +/- of +23. He made a huge difference on both ends of the floor today.

The Nets’ defense simply cannot go unmentioned here. While the first quarter was awful – open shot after open shot allowed the Hawks to shoot 14-22 (63.6%) – afterwards, the Nets clamped down and forced a ton of contested, long two-pointers. After that first quarter, the Hawks only scored 52 points in the next 36 minutes, shooting 15-52 (28.8%) for the rest of the game. The Hawks made fourteen field goals in the first quarter and only fifteen for the rest of the game. Yes, you read that right. The Hawks made just one more field goal in the final 36 than they made in the first 12. The adjustments that the Nets defense made – clogging the lane, playing legitimate man defense, playing the passing lanes at the right times – were staggering, and while there were still a few lapses I have to give Avery credit for pointing the Nets in the right direction.

I’m going to close on a point a commenter named Jimmy made in our pregame thread. Last year, it took until March 24th for the Nets to win eight games. While this season has certainly had its struggles, the Nets have definitely taken a leap forward. Today was a big sign of that.

More thoughts after the jump.

Read more…

For the third consecutive Sunday, the Nets face off against a difficult opponent in the Prudential Center. While Atlanta is a step below Los Angeles and Boston – as evidenced by the fact that the Nets actually beat them earlier this season – they’re still a very tough team with a ton of talent. The Nets come into this one having lost nine of their last ten and are still without sharpshooter Anthony Morrow and rookie Damion James. On the other side, 2010 free agency winner Joe Johnson is back from his elbow surgery, but sixth man Jamal Crawford is still listed as questionable.

Here are a few things to look out for in this game:

Can They Stop Joe Johnson? Stephen Graham or Quinton Ross will likely start at the 2 tomorrow, and while their respective reputations are that of a defensive stopper they haven’t shown much in that department this season. Johnson struggled in his return to action on Thursday, but against the *ahem* questionable defense the Nets have at the 2 spot (between Morrow/Farmar/Graham/Ross it’s a who’s who of “um, who?”), it wouldn’t be surprising to see him return to form. However, if Graham or Ross can rekindle what gave them their defensive reps or Johnson struggles, the Nets definitely have a shot.

Get Devin Going Early. Mike Bibby is a revolving door defensively, as is Jamal Crawford (even when healthy), and Devin is going to have a lot of opportunities to break them down off the dribble and slash to the rim. If he can get the Atlanta big men – their biggest strength – in foul trouble because Bibby can’t stay in front of him, that could go a long way towards securing a victory.

Remember What Worked. Earlier this season, the Nets beat the Hawks 107-101 in an overtime thriller (what? You question my use of the word “thriller?” ANY Nets overtime victory is thrilling. Beat that). Devin Harris & Brook Lopez combined for 59 points on 58% shooting and got to the line 18 times, the Nets only allowed the Hawks 13 trips to the charity stripe, and although they had their struggles defensively they were “much in the clutch,” only allowing eight points on 3-10 shooting in the final five minutes. If they can clamp down on defense when it matters, force bad shots without fouling (I’m looking at you, Derrick), and run the offense through the two best options, there’s a good chance the Nets can pull off another upset.

For more insight on the Atlanta Hawks, check out TrueHoop Affiliate Hoopinion.

First of all, I know that this is a New Jersey Nets blog, but something has infuriated me so much, I had to share. Also, the content of this post has to do with Carmelo Anthony, a player who has been making a ton of noise in Nets land recently. Actually, he’s been a lingering buzz for a few months now, but with trades going down throughout the NBA, which include the Nets gaining assets, Melo hasn’t been more prevalent in Nets news as he is now.

In any case, recently, a friend on Facebook who is a lifelong Knicks fan, but hasn’t even watched any Knicks games since the mid-2000s (who can blame him, really) has caught on with the team now that they’re playing well. In no way is my friend a bandwagon fan as he only roots for the Knicks, but found a distaste in his mouth in recent seasons (which is why this season is/was ripe for the Nets to snatch away some Knicks fans… oh well). However, now that the Knicks have their superstar in Amar’e Stoudemire (I would say that a combination of Raymond Felton and Wilson Chandler are even more important, but that’s me) and actually winning games, my Knicks friend has elevated his expectations, both in getting Melo and the Knicks going to the Finals. Below is the exchange on Facebook. Read more…

While I’m sure everyone has been on Carmelo Anthony burnout since the preseason, but if I may engage you all to read one more piece (until I inevitably link to another), ESPN’s Marc Stein has a fantastic FAQ breakdown of what’s going on with the trade for ‘Melo.

Most notably: Derrick Favors will unquestionably be a part of any deal, the Knicks recognize in order to prevent ‘Melo from going elsewhere they still likely have to trade for him first and the Nets braintrust is planning a pitch similar to what they sold LeBron James during the summer to try and convince ‘Melo to sign an extension here:

The pitch, though, won’t merely be location, location, location. Bank on the Nets, just as the Nuggets have been trying to tell Melo for months, that he can be a true hero if he signs with them. A savior, even. The Nets will point out how the Knicks, on top of all the questions in circulation about how he truly fits on a Knicks team that already scores plenty while lacking shut-down defenders and rebounders, already have a savior named Amare Stoudemire.

The pitch hasn’t worked yet, so I’ll be curious to see how Anthony responds, especially when the Nets as a team currently have problems beating teams led by Andrea Bargnani. As time keeps ticking here, the more I think the Nets have to go out and simultaneously acquire two superstars, i.e. Anthony and Chris Paul for lack of a better example, in order to convince any superstar player to stay here. Otherwise, I still can’t wrap my head around the haul they’re willing to send Denver for just one guy who by himself, is not going to make the Nets THAT much better.

Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images

Box Score – Raptors Republic – Raptors HQ

Last night’s game in Toronto followed a familiar script for the Nets this season. They played pretty well throughout the game, had a chance to win in the final few minutes and then failed to execute, both offensively and defensively, when the game was on the line. At the end of the day the Nets and Raptors are two very even teams. So despite the fact that the Nets had a lead for most of the night, you knew this one would come down to the final seconds. And it was their inability to stop Andrea Bargnani, coupled with some tremendous clutch shot-making by the Raptors that ultimately led to their 20th loss of the season.

Aside from the final minutes, there actually isn’t much to criticize about the Nets from last night. I like what I saw out of them for much of the night, especially their execution on the offensive end. While they didn’t shoot the ball that well, although 45% isn’t awful, they only turned the ball over 12 times and were able to get some very good shots. They had to deal with the loss of Quinton Ross to a bruised lower back after just two minutes and Travis Outlaw stepped up and had a productive 40 minutes. Though he was just 3 of 9 from the field, he made all seven free throws he took and scored 14 points. With the way the Nets had been playing offensively during some of their recent eight-game losing streak, 92 points would have been plenty enough to win this game.

Coming into last night’s game I talked about their frontline and the consistency needed from Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries. Well the two played well again tonight, as Hump had his usual double-double and Brook put in 20 points and grabbed 7 boards. More importantly they were both very efficient on the offensive end, especially Humphries. While the Minnesota product does not have a ton of offensive talent, he picks his spots well and his offensive rebounding yields easy put-back attempts. The Nets other frontcourt guy, the Rook Derrick Favors, also had a decent night and was able to make a few nice plays off the pick-and-roll. He still struggles with foul trouble though and was limited to 17 minutes.

Tonight we saw the New Jersey Nets debut of the one and only Sasha Vujacic. The shooting guard showed a lot of energy off the bench but did not show a lot of shot-making, which is what he’s going to need to do to stay in this rotation. The team was awful from three-point land, making just 2 out of 12 treys, and Sasha certainly contributed to that by going 0 for 5. I’ll be honest, I was never a big fan of his when he was on the Lakers, so until he starts hitting shots consistently, I’m going to be skeptical of his play.

Devin Harris had a solid night but did not take enough shots in my opinion. One night he takes 25, the next he takes 12. It just doesn’t add up and while 25 isn’t the right number of shots within the offense, he needs to take at least 15 if you ask me. This brings me to the other member of the Nets starting point guard last night, Mr. Jordan Farmar. I’m not sure if he thinks that because he’s technically starting at the shooting guard position, that he just has a free license to take whatever shot presents itself. But aside from the absolutely ridiculous throw-down he had, most of his shots were forced and not within the flow of the offense. If Farmar is going to take 14 shots, he sure as heck better make more than four of them, and I’m sure Avery was not happy with his shot selection last night.

As I said before this game came down to the last few minutes. The biggest problem the Nets had was on cross-matches with Bargnani and it ultimately cost them the game. The former number one overall pick is a tremendous talent, but New Jersey needed to find a better way to cover him on the pick-and-roll. I can’t even count the number of times that D. Harris ended up on him, and the backbreaking possession was no exception. With the Nets trailing by two and the shot clock winding down, Bargnani got the ball in the post while being covered by Harris. Farmar (correctly so) showed a double team on the Italian center, who promptly kicked it out to Leandro Barbosa for the game-clinching three. Granted it was a big-time shot by the former Sun, but it would have never happened if the cross-matchup with Bargnani didn’t cause the defensive rotation by Farmar. 

Another thing that has really gotten to me with this team at times is the inability to challenge the opposition at the rim. To see DeMar DeRozan drive right down the lane uncontested for a jam in the final minutes was a flat-out joke. Sure they had a miscommunication defensively but the fact that none of those guys came over and at least fouled DeRozan or tried to block his shot was pathetic. Toughness breeds winning and contesting shots is a big part of that.

This was not a game the Nets could have won, it was one they should have won. They have just as much (if not more) talent than Toronto and had their chances to win, as I predicted before the game. It’s one thing to compete against the better teams and fall just short at the end, but these are the ones that really sting. They’re home for Atlanta on Sunday before heading on the road for five of the next six…

Well the losing streak is over. It wasn’t pretty last night as the Nets blew a huge first half lead, but they were able to outlast the Wizards and break their eight-game losing streak. It was mostly the Devin Harris show last night (with a sprinkle of Kris Humphries) and while the Nets point guard didn’t shoot a very good percentage from the field (in fact he was awful at 7-25), he got to the line 17 times. Now the key is trying to back up last night’s win with one tonight in Toronto, and avoid going on another losing streak.

Some things to keep an eye on:

The Revolving Starting Lineup: The Nets have struggled with finding a consistent starting five over the last 10 games, mostly because of inconsistency and injuries. Last night Avery Johnson went small with Harris, Farmar, Quinton Ross, Hump and Brook, and at least early on it worked out well. Say what you want about Ross but his production has dwarfed Travis Outlaw in the past few weeks. Look for the same lineup to start tonight’s game north of the border.

The Free Throw Line: The clear key to last night’s game was the Nets getting to the free throw line 47 times. Without that they certainly might not have won. Good teams get free points at the line and especially considering the Nets offensive struggles throughout this season, it will be critical for them to keep getting easy points. I don’t expect them to match last night’s total, but 30-35 attempts is something they should aim for tonight.

Frontline Play: While Brook Lopez had a very strange game last night (only 26 minutes and was told to sit back down on the bench by Avery Johnson when he went back in), Kris Humphries was tremendous with 12 points and 17 rebounds. There is no doubt that Hump has given this team a lift and whatever the reason may be for his strong production, hopefully it will continue. But just because he gets 17 boards doesn’t mean that Brook should only have 5. The Nets front court play has been very erratic this season, and it would be encouraging to see them back up last night’s performance.

Before this season I thought Toronto would be the worst team in the East. They have far exceeded my expectations at 9-17 and have played pretty well at times. That being said, I expect the Nets to play well and be in position to win the game tonight. We’ll see if that happens…

We haven’t done the Bloggers Talk feature in a while, but we have Sam Holako at Raptors Republic to talk some Toronto Raptors basketball in advance of tonight’s match-up.

How has Toronto reacted to the Chris Bosh situation considering how well Cleveland has dealt with LeBron James?

Toronto’s actually moved on. There are lingering discussions about how good/bad (mostly about how bad) Bosh was for the Raptors, but the fan-base has embraced our young core, and for better or worse (I’ll get into this on the next point) have gotten behind Bargnani as the franchise player. I’m sure the debate will heat up (forgive the unintentional pun) when Miami comes to town late in the season, but the Bosh chatter is at a very very low level.

Andrea Bargnani seems to be evolving into a bigtime scorer. Do you think he’s finally transitioning into one o f the top big men in the league?

That depends on what your definition of what a center should do to be effective. Bargnani is one of the better scoring big men in the league. He can hit threes, take his man off the dribble, and more recently has developed a post game that’s improving. On the defensive end, things start to get a bit tricky. He can block a shot or so a game, but it’s usually because he’s 7 feet tall. His man defense on bigger (less mobile) players, is good, but not great. His help defense and rotations are piss poor. As a rebounder, he grabs a few a game because he’s 7 feet tall, but you rarely see him go after it on the boards; boxing out is brutal. To make matters worse, if his shot isn’t falling, he’s a complete liability on the floor. I’ve painted a pretty bleak picture, but if he’s lined up with a guy who’s a beast on rebounding/defense, then he can be a big contributer. Is he a number 1 option? No, but he can be a solid # 3 on a good-to-great team.

For me, I’d trade him in a second for a Joakim Noah or an Al Horford; I like my centers to play actively in the paint, play defense and rebound the hell out of the ball.

What appears to be the long-term strategy for the Raptors?

The strategy is to go young and rebuild without actually saying we’re rebuilding. The problem is that the Raptors are in treadmill territory: good enough to win 32+ games, but not bad enough to get a high lottery pick (unless they luckily win the lottery). Our young players are good, but I’m not sold on them as the future of this team. A couple seasons of selecting in the top 5 would be something a lot of fans could get behind if the current product on the floor plays hard every game.

Seems like The Nets show infinite more promise with Lopez/Harris/Favors as a solid core, plus a ton of picks in the next two drafts; even if they miss out on Carmelo. Not to mention a playboy owner who wants to win and will spend money to do so.