Nets Are Scorching

At yesterday’s practice, the topic of conversation focused on changes and new beginnings. Avery Johnson returns to Dallas as coach of the Nets, Terrence Williams is back in the fold and “in the rotation” and there may be a possible change in the starting line-up. Al Iannazzone speculates:

Our guess is Travis Outlaw is going to the bench and maybe rookie Damion James gets the start.

Not sure you want to start a rookie against the Mavericks, so it’s only a guess. Keep in mind, we got the impression the other day the way Johnson was talking about the Nets needing more offense and saying Troy Murphy needs to get more shots that it meant more time and touches for the veteran power forward. Murphy never got off the bench in Atlanta.

Can’t blame Avery on this one. Outlaw has been bad lately. Like really, really bad. According to 82games, Outlaw’s own production versus his opponent’s production when he’s on the floor has just been an enormous liability. At SF this season, his production has been a paltry PER (Player Efficiency Rating) of 9.2 and his opponent’s PER is 14.9 for a differential of -5.7. It gets worse at PF where his PER is 14.7 but his opponents clock in at 30.0. Besides those advanced stats there are just things with the naked eye you can notice – he hesitates to shoot and he has very little mobility on defense. I hate to say this because I know I was a defender of this move, but I wonder if Outlaw is really just a changed player since his foot injury last year. I assumed he was healthy when the Nets gave him that 5-year contract and maybe he physically is, but he doesn’t resemble the dynamic bench scorer he was in his Portland days.

As for James, he’s looked good since Avery started using him in the rotation. I’m speculating here, but would the Nets recall TWill so quickly just to keep him off the bench? Maybe it sends the wrong message, but it’s not like TWill doesn’t have experience successfully playing SF in the NBA. And with nobody besides Devin Harris capable of distributing the ball in the starting lineup, he would be a huge help.

UPDATE: Contest closed. Winners have been notified. Thanks to everyone who submitted!

To win two free tickets courtesy of StubHub to the Nets-Lakers game Sunday at 1 PM, be one of the first two people to e-mail me the answer to this question:

Kobe Bryant has been a lifetime Laker, but many people don’t know that he was not originally drafted to the team. What team originally drafted him (city & team name), and what was the transaction that brought him to Los Angeles?

E-mail devin(dot)kharpertian(at)netsarescorching(dot)com with the answer, and good luck!

Remember how the good folks over at StubHub gave us some Nets-Celtics tickets to give away to some of our lucky readers last week? Well, StubHub just couldn’t leave us alone, and provided us with tickets to give away to YOU – the best Nets are Scorching reader ever.

Just like last time: at 3 PM today, a trivia question will go up here at NetsareScorching.com. The first two people to email me the correct answer – devin(dot)kharpertian(at)netsarescorching(dot)com – will each get two FREE tickets to Sunday’s 1 PM Nets-Lakers game at the Prudential Center.

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See you at 3 PM and good luck!

AP Photo/John Bazemore

Boxscore – Hoopinion – Peachtree Hoops

Before the season began in October, one of Avery Johnson’s primary goals was to hold opposing teams to a field goal percentage of under 44 percent. It was a very ambitious goal, one that’s indicative of a top defense in this league. We liked this goal so much at Nets Are Scorching, we even keep track of this stat in the sidebar on our front page.

I’m obviously bringing this up because defensive performances like the one the Nets put forward in last night’s 116-101 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta, will go a long way in ensuring the team does not meet Johnson’s preseason goal. In allowing Atlanta to shoot 60.3 percent for the game, the Nets, while more competitive than they were in Sunday’s smackdown against Boston, had perhaps their worst defensive game of the season, though something tells me there’s plenty of time for this team to top themselves later in the season.

Some credit of course has to go to the Hawks. They weren’t missing and they weren’t even taking strictly high percentage shots. They only scored 10 points in transition compared to 23 for the Nets. They scored 44 points in the paint and attempted 9 less free throws (28) than the Nets (37). That means the Hawks were taking and making an extraordinary number of jumpers. As bad as the Nets rotations were at points, and yes, Brook Lopez still hasn’t learned the art of being a help defender in this league, maybe it was just one of those nights for Atlanta.

How else does Josh Smith go 6-8 from beyond 15-feet (and 6-6 on all of his shots in the paint) en route to a game high 34 points (add in 7 assists and 2 blocks). The Hawks are stacked with volume shooters, and because they play at such a fast pace, they’re a natural bad match-up for the Nets, despite New Jersey’s victory earlier this season. But when Smith gives them a night like that, and Jamal Crawford chips in with 26 points on 11-17 shooting to boot, it’s just bad news for the Nets.

Initially, I thought this game was going to be reprise of Sunday’s game against Boston. Like Sunday, the Nets came out strong, and were only down a point headed into the second quarter (granted, the Hawks pulled ahead after Zaza Pachulia rebounded his own missed free throw and layed it in. Box out shooters please!). But with the second unit, the Nets began to spiral out of control in the second, getting outscore 20-3 to close out the half. At one point, the Hawks scored on 8 consecutive field goal attempts, and the Nets, who had been moving the ball relatively well earlier in the game (Devin Harris did finish with 13 assists an Kris Humphries finished with 5 (!!!!)), got into their settling mode where Brook Lopez struggles to get into the post, Devin Harris dribbles the ball a bunch and either Kris Humphries or Derrick Favors set a pick and roll to the basket and then are promptly ignored (though that’s usually the case moreso when Jordan Farmar is running the point). The 7th and 8th Hawk shots hit in succession were sandwiched with a missed 15-footer from Humphries, who has been so much smarter in his shot selection this season, but certainly chose the wrong situation to get back into shooter mode, and a lazy pass from Harris to Lopez that was intercepted by Crawford.

And yet, the Nets still found a way to claw back into this game come the 4th quarter, whittling a 16-point lead to as close as 5 at one point. But the Hawks always seemed to have an answer. Perhaps the play most indicative of the night’s defense came with less than 4 minutes to play and the Nets making their move. Mike Bibby had a mismatch with Brook Lopez guarding him out on the perimeter and drove to the basket. Anthony Morrow, who had been guarding his man on the weak side of the basket, failed to recognize what was going on and didn’t rotate toward Bibby to offer help, leading to an easy lay-up. I know Lopez gets killed a lot by fans for his lack of athleticism on the defensive end, but Morrow has to have his head in the game there and recognize the play.

A few more thoughts after the jump.
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Just a little news first – many of you probably saw that Terrence Williams has been recalled from D-League purgatory but will not be joining the team tonight. He should be suited up for Thursday’s game against the Mavs in Dallas.

Meanwhile, the Nets (6-15) travel to Atlanta tonight to take on the 14-8 Hawks. The Nets have lost their last three in ugly fashion, including a 25-point blowout to the Celtics at home on Sunday. Here are some things to look for.

Change is going to come? Avery Johnson reportedly worked his team hard in practice on Monday and indicated some changes in the rotation may come if the offense continues to look as awful as it has been the past week. That might mean more minutes for Troy Murphy. Personally, I’d rather see more shots for Anthony Morrow and a shorter leash for Travis Outlaw. And at 6-15, it may be time for Johnson to consider some new rotations and giving younger blood more minutes.

PG Play. With Devin Harris battling his way back from a knee injury, Jordan Farmar has become increasingly more exposed. Yes, he hits some three-pointers, but the offense has been dreadful with him running things, and his defense on opposing PGs may be just as bad. Harris needs to be close to full strength and Farmar needs to be relegated back to full back-up status.

Play all four quarters. What might have been most dispiriting about the Nets on Sunday was the team seemingly gave up after the second quarter and demonstrated little to no energy. On paper, even without Joe Johnson, the Hawks are the better team and on their home court, they could win big. The Nets need to get back to being that team that demonstrated they could hang with the big boys in the conference, even if they ultimately lose again.

This past Sunday, I brought my eight-year-old son, HV, to his first NBA game – the New Jersey Nets hosting the Boston Celtics. There was a good reason why the Celtics being in town would be his first game… HV loves Shaquille O’Neal. But, I guess, what kid doesn’t?

In any case, my kid’s affinity for The Big Shamrock first happened when I was watching a Nets/Celtics preseason game and HV who was watching with me asked, “Who’s the big guy?” Naturally, it was Shaq and ever since then, my kid asked about “the big guy” whenever he saw I was watching a basketball game. So, HV asked fairly often. Two things became obvious: 1) I had to get tickets to a game and 2) unfortunately, my son would be rooting for the Celtics probably for the rest of his life.

Below you’ll find two podcasts; one recorded during the 100-75 blowout win for the Celtics and another recorded after the game. We never got to do a third part because my kid was tired when we got back home and Mondays are Mondays.

In any case, feel free to leave comments and encourage my kid! Any bad or negative comments, my kid and I will do it up Jay and Silent Bob style (video not recommended for eight-year-olds… HV, don’t watch this!).

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The Star-Ledger’s Colin Stephenson is following Terrence Williams on Twitter and has reported on some of TWill’s most recent tweets which deal with his demotion to the D-League:

“THANKS TO ALL MY SUPPORTERS I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS-DEARLY

“LIKE IVE SAID BEFORE I ACCEPT WHATS PUT BEFORE ME WITH OPEN ARMS NEVER POUT JUST PROVE PEOPLE WRONG IS WHAT IM AFTER GO NETS IS WHAT I YELL”

While the Nets front office is shying away as saying the demotion is for “punishment,” I think in just a few guys, TWill is demonstrating that his talent far exceeds those around him in the D-League, which is to be expected. Given just how stagnant the offense has been for the big league team, I have to wonder how much longer Avery Johnson is going to prove his point about Williams needing to be on time for practices and team meetings. The Nets need TWill right now.

In honor of the continuous barbs being thrown back and forth between the Knicks & Nets in the press, our good friends over at The Basketball Jones has devised a foolproof plan: pit the two men in battle.

I don’t know about you guys, but after watching their hilarious preview, I’m pretty confident that we’ll reign supreme.