Prokhorov in NJ week comes to an end as the Nets (12-31) look to win their third in a row and top their win total from a year ago when Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks (27-15). The Mavs have only won 3 of their last 10, and their offensive efficiency (105.1 per 100 possessions) isn’t as stout as it’s been in the past. With that said, they’re still a quality Western Conference team, so here are a few things to look for tonight:

More from Morrow: As Devin said in his recap, Anthony Morrow had an immediate impact in his return from injury last night. Simply put, unless teams are single covering Brook Lopez, the Nets don’t have anyone else on offense that can take over a game as quickly as Morrow can. His 10 points in less than two minutes against the Pistons essentially iced the game last night. It’ll be interesting to see how Avery Johnson uses Morrow on the second end of a back-to-back, but if he gets another 15-20 minutes, the Nets need to run some set plays for him.

Take the D to Dirk and Dallas: Dirk Nowitzki has been one of the league’s mos explosive scorers for years now and the key to beating Dallas has always been to neutralize him. However, since coming back from a knee injury, Dirk hasn’t been himself, averaging 18 points on 42 percent shooting the past four games. With reports that the Mavs had a hard time getting into NJ last night, the Nets need to bring the D hard tonight and get Dirk off his game early. Except this time, the Nets may be actually able to do it.

Battle of the Billionaires: Remember when Mark Cuban referred to Mikhail Prokhorov as a part of the female anatomy? Well, the Nets are now 5-1 when the new Boss is in the building. You think Proky is going to ask Cuban up to his suite before the game to exchange pleasantries?

David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

Box Score – Piston Powered – Detroit Bad Boys – Need4Sheed

Impressive. That’s the word I’d use.

It was an ugly victory, but impressive is a good word for describing a team defense that allowed only 33% shooting while shooting 50% from the field. That for the second straight game rode a balanced attack to a decisive victory. That despite a lot of bonehead plays, missed defensive assignments, and non-offense still managed to beat up on a team that, frankly, should be beaten up on.

This is the Nets that I envisioned at the beginning of the year: mistake-prone but with the potential to explode at any given moment.

Don’t let the low score fool you; this wasn’t a poor offensive showing by the Nets. When two slow teams play each other, there’s a good chance that the pace will be below their season average, since they’re usually playing against average-paced teams. Sure enough, this game only saw 83 possessions for the two teams. (To compare, the league average is 92.4.) 89 points on 83 possessions is not too shabby. 74? That’s a different story.

I won’t lie to you: much of this win is due to the ineffectiveness of the Pistons. Time after time they failed to pass to an open man on offense or rotate to cover the open man on defense. The Nets played great basketball, but gave away 29 free throw attempts – of which the Pistons made less than 70%. Detroit seemed content giving the ball to Tayshaun Prince and letting him isolate to no end, resulting in a somewhat empty 6-17 shooting performance from him. They drew a lot of fouls but didn’t seem particularly interested in creating open shots.

That being said, the Nets had a lot of solid defensive possessions. Their rotations were, at times, perfect. At one point I nearly screamed at Derrick Favors for doubling a pick & roll and leaving the roll man open, but Brook Lopez immediately rotated over to the roll man and Sasha Vujacic rotated down to cover his man & Brook’s on any cross pass. It was clockwork. It didn’t happen on every possession, and I don’t expect it to. But those are the baby steps that lead up the stairs of success.

Anthony Morrow was back for the first time since December 14th, and man, did he make an impact. In a stretch that lasted under two minutes of game time, Morrow scored ten points – one a buzzer-beating three to end the third quarter, and another an open three in transition to send Detroit into a timeout. On that second three, you could see the play developing seconds ahead – both teams traded turnovers and Morrow had been spotting up as soon as the Nets stole the ball back. You could have called it from outside of the arena.

In just 1:46, Morrow single-handedly turned a four-point lead (64-60) into a twelve-point lead (74-62). The Nets never looked back. This is the guy they signed off on. I love it.

Offensively, this was an extremely balanced effort. The Nets had four players in double figures, but no player with more than 15 points. Eight players took between six and 11 field goals. (Travis Outlaw, the inefficient man of the night, was 3-11. Derrick Favors was 3-4. Remind me why Outlaw gets eleven shots again?) The Nets got 48 points from their starters and 41 off the bench. They outrebounded the Pistons 44-35, out-assisted them 23-12, and allowed only one opposing player to shoot more than 50 percent from the field: Will Bynum, who shot 4-7 and committed four turnovers.

Brook Lopez continues to be a rebounding enigma, but there’s definitely merit to the “Kris Humphries the Board-Stealer” theory. Humphries crashes the boards with reckless abandon, no matter who’s around him or if the Nets already would have it secured. Lopez had a very solid all-around game otherwise, leading the Nets with 15 points, dishing out four assists, and blocking three shots.

Some analysis of offensive sets: the Nets had 21 points come from spotting up yesterday – nine of their 36 field goals, including three threes. It was their most efficient means of scoring, along with finding cutters. As I mentioned in the pregame open thread, the Pistons are excellent isolation defenders, and none of that changed last night. They allowed only 5-13 shooting in isolation sets, forcing two turnovers, and not committing any fouls. If only the Nets read the pregame open threads, they would’ve known to limit that number.

However, they did play to some strengths effectively. In 29 offensive plays combined between the pick & roll ballhandler, roll man, and in transition, the Nets shot 12-21, including two three-pointers and four fouls drawn. Not a bad day at the office. It’s important to note that after I bemoaned Nets guards for looking to shoot off the pick & roll over twice as much as they pass, last night the roles were reversed: the Nets had nine possessions used by the roll man, as opposed to only eight by the ballhandler.

While it’s still frustrating to see Devin Harris & Jordan Farmar flash the occasional  tunnel vision, things could definitely be a lot worse than they were last night. The impressive final score is evidence enough of that.

More thoughts after the jump.

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So much for trade partners, huh? Many columnists and sources swore up and down that the Nets would be hitting the floor with (and against) a completely new team today. Now that the dust has settled and Mikhail “Mickey P” Prokhorov has thrown the Russian gauntlet, we can say for sure that there is only one guy joining the Nets lineup tonight: shooting guard Anthony Morrow.

The Pistons come into this game 15-27, but are a meager 4-18 on the road. They’ll be playing without Jonas Jerebko (right achilles), Terrico White (right foot) and Richard Hamilton (awkward benching). Ben Wallace is questionable. Like the Nets, the Pistons play a snail’s pace (89.1 possessions per game) and are 19th/25th in offensive and defensive efficiency, respectively.

Here are a few things to look out for in tonight’s game.

Keep The Intensity Up. Wednesday night’s game, from an effort standpoint, was fantastic – Devin Harris leapt into the stands, Derrick Favors chased down loose balls, Sasha Vujacic had some key defensive plays, and Brook was attacking the rim. It was a refreshing sight to see, because this team has enough weapons to play like that every single night and they’d been sleepwalking through the previous dozen games. Now that the initial “okay, ‘Melo’s not coming here” excitement has worn off, the Nets have to maintain that energy level continuously. If they can beat a top-5 team in the West, they can beat the Pistons.

Do Anything On Offense. Just Don’t Call Iso’s. Don’t be tempted by isolation against this Pistons team – they’re excellent at defending in isolation sets, allowing a mere 0.77 points per possession (PPP). Detroit’s length & skilled man defenders force opponents to only shoot 35% in isolation, and 19% from beyond the arc. That ranks them 2nd in the NBA.

However, Detroit has been porous on defense everywhere else – they’re 26th in the NBA at defending in the post, 26th in transition, 27th at defending the dribbler on the pick & roll, and 25th at defending the roll man. This is perfect for the Nets to exploit – the Nets are most dangerous off the pick & roll, running out in transition, and running the offense through Brook Lopez in the post.

Basically what I’m saying is: keep the ball out of Travis Outlaw’s hands for extended periods of time.

Look Inside! As I tweeted earlier today, the Nets have seen 635 possessions used by the ballhandler in the pick & roll, and only 310 by the roll man. I’ve been moaning all season about this, but when you’ve got three skilled finishers & Johan Petro rolling to the basket, they should be getting the ball in a position to score at least 75% of the time.

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Also, as a personal aside: Tonight is my last night in New Jersey before I shuffle myself back up to Massachusetts, and to celebrate that (and his birthday!) I’m treating poppa Kharpertian to the game tonight. If you see two guys who look exactly alike, except the younger one is three inches taller wearing a maroon BC cap and the older one is 40 years older with a gray goatee, that’s us.

For more info on the Detroit Pistons, check out TrueHoop affiliate PistonPowered.

You wanted it? Well, maybe you didn’t. Still, you got it. Below is a visual, interactive timeline (thanks TimeToast) detailing most (but surely not all) stories from the beginning in August of this summer all the way up to Prokhorov’s Proclamation.

Whether or not this is actually over, I think we can all agree that this has been a long four months.

Enjoy!

UPDATE: I’ve received word that this doesn’t work in Google Chrome. For you guys, the list is below, after the jump:

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Since trade talks are “officially” over with Denver, we’re going to avoid mentioning a certain player’s name in this post. With that said, as Al Iannazzone reports, just because one rumor may be dead, doesn’t mean Nets players should have job security right now.

“We are an 11-win team,” coach Avery Johnson said. “Management has a right to talk. The general managers have discussions every day. That’s their jobs.”

Bam! You tell ‘em Avery.

Everyone should expect the Nets to be active. The chip to watch in all of this is Troy Murphy. We know he wants out, he’s an expiring owed a lot of money. I don’t think he’s worth a lot in a straight up one-on-one deal, but he was a kay component in the Denver talks because he helps salaries match-up. If the Nets send him elsewhere before the deadline, then everyone can stop doubting whether Prokhorov’s presser was just a ploy.

Al also talks about strategies moving forward and when mentioning building from within, suggests “you can’t win a championship through the draft.” I’m disappointed in this Al. No, you’re not going to be able to compete with Superfriends in Miami with just a bevy of draft picks, but if you pick wisely and get some solid foundation players, you can either trade them for a superstar, or become a competitive team that will attract superstars. That’s part of the reason there was a lot of pushback from Nets fans on this one trade rumor the past month – because by adding more picks and young players, the Nets were essentially saying it was all coming down to one specific player, and I’ve never heard of an NBA team winning anything with just one player (even Jordan had Pippen).

With the drama of never ending trade talks behind us (for the time being) the Nets schedule rolled on, and in their way tonight was one of the Western Conference’s best, the Utah Jazz.

As the Nets clung to a four point lead, with under a minute to play, Kris Humphries was able to make a play late in the shot clock to seal the victory for the Nets. Let’s take a closer look.

As you can see here, after taking some time off the clock the Nets get into their set with about 12 seconds to go in the shot clock. The play begins with Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries running out in tandem to set a ball-screen for Devin Harris. Interestingly, only Humphries’ man, Paul Millsap, follows to defend the screen. You can see Brook Lopez’s man, Al Jefferson, staying back in the lane at the foul line.

More following..

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I will be the first to admit – I was losing faith in Mikhail Prokhorov. All of the reports (mainly stemming from Adrian Wojnarowski, but there were others) indicating he was the desperate billionaire, ready to do everything for one player – Carmelo Anthony. There was something about these allegations that never added up to me, but as these most recent round of trade negotiations with Denver started to span weeks, and not days, it was hard for me to dispute. Maybe the 60 Minutes interview and Prokhorov’s press week in May just demonstrated that he was a charming and quirky individual, but not necessarily a responsible NBA owner. Maybe Dave D’Alessandro was right and Prokhorov was NBA dumb.

I still can’t say with any certainty what Prokhorov’s legacy as Nets owner will look like, but in a few short minutes yesterday, the Russian billionaire eradicated any doubt I had in his leadership abilities. Maybe Anthony was never going to sign with the Nets. Maybe the Nuggets were only playing hardball and were willing to accept a more reasonable offer for ‘Melo’s services. It doesn’t matter. Prokhorov couldn’t have been more definitive and certain. The deal is dead. Done. Denver, ‘Melo, Chris Sheridan, Woj, et al, shove it. The buck stops here.

For someone who has long had doubts about the ‘Melo deal, but was ready to accept its inevitability, it was a cathartic experience. The most recent iteration of the deal that featured the Nets giving up Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, Anthony Morrow, Stephen Graham, Ben Uzoh, Quinton Ross, Troy Murphy, Johan Petro and MAYBE Damion James AND multiple draft picks, while taking back Rip Hamilton’s awful contract and guaranteeing Chauncy Billups for another season, all for Carmelo Anthony was the epitome of irresponsibility. Yes, I understand that three-quarters of the players in this deal are awful players and yes, I know the sight of ‘Melo in a Knicks uniform later this season or next year (if there even IS a next year) will be a gut punch for Nets fans. But Prokhorov himself said the deal was “too expensive.” And in the end? The Nets will live another day. Brooklyn will still happen, and in my opinion, will be a success, one way or another. There’s still 18 months for the Nets to figure out a way to build a team that will sell both luxury suites and nose bleed seats at the Barclays Arena.

So now what? Now the Nets go back to doing what they were originally going to do way back in the Fall when a more reasonable ‘Melo trade was first discussed – the Nets look for ways to build a better team. Troy Murphy is almost certainly a goner. Devin Harris in all likelihood, is not the PG to lead this team into Brooklyn, or even the playoffs (whichever can come first). Brook Lopez needs a legitimate scorer to get the heat off him. The nets have oodles of picks and while I would love to see if Derrick Favors is more Kevin Garnett or Stromile Swift, I understand that in the right deal and for the right player, he’s got to be used as a chip. Just make smart trades. Don’t overpay and don’t strap your flexibility to add more pieces down the road by gutting your roster and taking on dead weight salary from players who are either has beens or never weres.

In the meantime, I can not praise and laud Prokhorov enough. He earned his stripes last night and he proved what should have been obvious from the get-go – no one becomes a billionaire by being a patsy.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Box Score – Salt City Hoops – SLC Dunk

Cue all the “the Nets played well last night because they didn’t have the Carmelo Anthony trade hanging over their heads” talk. That will be a big story line after this game for obvious reasons. But I don’t buy it. As I said Monday the Nets played well enough to win every game on their past road trip. Last night they were just able to put together a full game and put forth one of their better efforts of the season. Whether it was being at home, having the owner Mr. Prokhorov in the building or seeing some other celebrities at The Rock for a change, the Nets played a full game and defeated the Jazz to open the home stand.

After getting off to a rough start and being down early, the Nets were able to put together a nice run and led by eight at the end of the first quarter. The best sign of that quarter (and maybe the whole game) was the play of rookie Derrick Favors. While I don’t buy that the entire team was affected by the Anthony saga, I can maybe accept that Favors was. The rook’s name was being discussed in every single proposed deal and that is a lot to deal with for a young kid fresh out of college (heck, high school). 

But tonight Favors was active, both on offense and defense, and he was able to play effective D without fouling. 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks is a great line for him and this was one of the better games in his young NBA career. He still has to develop offensively and be able to make jump shots to keep the defense honest, but his play around the rim is already impressive and he can run the floor just as well as any power forward in the NBA.

The second quarter saw the Nets get out to a big lead but a problem that has plagued this team all season happened again as they went through another extended scoring draught. After Jordan Farmar made a three to push the Nets lead to 12 with just under 8 minutes remaining, they scored just 1 point over the next six minutes, allowing Utah to get back into the game. The common problem throughout many of these extended draughts is the number of jumpers the Nets take. This is a team that can get to the foul line effectively, but at times they don’t take the ball to the hole nearly enough. The halftime buzzer sounded and we were tied at 48.

The Nets were able to extend to a 13-point lead at the end of the third quarter with a balanced attack and some good shooting. They put up 29 in the quarter and the defining play was when Travis Outlaw airballed a three pointer. Yes that sounds a little strange but what was defining was what happened afterwards. Favors was in the right place at the right time and was able to get the offensive board off the shot that touched nothing. He dished it to Brook, who put it in and got the foul call. It was a nice hustle play from the rook, a solid finish from the Nets center and once again the team put together a strong third period. 

Before the game I talked about the Nets bench needing to continue to give this team a spark and they were good once again. The three-headed monster of Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Kris Humphries (someone needs to come up with a good nickname for them) combined for 38 points on 12 of 18 shooting last night. Farmar added 8 assists and “The Machine” Sasha Vujacic continues to shoot the ball well immediately when he enters the game. I would actually like to see him take more shots since he’s been shooting the ball so proficiently. Five isn’t enough for him and it’s kind of odd considering he’s never been one to be shy about hoisting it up. 

To end my talk on the bench tonight I’ll discuss Kris Humphries. Hump may have had some extra incentive tonight (I’m sure you all saw who was sitting in the front row, and no I’m not talking about Jay-Z) and he brought his usual energy, rebounding and scoring. 12 points and 5 boards is becoming an average night from him, but if you add in the monster baseline dunk that he had to start the fourth quarter, it makes it even better.

Before the game I talked about how the Utah Jazz are one of the better teams out West and they missed a TON of easy shots tonight. Which is why I wasn’t surprised at all when they made it close down the stretch and cut the lead to two on an Al Jefferson And-1 with about 2 minutes remaining. But Brook Lopez made a nice move to push it back to four and the Nets were able to get a couple of stops. They then got the benefit of a video review and got the ball (it was originally awarded to the Jazz) with 52 seconds left.

What followed was a perfect possession for the Nets. They worked the clock down and before you knew it Humphries had the ball with the shot clock under 10. But instead of panicking and settling for a jumper, Hump dribbled it towards the middle, Sasha made a nice cut and finished on the layup to give the team a 6-point lead with 30 seconds remaining.

One of the best things about winning this game was that the Nets were able to get the W without their two best players having good nights. Devin Harris and Lopez combined for 34 points but were just 10 of 27 from the field. Brook had three very strong games in a row so his production was scaled back a bit last night, but he was able to get to the line 11 times (making 8 of them). Whenever your best players have a rough night, it’s always nice to still be able to get a win.

11-31 still doesn’t sound very good, but it’s encouraging to see the Nets get a win over a good team like the Utah Jazz. The team has won just 2 of their last 13 games and somehow those two wins have been over the Bulls and the Jazz. Go figure.

One last thing on last night’s proceedings. Though I’ve been clear that I don’t believe the Carmelo talk had a big effect on this team’s performance, I applaud Mikhail Prokhorov. As a fan I had more than enough of these trade talks so I’m personally glad that it’s finally over and we can focus on the players the Nets DO have. 

The Nets started their home stand off on the right foot and who couldn’t love that high-five between Prokhorov and Billy King as the final buzzer sounded?!?! The team is back in action tomorrow against Detroit…