Nets Are Scorching

In anticipation with the Nets historic two-game set in London today and tomorrow, NAS had a little Q+A exchange with Sam Holako of the TrueHoop Network blog, Raptors Republic. Here are some of Sam’s insights on his team, and obviously, for more Raptor news and opinions, be sure you check out Raptors Republic.

1. With the season more than half over, what are silver linings with this Raptors roster? With so much of the “name” talent gone, who are the keepers and who is the fanbase fed up with?

Depends on who you ask, but for me, the keepers from this season have definitely been Amir Johnson, Ed Davis, DeMar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani. James Johnson is making quite a bit of noise in his short tenure, and looks to be a good value for the late 1st rounder we gave up for him (read more below), but he is a dime-a-dozen type player that can be replaced rather easily.

2. So, James Johnson is a Raptor now. Explain…

Yea…good times man. Colangelo flipped Miami’s 1st round pick this year (late 20s) to Chicago for Johnson who has underwhelmed in a season and a half in Chicago. The deal was sold as the Raptors not being able to find anyone comparable to Johnson that late in the 1st round, and it’s possible they are right. My issue with the trade is that the 1st rounder could have been packaged with another of our assets (maybe Reggie Evans’ expiring) for a piece that would have been better than Johnson. However, Johnson won the start small forward spot from Sonny Weems (win) and has played some very good defense while hitting some shots and dishing the ball (win, win and win). However, it does say a lot about the quality of this teams rotation that Johnson was able to take the starting small forward spot before showing us anything in a game situation.

3. DeMar DeRozan recently said that “props” are ruining the NBA’s dunk contest. Is this sour grapes or does he have a point?

I think it’s a bit of both, truth be told, but let me ask you this: what’s so special about an athletic freak jumping over the lowest part of a car to dunk a ball when he consistently clears that height on regular dunks in every time he jumps?

4. Does Bryan Colangelo get another chance next season as GM?

Would I rather have Kevin Pritchard? Yes. However, and let be clear here, Colangelo isn’t a bad GM. I’d rate him as an average to ok based on the job he’s done since coming over. Something you may not be aware of is that the Raptors are part of a massive sports conglomerate that owns the Toronto Maple Leafs [NHL]. Toronto FC [MLS], Toronto Marlies [junior hockey league team], the ACC and other real-estate and business assets. They are currently looking for a president to take over from Richard Peddie who recently resigned. He’s up for that job as well. The smart money would be to bet on him staying with the organization, and either being GM of the Raptors or President of the whole damn thing.

Be prepared for the next big “where will this player go” debate vis a vis Dwight Howard. Howard has already hinted about his interest in the West Coast, but Deron Williams has constantly talked about recruiting other stars for the Nets and there’s no bigger star available in 2012 than Dwight Howard. Chris Broussard and Ric Bucher debate the Lakers/Nets match-up over at ESPN (Insider access only). Bucher seems to think the Nets have a shot, but Broussard sees Howard in LA, and he actually makes a decent point as to why:

Dwight and Deron would be fabulous together, and by the time Dwight got there, the team would either be in Brooklyn or just a few months away. But Dwight is better suited for Los Angeles. With his goofy personality, I’m not sure he would enjoy the constant scrutiny and pressure that comes with playing in New York. It’s very possible that he’d “lose the fun.”

I think it’s dangerous for anyone to assume right now that the Nets are a lock to get Howard, so it’s good to keep Broussard’s perspective in mind here.

NetsDaily has done some digging over at the U.S. Patent Office and has found something that the team is looking to trademark for use on “clothing, footwear, basketball shoes, basketball sneakers, T-shirts, shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts,” etc.

I think it’s pretty cool, and a step in the right direction (certainly better than the whole “Brooklyn New Yorkers” idea that may or may not been linked to the team).

While the Nets don’t have any wins to show for it, with 47 assists over the span of three games, Deron Williams has been as advertised from a ball distribution standpoint. Here’s a quick look at who has benefitted the most from DWill’s passing:

Most Assisted To:

• Brook Lopez – 14
• Kris Humphries – 12
• Anthony Morrow – 6
• Sasha Vujacic and Damion James – Tied with 4

Assist to Field Goal Percentage:

• Humphries – 63 percent (12 assists on 19 field goals)
• Lopez – 56 precent (14 assists on 25 field goals)
• Sasha – 50 percent (4 assists on 8 field goals)
• D. James – 40 percent (4 assists on 10 field goals)

Some observations – Hump’s assisted to percentage doesn’t shock me. He and DWill have clearly developed some early chemistry in the pick-and-pop game. However, it’s good to see Lopez is right behind Hump in terms of efficiency and I’m sure his assisted to numbers from DWill are going to jump even mores as time goes on.

Second, Avery Johnson needs to work with Williams and Morrow stat. Morrow has only been the recipient of 6 assists on 17 field goals made the past three games. With Morrow’s ability to spot-up shoot from the perimeter, DWill should be racking up assists by the gross with Morrow on his team. When Williams makes his move to the basket, Morrow has to be positioned better to get a kick-out pass. And Morrow shouldn’t be creating his own shot anyway.

People who were concerned about Avery Johnson trying to micromanage Deron Williams can breathe a little bit easier. According to Colin Stephenson and the Star-Ledger, Avery has already instituted some changes in the team’s playbook to allow the star point guard to be more comfortable:

Before the game, Johnson had said he would put things in the playbook that Williams was more familiar with and had success with in Utah. Given the fact the Nets are the second-lowest scoring team in the league (92.9 points per game) the coach didn’t sound particularly broken up about having to make dramatic changes.

“I’m anticipating probably half our playbook we’ll have to throw out,” Johnson said. “That’s okay … because a lot of what we were doing doesn’t even fit (Williams’) game.”

I’m sure somewhere in Salt Lake City, Devin Harris is saying WTF, but hey, talents like Williams only come around once in a great while if a team is lucky. I’m happy to see Avery is being flexible, because I’m guessing if there was a situation where the team had to choose between the coach or DWill, Avery would be back on the unemployment line.

“Two doesn’t beat us guys…three does beat us,” was what “The Czar” Mike Fratello was saying Avery Johnson should be pointing out to his team, moments before Channing Frye’s dagger three put the Suns ahead by a point (the eventual game winner) late in overtime. The Suns were aided by a well drawn up play that was executed perfectly of course. Let’s take a look.

(On an aside, Channing Frye has now hit game winning shots on back to back nights, check out his buzzer beater vs. the Pacers from Sunday night)

The Suns have the benefit of a great clutch shooter on their team, Steve Nash. Nash draws so much attention, that he can be used as a decoy so set someone else up, which is exactly what the Suns do.

Below you’ll see the Suns set up with Grant Hill inbounding and Steve Nash is located in the far corner, opposite the ball.

The initial action for the Suns, Nash curls off a screen set by Channing Frye. Again, this action was used as misdirection. The beauty of this play was in the second action.

If you notice, Suns center Marcin Gortat (No. 4) is waiting at the opposite elbow. After Nash clears the screen, he and Gortat stop and immediately screen down on Frye’s man, Kris Humphries.

I put the two different colored arrows (blue and red) to show the different paths Humphries could have chosen to navigate this screen. As stated earlier, only a three pointer in this situation kills the Nets. In my opinion, Humphries should have locked onto Frye’s hip and chosen the blue route. By going over the screen, Humphries would have encouraged Frye to curl and maybe chase him off the three point line, or into a more contested shot. Humphries instead attempts the red route, and gets hung up on the Gortat screen, thus giving Frye the wide open look. Frye did his job by drilling the shot and in the process spoiled Deron Williams’ home debut.

Here’s the play live:

Think back to December 2006. It was a simpler time. It was a better time. There might be a lot of great things you remember about 2006. You might remember the Winter Olympics in Turin. Or the World Cup in Germany. Or maybe even that Shaquille O’Neal could once dunk.

What you probably don’t remember quite as clearly is a trifling regular-season basketball game between the New Jersey Nets and Phoenix Suns on December 7 (You can view the game on YouTube here).

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