Nets Are Scorching

Does anyone really care about this game? The Nets come one day closer to closing out this stint of misery and entering the offseason on a low note. They’ll play the Raptors at 6 PM eastern in the Air Canada Centre.

Here are a few keys to the game:

Missing Starters: Deron Williams and Kris Humphries are officially out for the season, Damion James is still out, and Anthony Morrow is questionable. If he can’t play, the Nets will once more take the floor with Brook Lopez as their lone starter. As a result, expect something on par with the Farmar-Vujacic-West-Gadzuric-Lopez garbage that has graced the floor these last few games.

The Battle of Inept Rebounding Centers? It’s not yet clear whether Andrea Bargnani will play in Sunday’s contest, as he did not take the floor Friday against Philadelphia. For the Raptors, that would be that, but for any other stakeholder, that’s probably a good thing. After all, fans won’t be subjected to two seven-footers who can’t grab a board — only one.

DeMar DeRozan, Offensive Explosion (Get it? It kind of rhymes.): Well, at least someone’s carrying the Raptors on offense while Bargnani has been out. DeRozan has been scoring at a torrid rate recently, averaging over 26 points a game over the past five contests. Without a doubt, the Nets wings will be helpless to contain him. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go off for 30 today.

For more on the Raptors, check out their ESPN TrueHoop blog, Raptors Republic.

Ric Bucher’s ESPN chats always seem to provide an interesting tidbit about the Nets, and today’s was no exception. When asked a question about Deron Williams re-signing with New Jersey, Bucher responded with:

- Getting Dwight Howard would do a lot, but upgrading the roster in general will be the biggest factor. From what I hear, Deron’s family already has been out house-hunting and he regularly texts with Billy King about players that would be good to add to their team. That, at least, sounds like a guy looking to stay.

Huh. This, to me, seems more credible than sportswriters clinging to a silly narrative of a Russian oligarch hanging Deron out of the window of a G5.

I’ve had a nagging feeling recently that Deron hasn’t really become a part of this team yet, he’s more just a hired gun to lead a band of nobodies. But this sounds more like a guy who’s in tune with the franchise and preparing it for an overhaul. I know that last year we knew that the team would be facing a complete change in identity, but things like this coupled with the impending move to Brooklyn make me think that we may see an even bigger one in these next two years.

AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

Box Score – Knickerblogger.Net – Posting and Toasting – The Knicks Blog

The twilight of an NBA season is never fun, especially when you root for a team who’s twilight is coming in the middle of April. All around you are signs of hope and optimism. There are 16 teams readying themselves for the NBA Playoffs — a system where theoretically “anything can happen” (but we all know the Heat, Celtics, Bulls and Lakers will be closer to the finish line than the rest). If basketball isn’t your sport, in the world of baseball, fans are still being treated to “Opening Days” where hope springs eternal (or so I’m told as a Mets fan). But when you’re rooting for a team with less than 30 wins and the bulk of their roster on the sideline in suits? You’re just looking at your watch like it’s 4:50 on a Friday at work. The games can’t pass by fast enough.

I mean, if I can’t get amped up for Knicks-Nets game after everything these two organizations put each other through this season, what game can get me excited? Here’s the problem though — these aren’t like the games of yesteryear where John Starks was literally trying to kill Kenny Anderson, or when Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson were performing Globetrotter-esque alley-oops on top of Tim Thomas’ little Fugazi head. It wasn’t even Deron Williams versus the Amare/Melo two-headed scoring-no-defense-monster. In last night’s 116-93 Knicks victory in Newark, the Nets started three guys who are certain to not be with the team next season (including two in Mario West and Dan Gadzuric who may not even be in the NBA) and if the owner gets his way, the other two, Brook Lopez and Jordan Farmar, will probably be packaged together in some kind of mega-deal for Dwight Howard or a superstar of that ilk. Look to the bench and it’s Stephen Graham (gone), Brandan Wright (gone), Ben Uzoh (D-League demotion) and Johan Petro and Travis Outlaw (both gone if someone is dumb enough to take their contracts). So trying to provide thoughtful, sincere analysis about a group of 10 players who in all likelihood don’t even figure into the team’s plans in six months? What can I possibly say?

I can pick on this team’s overwhelming unwillingness to ride Brook Lopez when they have nobody else. Lopez is the only Nets player suiting up these days who’s a legitimate starter on a playoff team. With Amare Stoudemire out for the Knicks, I predicted that Brook would cross the 30-point threshold easy. As it stands, he was stuck on 27, in large part because he sat most of the fourth quarter in blowout. But the shot distribution is still questionable. In the 3rd quarter when the Nets still had a puncher’s chance of getting back into it,  Lopez made four of five field goals, including four of those attempts in a two minute timespan between the 6 minute and 4 minute mark. But getting ball to Brook that entire quarter was not a priority. Instead Jordan Farmar  was heaving jumpers (0-4 from beyond 15-feet) and not doing much better at the rim (1-3). These are the games that should remind you why a team that won back-to-back championships with Farmar on the bench was more than willing to let him walk this past summer and sign up with the worst team in the NBA. While people can talk about Farmar’s winning pedigree all the want, he’s a player who acts as if he believes he’s more talented than he really is. Farmar wasn’t hitting shots all night (3-12, 0-5 from three). Why is he taking so many shots when his team is down double digits? Don’t point out that 9 assists to me. This has been Farmar’s MO all-season: to shoot as much as he can while ringing up cheap assists. He’s not a playmaker, especially when his team can only gather 93 points against a team with nonexistent defense.

And let me echo those sentiments for Sasha Vujacic. After another high volume, so-so shooting affair (6-14), including a dreadful 0-5 start from the field, I think it’s worth pointing out that he’s been shooting 39 percent on more than 10 field goals a game since the all-star break. I know Terrence Williams was a head case and draft picks are a valuable commodity in this league, but I think the theory that Sasha was some kind of “asset” the Nets acquired in that deal should be put to rest. He needs to be farmed out with the rest of the bricklayers this off-season, and my guess is The Machine will only find himself as an every day NBA rotation guy next season if he swallows his pride and goes to a non-playoff contender where he HAS to shoot 10 jumpers a game.

What else do you want to hear about this game? How the Knicks owned the Nets on the boards 48-38 despite have the the 28th best rebound rate in the entire league? The fact that the Nets perimeter defense was nonexistent, allowing the Knicks to drill 15-36 three pointers (did Butler’s college team even make 15 FGs in the entire game Monday night?) The fact that Carmelo Anthony had as many offensive boards (2) as Brook Lopez had total rebounds? What else is there to say? There are two games left before the front office begins their next round of purging. I can only hope they get it right next year.

Ah, this match-up had so much more juice a few weeks ago. Still, the stumbling, bumbling Nets (24-54) are hoping their last Friday night game of the season ends on a high note as they face the surging New York Knicks (40-38), who have won 5 in a row after looking like a walking corpse when these two teams last met. The Nets list of injuries remains the same (Deron Williams, Kris Humphries, Anthony Morrow, Damion James, Sundiata Gaines, the Professor and Mary Ann), while the Knicks try to make things interesting by sitting Amare Stoudemire. Chauncy Billups is also banged-up and is a game-time decision.

A few bullet points here:

Could this team beat UConn? I say UConn’s Kemba Walker is arguably better than anyone on the Nets except Brook Lopez, though my guess is Walker would outrebound him. I bring this up because with all of their injuries, the Nets are not fielding an NBA team right now with the likes of Dan Gadzuric, Johan Petro, and Stephen Graham getting major minutes. Speaking of which, I recently read on the interwebs a response to my rant about Graham last week which went along the lines “for God’s sake who cares about Stephen Graham.” Besides missing the actual point of my rant and settling for the straw man response, obviously someone in the Nets’ FO does because despite being one of the worst players in the NBA all season he has kept a job on this team’s roster all year – a move that’s now coming home to roost because the Nets are forced to play a bunch of stiffs 20-30 minutes a game because no one had the foresight to build bench depth with NBA talent. My guess is a bulk of the guys getting major minutes for the Nets tonight will be out of the NBA next season. Tell me again why as a Nets fan I’m not supposed to care about that?

Don’t forget the Man in the Middle: Granted, I couldn’t watch Wednesday’s game because the team’s television contract with YES is about as solid as their starting five tonight, but while following the game on Twitter, I saw Brook Lopez hit 39 points with still a large chunk of the 4th quarter ahead of him. And then the Nets promptly forgot him, instead going for the jugular by heaving a bunch of jumpers courtesy of Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. The Knicks notoriously have no interior defensive presence. The Nets need to ride Lopez in the post until he drops dead. The guy should easily have 30+ points tonight, and I could even see him sniff 50 if the Nets actually follow a game plan.

Don’t forget to check out KnickerBlogger.net for some insight from the other side of the river.

The Nets have announced that Deron Williams will have season-ending surgery on his injured wrist. Follow Al Iannazzone on Twitter for emerging details (as Nets fans, you should just follow Al regardless).

Well, this certainly makes Deron’s comeback last week against the Knicks look mighty stupid. I’m sure the company line will be that he wasn’t going to injure his wrist anymore and that DWill is a competitor and wanted to play, but if surgery was inevitable, he should have been shut down for good the second the Nets lost to Milwaukee a few weeks ago, unofficially sinking their longshot playoff chances. I found myself questioning a lot lately what’s the top priority around Newark — marketing and exposure, or the actual long-term health of this franchise and winning games?

Al Iannazzone picks up on some fans mockingly chanting “MVP” when Travis Outlaw was shooting free throws earlier this week. But does the “V” stand for? Vilified?

Outlaw thinks he can “do better,” but Iannazzone reports that a top priority for the Nets this summer is finding somebody dumber than them to take on the remaining four-years, $28 million on his contract:

The Nets probably realize they hastily signed Outlaw. Once they knew LeBron James, Rudy Gay and other big free agents weren’t coming, ex-Nets president Rod Thorn and coach Avery Johnson felt they had to get someone.

They signed Outlaw hoping they could convert him into a full-time small forward, but he’s more comfortable at power forward. Now, for the third consecutive offseason, the Nets will see if they can upgrade the small forward spot. They could pursue restricted free agent Wilson Chandler, but will see who is available through trades.

Personally, Chandler concerns me in a slower-paced offensive system, but that’s an argument for another day. I don’t think anyone is defending the Outlaw signing anymore. I tried to initially, but I hope this organization understand that you can’t give big contracts to career bench players coming off an injury. People will blame Rod Thorn for this, and while he’s responsible, he was also out the door. Let’s be real here — Avery Johnson was calling the shots on the roster this summer. Avery thought Outlaw was going to be the NJ-version of what he had with Josh Howard. Not even close, and it makes me hope that Avery leaves the player evaluations to the GM going forward — and yes, I realize the team’s GM is Billy King. That’s how little confidence I have in Avery’s player evaluation abilities.

He may not be Michael Jordan, but Johan Petro is certainly a humanitarian.

Reported by Howard Beck of the New York Times on Twitter, Petro is raising money and awareness to aid in Japan’s relief efforts. Petro has teamed up with Save the Children,” which is “the leading independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world.”

If you’d like to be a part of the “Twitterview,” follow him @Frenchi27 and use the hashtag #Johan4Japan.

I’ve obviously been very critical of Petro’s performance on the court this season, but to hear he’s doing things like this off the court is just phenomenal to hear. He has all the support in the world from us at NaS.

It’s odd to describe Brook Lopez as anything other than bad at rebounding, but Wednesday night’s game was an exhibition into how many roles the Nets center can really play. It might have just been that case that most people were focusing on him given the embarrassment of terrors joining him in the startling lineup (namely Jordan Farmar, Mario West, Sasha Vujacic, and Dan Gadzuric), but Lopez was under the spotlight — or, more accurately, an area of dim light surrounded by unprecedented darkness.

With a number of injuries reducing the Nets’ roster to rubble for the game against the Pistons, Lopez was appropriately tasked with carrying the offensive load, and carry it he did. Detroit’s bigs were helpless to stop him, and his impressive production was the only thing keeping the Nets from utter humiliation.

Using an array of layups, dunks, jumpshots, and free throws, Lopez cruised until about a quarter of the way through the fourth period. At the time, he had 39 points (a new career high) on astounding 14-of-17 shooting. Little did the Nets know, when Chris Wilcox fouled out at that point in time, it would be the kiss of death for Lopez. During the rest of the game, he was 0-of-3 from the field.

For minutes afterward, Lopez was harassed with double teams, the Pistons not content with allowing him to catch the ball with any meaningful post position. Soon enough, though, the Nets gave up on trying to thread him the rock, even as the double teams stopped coming. In typical pre-Deron Williams fashion, the guards were helpless to throw an acceptable entry pass, and the offense slowed to a halt. Instead of relying on the only semblance of offense, the Nets were content with contested jumpers by Travis Outlaw, missed layups by Farmar and Ben Uzoh, and overall sluggishness from Gadzuric.

This turn of events speaks to a few things: (1) The Nets’ guards are terrible when Williams is not on the floor; (2) Lopez lacks the respect of the team to be able to effectively demand the ball in the post (though having Farmar and Vujacic, conditioned by Phil Jackson to avoid good entries, certainly doesn’t help); and (3) Avery Johnson can’t draw up an offensive set late in games.

It’s a troubling prophecy for the Nets when the only acceptable offensive player is completely ignored, and it makes for terrible basketball. Something has to give with the play calling, or else doubling Lopez will be an easy solution to forcing the ball out of his hands.

Alas, this wasn’t the last of Lopez’s manifestations Wednesday night. In the final minute or two of the game, with the result decided, Lopez began to pout, whine, and show general disinterest in the game. In fact, in the final seconds, with the clock stopped, he actually began to walk off the court before Johnson forced him back on.

Lopez was obviously pissed off, and rightfully so, that he didn’t get the ball down the stretch, but even more obvious is the fact that pouting is not the right recourse for handling the situation. Does Kobe Bryant pout when he doesn’t get the ball? No. He reams his teammates a new one. He makes his teammates regret not finding a way to give him the rock in his spot.

As Lopez continues to mature, he must realize that he is the second-best player on this Nets team, which means he deserves respect — he needs to develop the appropriate leadership. Whining will only make him look weak and selfish. Really, this would have been grounds for Johnson to let him keep walking to the locker room and replace him with someone who’s grateful to play.