Thoughts on the Game: Nets Take Extra Time to Accomplish the Inevitable
Apr 15, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Heat, Thoughts On the Game
AP Photo/Alan Diaz
Hot Hot Hoops – Peninsula is Mightier
The Nets haven’t done a whole lot right this season, so it’s only fitting that they even found a way to screw up their final game of their worst-ever season. With the Miami Heat playing for nothing but seeding, sitting Dwyane Wade, the Nets fell into a huge hole in the third quarter and looked to be playing another game on cruise control on course for their 70th defeat. But rather than just punching the clock and finishing off this putrid season, they came all the way back in the fourth to tie it, had a chance to win it on a fluke offensive foul call by the refs, played poorly in the first overtime but still forced a second, only to ultimately lose anyway.
And what did those 10 extra minutes actually do for the Nets as the organization looks to greener pastures this summer? MIA for all of the fourth quarter and OT periods was their present, Devin Harris, and their future, Terrence Williams, while Brook Lopez was inserted back in for the first OT, only to turn the ball over three times on boneheaded plays (a travel, a shot clock violation and an offensive foul). Yi Jianlian, who’s still trying to prove he belongs on this team in some capacity next season, finished with a more than solid stat line of 23 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks, but was virtually ignored towards the end of regulation when Courtney Lee opted to take the ball to the hoop and draw a foul rather than pass it to the wide open Yi in the corner for a chance to win the game. Also, it was nice to see Chris Douglas-Roberts get into the game and make some plays on offense, though 9 points and 4 turnovers for a guy that’s supposedly going to make hay in this league as an instant offense guy is a bit of a letdown.
It was a happier time for Chris Quinn, who looked like a JV player playing out of his league on the varsity squad during Monday’s loss to Charlotte. Last night, Quinn ran the point effectively, only netting 5 points and 2 assists, but grabbing 7 rebounds – which is amazing in itself when you consider he’s the most physically unimpressive player on the floor by far – and not turning the ball over, which is a major accomplished for a team that gave the ball away 20 times last night, leading to 23 points.
But a Yi scoring outburst, some good/some bad from CDR and some efficient play from Chris Quinn are not really the things we as Nets fans should be having dreams about headed into the summer. While this season was far from promising back in October, at the very least, I thought it would be entertaining, watching Devin Harris shoulder the burden by himself, while watching players like Lopez, CDR, Yi, TWill and Courtney Lee evolve into legit NBA ballers. It really didn’t work out that way. Harris seemed overmatched when he wasn’t injured, Lopez grew up, but CDR regressed as the season went along. There’s promise in Terrence Williams, but we haven’t seen enough consistency, and more importantly, accurate shooting, to say anything more, and Yi remains an enigma, the Oliver Perez of the NBA for all of you Mets fans out there. Last night, Harris didn’t play when it mattered, TWill was off, Lopez looked gassed, CDR was okay, and Yi was alternating between sweet looking jump shoots and being rejected by the rim and turning the ball over.
Whereas a team like Miami can essentially play for nothing but a rank – I’d personally rather take on Atlanta in the first round as the #6 seed than Boston as the #5 seed – with their superstar/all-world player on the sidelines in a suit, and still find a way to win. The Nets are still finding ways to lose, perfecting it like a Julliard student does the violin. It was an absolutely ugly game, with the Nets shooting 36 percent, while the Heat shot 40 percent. The only offensive weapon the Heat had, Michael Beasley (25 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) fouled out in the first overtime. Yet it was Yakhouba Diawara, playing his first minutes of the game, drilling a critical three in the second OT to stretch the lead for Miami.
What I’m getting at is that it’s frustrating to look at Miami’s players on paper, especially when Wade is out, and watch them still outslug the Nets like this, even if it took them two overtimes to do it. 82 games and a few additional minutes later, and I still don’t know what to take from this Nets season. There was the 0-18 start, the Frank firing, the January to forget – where I saw this team play about as uninspired and awful as I’ve ever seen an NBA team play – and the last 6 weeks or so where this team demonstrated a pulse, and more importantly, some ability. But then the last two games for the Nets left a sour taste in my mouth. There was a lot of the “old” Nets on Monday and last night – letting a depleted opponent getting ahead, failing to make a shot when it mattered, the spontaneous disappearance of Devin Harris – and that’s disappointing after an other promising end to the season. When pondering the foundation of this Nets team, are they the players who came out and took advantage of a San Antonio Spurs team without Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker, or are they the team that lets Mario Chalmers and Yakhouba Diaware beat you in double OT? I guess we have all summer to find out.
Quick Recap: Miami Heat 94, New Jersey Nets 86 (2 OT)
Apr 14, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Heat, Quick Recap
As if the Nets haven’t tortured us enough this season, it took them two overtimes before falling to a depleted Miami Heat 94-86 in the season finale tonight in Miami.The Nets finished the 2009-10 season 12-70.
- The Nets were down double digits headed into the third quarter, but the bench got them back into this game, as Devin Harris and Terrence Williams sat out the fourth quarter and both overtimes and Chris Quinn ran the point. Quinn rewarded Kiki Vandeweghe with 5 points and 7 rebounds.
- Yi Jianlian finished his season on a high note with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Courtney Lee chipped in with 17 points and 6 rebounds.
- Brook Lopez finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds and had just about as bad as an overtime that you can have when he turned the ball over three times in the first OT. Of course, Lopez had been sitting for a bulk of the fourth quarter.
- Josh Boone had 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 badly missed free throws off the bench.
- The Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade, were led by Michael Beasley, who finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks before fouling out. Mario Chalmers finished with 15 points and 7 assists and was 3-9 from three.
Thoughts on the Game: Nets Stink Up the Swamp One Final Time
Apr 13, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bobcats, Thoughts On the Game
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
Queen City Hoops – Rufus on Fire – View from the Couch
The Nets closed out their run of basketball at the Meadowlands last night in similar fashion to how the organization has spent most of their days in the New Jersey swamp: with an uninspired, ho hum loss in front of a paltry crowd. Outside of some excellent work by the YES Network, who were showing clips of “Meadowlands Moments” throughout, there was little pomp and circumstance to this evening. No images of Derrick Coleman and Chris Dudley cutting down the nets and wishing the New Jersey faithful a pleasant good evening. No signs of Jason Kidd or Kenyon Martin electrifying the crowd one more time before the lights were turned off. Instead, the only real connection to this franchise’s past came in the form of the opposing head coach, Larry Brown, who coached the first ever Nets game at the Meadowlands in 1981.
To be honest, I don’t know if there was anyone out there who felt like lingering past closing time at the Meadowlands last night. The Nets are one game away from finishing up their worst season ever, which says a lot for a franchise whose futility may only be rivaled by the Clippers. And while there have been some good times at the Meadowlands, it’s hard to call it a real home for an organization that’s jumped around the New York/New Jersey area for decades. Even their next move to Newark is just a temporary one with Brooklyn appearing to be their final home – for the time being.
As for the game itself – the Nets played poor defense early, squandered a run in the second half by going ice cold shooting-wise in the 4th quarter, and demonstrated their utter lack of depth whenever their bench took the court: ladies and gentleman, your 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets.
While the Nets are far removed now from being considered the “worst of all time,” they’re still a pretty bad team, especially when they’re giving up 59 first half points and allowing an offensively challenged team like the Bobcats to have an incredibly balanced scoring attack with 7 players in double figures. Meanwhile, only 7 players on the Nets even scored a point in this game. While the Nets looked pretty balanced with their starting 5 all scoring 14 or more points, the bench – sans Jarvis Hayes and Keyon Dooling from the start, and Kris Humphries after a first half injury – only scored 4 points total, compared with 50 for the Bobcats bench. Yes, these are NBA players, but it’s especially embarrassing when a guy like Gerald Henderson, who’s gone scoreless in four previous games, drops 14 on the Nets, including a posterizing dunk on Devin Harris in the second quarter.
Still, with all that, the Nets actually clawed back from a double digit first half deficit and briefly grabbed a one point lead in the third quarter. Harris hit two threes early in the third quarter, Terrence Williams was able to score at will near the basket, and the Bobcats were just cold enough to make it appear like a competitive basketball team was on the verge of happening. But it was three layups towards the end of the third that brought Charlotte’s lead back to six, and a 12-1 lead from the Bobcats in the fourth, pushed the game back out of reach for the Nets.
Fortunately, Terrence Williams continues to be a bright spot, and as Ian Eagle speculated after the game, you have to wonder if TWill wants the season to end right now. There was one point in the first half where Williams had 13 of his team’s 27 points. On a night where Devin Harris wasn’t much of a factor outside of the third quarter, and Brook Lopez had a quiet 16 points and 8 rebounds, Williams was the best player wearing a Nets uniform last night – and with a plethora of impact swingman expected to be available in free agency and the draft this summer, the Nets are going to have to consider long and hard how they can improve their team, while still finding quality minutes for TWill, who is growing into a game changer before our very eyes.
A few more thoughts after the jump.
Quick Recap: Charlotte Bobcats 105, New Jersey Nets 95
Apr 12, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bobcats, Quick Recap
The Nets closed out the basketball-era at the Meadowlands the same way a vast majority of evenings at the Izod Center have finished this season – with a loss. The Charlotte Bobcats were able to brush off a strong third quarter by the Nets, cruising to a 105-95 victory.
- The Nets were torched by the Bobcats in the first half, giving up 59 points on 54 percent shooting to Charlotte. But the Nets actually grabbed a quick one-point lead in the third quarter, before going ice cold from the floor, giving the Bobcats breathing room to the finish line.
- Future trivia question: Who was the final player to score a basket at the Meadowlands? Terrence Williams. TWill’s late season run continued, as he scored 21 points on 10-19 shooting, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished 6 assists.
- Devin Harris heated up in the third quarter en route to 22 points on 6-18 shooting. Only 1 assist for the point guard.
- Charlotte had 7 players finish in double figures, led by Stephen Jackson with 17 points. They also had 31 assists on 43 field goals.
- With Jarvis Hayes and Keyon Dooling hurting, and Kris Humphries leaving the game early with an injury, the Nets bench only scored 4 points, compared with 50 points for the Bobcats. That’s right, a 46-point swing.
Thoughts on the Game: Nets Can’t Defend the Inside or Outside
Apr 11, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Pacers, Thoughts On the Game
AP Photo/Tom Strattman
Eight Points Nine Seconds – Indy Cornrows
In most basketball games, there’s the big picture reason for the outcome – the overall theme of a game – and then the microcosm moment(s) where the momentum of the match-up officially swing in one team’s direction carrying them to the finish line. What I found interesting about last night’s 115-102 victory for the Indiana Pacers over the Nets was the fact that the big picture reason for the Nets loss and the microcosm moment where the game was officially lost were on totally opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of how a team can lose a game.
Let me explain. A quick look at the box score and a big picture statistic sticks out like a sore thumb for the Nets. They allowed the Pacers to score 60 points in the pain on only 12 fast-break points. This just reflects extraordinarily bad interior defense for the Nets. There were just way too many baskets for Indiana throughout the game where it was a one-on-one matchup for their offensive player right under the rim. Like at the 7:00 mark in the first when off of two free throws from Brook Lopez, Danny Granger beat the entire Nets team back down the court and was wide open under the rim for a dunk. The Nets appeared to have Courtney Lee guarding Grander early, and Lee lost track of him in these situations several times. With Lee, probably the Nets’ best defender, having an off game like this, you just knew it was going to be one of those kinds of games defensively for the Nets.
Yet, even with these lapses, the Nets led by as many as 12 early, and even when Indiana started to make their move in the third quarter, the Nets hung around and stayed close to even until about the 4 minute mark where the microcosm moment was introduced. While it would have seemingly made more sense if the Pacers were able to go on their run by making a few uncontested baskets at the rim, they were actually able to sink the Nets for good from the outside. The Nets completely forget that Troy Murphy is one of those big-men who can shoot, and Murphy made them pay by hitting back-to-back treys, extending a Pacers lead from 2 to 8. While an 8-point lead wasn’t insurmountable for the Nets a night earlier against the Bulls, playing the road-half of a back-to-back probably sucked the last bit of fight out of the Nets, and they were never truly “in” the game from that point forward.
So, while it may be easy on the surface to say the Nets lost this game because of their interior defense, I felt the nail in the coffin came on poor perimeter defense. In other words, it’s the kind of game you expect the worst team in the league to lose, especially against a hot team like Indiana who are 9-2 in their last 11 and look a lot better down the stretch than how they’ve looked most of the season.
A few more thoughts after the jump.
Quick Recap: Indiana Pacers 115, New Jersey Nets 102
Apr 10, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Pacers, Quick Recap
There were no comebacks in the Nets tonight, as an atrocious third quarter did them in, falling to the Indiana Pacers 115-102 in Indiana tonight.
- The Nets looked good through the first quarter, leading by 9 at the end of one, but a 32-19 third quarter for the Pacers put the Nets away for good.
- Terrence Williams, starting for Jarvis Hayes, was a few rebounds and assists shy of a back-to-back triple double, finishing with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
- Yi Jianlian had a good game, finishing with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.
- Brook Lopez led all Nets in scoring, finishing with 20 points and 5 rebounds.
- The Nets did a poor job taking care of the ball tonight, finishing with 19 turnovers.
- Troy Murphy led all scorers with 25 points and 9 rebounds.
- The Pacers outscored the Nets 60-44 in the paint tonight. That’s ballgame right there.
Quick Recap: Milwaukee Bucks 108, New Jersey Nets 89
Apr 7, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bucks, Quick Recap
What started as a close game for the first half turned into a runaway victory for the home team, as the New Jersey Nets fell to the Milwaukee Bucks 108-89 in Milwaukee earlier tonight.
- The Nets were a one man show offensively for most of the game, with Devin Harris leading the way early, and finishing with 25 points and 4 assists on 9-15 shooting, including 3-4 from three.
- Courtney Lee chipped in with 19 points and 6 rebounds on 8-15 shooting, including 3-5 from three.
- The rest of the Nets were ice cold, and the team was 39 percent from the field. Terrence Williams started off April with a thud, with 6 points and 4 rebounds on 2-13 shooting. Brook Lopez was 1-5 and finished with 6 points and 5 turnovers, but on a positive note, he did collect 7 assists.
- The Bucks shot 52 percent from the field and were led by John Salmons with 22 points on 10-13 shooting. Jerry Stackhouse must have woken up in the 1990s, chipping in with 18 points off the bench.
Thoughts On the Game: It’s Back to Reality for the Nets
Apr 1, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Suns, Thoughts On the Game
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
Valley of the Suns – Bright Side of the Suns
To quote the immortal Axel Rose, “nothing lasts forever.” The good vibes from Monday’s infamy-avoiding victory against the San Antonio Spurs were not meant to spillover against another tough Western Conference foe, as the Phoenix Suns, the team with the league’s best record since the all-star break, seemed asleep at the wheel for the first half, before putting the screws to the Nets in the third quarter and beating New Jersey 116-105 at the Izod Center.
On the bright side, with win number 10 now in the books, the angst and anxiety that seemed to accompany all of the prior games where the Nets were in control at some point early in the game only to collapse thoroughly in the second half, is now gone. The Nets lost this game because they are one of the league’s worst teams playing one of the league’s best teams. As long as the Nets are no longer the worst of all-time, I can swallow these kinds of performances. These were the kinds of games, against teams like the Suns, I expected the Nets to lose before the season even started. Why should I change my tune now because the Nets had won three of their previous four games?
Actually, the Nets didn’t play all that badly last night, but the Suns are such a terrible match-up for them. All season, the Nets have struggled mightily against the league’s top offensive teams. Their win against the Spurs was actually New Jersey’s first versus a team that’s in the top 10 for offensive efficiency and San Antonio was missing two of their best offensive weapons in Tony Park and Manu Ginobli on Monday, so it hardly counts. So here comes the Suns, leading the league in offensive efficiency, and it’s easy to see why the Nets just do not have enough firepower to match-up with Phoenix. The Nets led by three at halftime, but were hammered 38-23 in the third quarter, giving Phoenix some distance.The fact that the Nets effectively hung around for most of the game, is a credit to their improved performance for the season.
It’s no surprise that the Nets have been a better team in March as Terrence Williams has become a better player. In many ways, TWill’s up and down season really encapsulates the Nets’ journey all year. Both started off in November showing flashes of potential, but were too error-prone to be effective, before totally bottoming out in December and January. By February, the team and TWill began to redeem themselves with improved play, but still, little results, before starting to click in March. TWill and the Nets are now flawed, but respectable players/teams, demonstrating promise for next season once they’re surrounded with improved parts. Last night, Williams led a charge in the second quarter that briefly put the Nets up by 7 with about 3:39 left when he sunk back-to-back three-pointers. He went on to score 21 points, needing 20 shots to do it, but also dishing out 9 assists in the process. In the off-season, I would love to see TWill work on figuring out ways to draw contact and get himself to the free throw line more. He would easily score in double digits every game if he could get to the free throw line five or six times per game.
The other big performance last night came from an unexpected source. I’ve been down on Kris Humphries for the better part of March now, and deservedly so. I felt he had become too selfish offensively, and looked out-of-sync without the ball. Josh Boone, despite his numerous flaws as a player, looked more deserving of Humps backup PF/C spot on the roster, but Kiki Vandeweghe has stuck with Humphries, for better or worse. Hump looked to redeem Kiki somewhat on Monday, when he actually hit a couple of jumpers for the first time in what felt like weeks. But Hump took it one step further against Phoenix, by hitting some more jumpers but also taking advantage of the Suns’ sketchy interior D and adding some baskets at the rim en route to 17 points on 7-11 shooting.
But even with the strong performance from Hump and TWill, the Suns have so many weapons, the Nets just couldn’t compete for 48 minutes. The Suns had six players in double figures, and Steve Nash looked like the younger, less broken-down point guard when matched-up against Devin Harris, scoring 24 points and dishing 14 assists, compared with Devo, who went for 9 points and 9 assists, on 2-10 shooting. Harris also had one big wrap around his back, an ominous sigh for the oft-injured point guard.
A few more thoughts after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »
Quick Recap: Phoenix Suns 116, New Jersey Nets 105
Mar 31, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Suns, Quick Recap
The Nets three game home winning-streak came to an end tonight, as they fell to the Phoenix Suns 116-105 at the Izod Center.
- The Nets may be playing better as of late, but even they could stop the Suns, who shot 57 percent from the field and 61 percent (11-18) from three. The key was the third quarter, where the Suns outscored the Nets 38-23 to take total control of the game. Steve Nash led the way with 24 points, 14 assists and 7 rebounds. Jason Richardson added 23 points on 10-17 shooting. The Suns also outrebounded the Nets 45-34.
- The Nets did get a strong showing from their bench. Terrence Williams ended his strong March on a high note, scoring 21 points (9-20 shooting), along with 9 assists and 5 rebounds. Kris Humphries had his best game in weeks, scoring 17 points on 7-11 shooting, grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
- Tough day at the office offensively for Devin Harris, who finished with 9 points on 2-10 shooting. He was seen during the third quarter wearing a big wrap around his back, though he did play in the fourth quarter. Harris also had 9 assists.
- Solid nights for Brook Lopez, 19 points and 8 rebounds, and Courtney Lee, 17 points, 5 rebounds.
Thoughts on the Game: The Nets are Not the Worst of All Time, Thank You Very Much
Mar 30, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Spurs, Thoughts On the Game
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
48 Minutes of Hell – Pounding the Rock – View from the Couch
The 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets have been a lot of things: snake-bitten, lackadaisical, uncompetitive, underachievers, disappointing and unpredictable for starters. One thing they’re not, is the “Worst of All Time.” And on a totally personal level, that’s good enough for me.
Fans of teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers or Los Angeles Lakers will probably think it’s stupid and ridiculous that I’m so relieved that after last night’s 90-84 victory over the San Antonio Spurs – a team the Nets haven’t beaten since 2002 when they were perennial playoff contenders – the Nets now have 10 wins, meaning they’re guaranteed to always be better than W.O.A.T. 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers. Yes, they still have 64 losses with April remaining. That’s a lot. I don’t care. I didn’t sign on to be a Nets fan more than 20 years ago because I thought it was going to be a cake walk. But I also never expected the franchise I’ve followed through thick and thin, Beard and Benoit Benjamin, would have come so gut-wrechinngly close to being declared the worst team in NBA history. There have been a number of downright terrible teams in NBA history that are but a mere footnote now. But there’s only one W.O.A.T. The Nets are not it. Thank God.
And the way the Nets staved off infamy last night was equally refreshing. The Spurs were without Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli last night, but so what. That’s why they played the games. Nobody gave the Nets any in wins in November when they started out 0-18 with Devin Harris, Yi Jianlian, Jarvis Hayes and Courtney Lee missing a chunk of games. What about when the Nets were only able to dress 8 guys, three of which were Bobby Simmons, Eduardo Najera and Sean Williams? The Spurs are still a well-coached enough team, and have one of the greatest NBA players of all-time in Tim Duncan to not use their depleted roster as an excuse. Regardless, while Spurs coach Greg Popovich was clearly giving Duncan an extended rest in the third quarter, the all-star was on the floor during crunch time, when the Nets used a combination of solid defense, timely shooting, and terrific ball control, to outscore San Antonio 28-18 in the game’s final 12 minutes. There was nothing about that game that wasn’t earned for the Nets. The moment was there, and instead of settling for it bouncing off the front of the rim, they seized it and dunked it home.
The Nets had their working boots on early in this game. There was some chippiness from the bench as assistant coach Roy Rogers was apparently barking at the officials in defense of his prized pupil Brook Lopez. The Nets were shooting in the 30-35 percent range for most of the first half, and the Spurs were able to push their lead to double digits, but the Nets capitalized on 16-13 second quarter advantage, to keep the game within three at halftime. Then when the third quarter started, instead of going to sleep for 12 minutes as they’ve done so many other times before this season, they kept themselves with striking distance. It was the little things – like Yi Jianlian, who struggled offensively going 3-12 from the field with 8 points, drawing a charge with about 9 minutes left in the third when he drew a charge while SAS had a 5-on-4 advantage on offense. Or when the Nets successfully converted a two-for-one at the end of the third quarter, leaving just enough on the clock for Keyon Dooling to get a jumper off as time expired. In the first quarter, the Nets mistimed their final possession, not getting a good shot off, and leaving SAS with more than enough to stretch their lead to six.
But the shots were falling in the fourth. Terrence Williams, who has struggled with outside jumpers all season, drilled a three with 8:11 to tie the score at 72. Then, as the Spurs tried to pull away again, going up 5 with 6:09 left, Devin Harris hit a 9-footer and Yi Jianlian hit probably his biggest jumper of the season, when he sunk a 19-footer from the top of the key, putting the Nets up by 1. The Nets never looked back as TWill and Brook – who was tremendous down the stretch – hit two more jumpers to distance themselves from the Spurs.
The game was iced when Courtney Lee – the “nice guy” who’s inexplicably one of the most polarizing players on this team – made a fantastic defensive play on George Hill, fronting him as Tim Duncan struggled to get rid of the ball with the final seconds of the game ticking away. Duncan threw the ball away, but it was Lee’s seal of Hill, that made that play happen. Lee was also consistent on offense, going for 19 points on 7-13 shooting, but it’s those little plays that have earned him the trust of the coaching staff, and I hope the adoration of the fan base. Lee may not be a budding superstar, but he’s a very good, intelligent player who should have a role with this organization for the foreseeable future.
A few more thoughts after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »