Thoughts on the Game: Nets Go Boone
Feb 17, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bobcats, Thoughts On the Game
Queen City Hoops – Rufus on Fire
On opening night of the 2009-10 season, it was an offensive rebound followed by a putback at the buzzer by Minnesota’s Damien Wilkins that set the Nets on a charted course towards NBA all-time futility. In a kind of symmetry that only seems to happen in sports, an offensive rebound last night in the hands of the Josh Boone helped to kick off the second half of the Nets’ season on a winning note, and could ultimately be the play we all look back on as a season saver for a franchise that’s at times has seemed destined to collide with a 9-73 iceberg.
The fact that the offensive rebound ended up in the hands of Boone of all people, a forgotten soul in Kiki Vandeweghe’s “youth first’ system for the past month, makes the moment all the sweeter. Boone’s NBA career by most accounts has been a series of few ups and mostly downs, so even with the team entering last night’s game with the Charlotte Bobcats at 4-48, it was difficult to make the case that Vandeweghe should even be playing the guy. But motivated by Tony Battie’s injury, and quite possibly the desire to showcase Boone for a trade deadline deal this week, Kiki called Josh’s name early last night in the Nets 103-94 victory, and was rewarded for the decision.
After Brook Lopez fouled out with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter, and the Nets clinging to a 98-92 lead, the Nets needed two things from their frontcourt – defense and rebounding. At the 1:19 mark, Courtney Lee missed a fadeaway jumper from 19-feet out, the kind of shots the Nets have been all to apt to settle for in their series of close fourth quarter contests the past month. Boone somehow ended up with the ball along the sideline, stayed inbounds, and allowed the Nets to reboot their offense with a five point lead intact. A three pointer by Jarvis Hayes with the shot clock expiring, put the Nets up eight, and sealed the game. The Nets had won their fifth game of the season, putting up 101 points against one of the best defenses in the league in Charlotte.
The Nets had their scoring shoes on early last night. Led by 10 first quarter points by both Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee, the Nets were able to put up 31 first quarter points. Unfortunately, the Nets allowed 27 points to the Bobcats, a team that is almost as hard-up to score as the Nets are.
There was a certain familiarity to this game at the onset, but where the script changed was how the way the Nets responded after their initial burst. Similar to their victory against the Los Angeles Clippers last month, the Nets were able to hold off the competition instead of folding up once the pressure starts to build (see their loss to the Milwaukee Bucks last week). After the Bobcats cut the lead to one early in the second quarter, a highlight reel, one-handed dunk from just past the free throw line courtesy of Terrence Williams put the Nets back on track. When Stephen Jackson pulled a long two out of his hat to tie the game at halftime, the Nets responded by outscoring Charlotte 30-21 in the third quarter. If the Nets found a way to respond to adversity like that a little more often, they wouldn’t even be in the discussion of “worst team ever” right now.
There’s also something to be said about how efficient the Nets looked on offense when Lee-Lopez and Devin Harris were all clicking offensively. The trio combined for 54 points on 58 percent shooting. While these numbers may not blow anyone away, it’s the best the Nets have looked offensively as a team in a few weeks.
More final thoughts after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »
Quick Recap: New Jersey Nets 103, Charlotte Bobcats 94
Feb 16, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bobcats, Quick Recap
The Nets kicked off the second half of their season in style, beating the Charlotte Bobcats 103-94 on the road tonight, notching their fifth victory of the season.
- Courtney Lee, Devin Harris and Brook Lopez supplied the offense for the Nets tonight, but they probably don’t pull this off tonight without Josh Boone, who in playing his first meaningful minutes in more than a month, scored 7 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, including an offensive board with just over a minute left in the game that lead to a Jarvis Hayes three, putting the nail in Charlotte’s coffin.
- Devin Harris had a great all around game with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists.
- Brook Lopez had 16 points and 3 blocks before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
- Courtney Lee scored 10 of his team-high 21 points in the first quarter, fueling an 31-point offensive barrage for the Nets in the quarter.
- The Nets shot 51.9 percent for the game, against one of the league’s better defenses. They also outrebounded Charlotte 47-36.
- Terrence Williams (4 points) had an amazing one-handed dunk in the second quarter from just past the free throw line. Wonder if someone was trying to make a statement regarding the participants in this past weekend’s Slam Dunk Competition.
Game 53 Preview Vs. Charlotte Bobcats
Feb 16, 2010 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Bobcats
So now that All-Star weekend is behind us, every Nets’ fan full attention should be on whether or not the Nets can get 6 more wins to avoid the worst record ever in the history of the NBA. Will they be able to? I am not sure, but games like these could end up being pretty good indicator.
This isn’t the same Bobcat team that the Nets beat for their first win though. The Bobcats have been playing incredibly well for the past couple of months. In fact, they are currently sitting 1 game above 500. Onto the lineups…
Devin Harris vs. Raymond Felton
The All-Star break was perfect timing for Devin Harris. He came back from injury, played very well in 4 games, then got hurt again (the collision). He returned for the last game before the break and played pretty well again, hopefully this can continue moving forward.
Advantage: Push
Courtney Lee vs. Stephon Jackson
Stephon Jackson is the guy who makes this team go. There was a noticeable difference in how the Bobcats played before he was traded and then after he was traded. Also, if he gets going and doesn’t force shots, he could have a big game tonight. Lee’s biggest responsibility won’t be on the offensive end tonight. His main objective is to keep Stephon Jackson from getting hot.
Advantage: Stephon Jackson
Jarvis Hayes vs. Gerald Wallace
Gerald Wallace is another guy who gives you trouble. In the Nets’ win, Wallace was able to grab 20 rebounds. That is just plain ridiculous, and a lot of it had to do with Wallace’s skill, but some of it had to do with CDR being undersized against a guy like Gerald Wallace at the 3. Now I am not saying Hayes will be able to keep him off the glass, he just has a better chance to do so.
Advantage: Gerald Wallace
Yi vs. Boris Diaw
Yi and Boris Diaw are the same exact player to me. They both are soft PF guys who are used to try and stretch the floor by their respective teams. Both aren’t really that good on the defensive end either. The only difference is Diaw tends to be a better passer and Yi is the better shooter. Other than that I think they are the same player.
Advantage: Push
Brook Lopez vs. Nazr Mohammed
Nazr Mohammed could give Brook some trouble. Nazr is the type of defender Brook struggles against. The bigger guy that can push him out of his spot. Hopefully this doesn’t result in him settling for outside jumpers.
Advantage: Brook Lopez
Games 19 & 20 Breakdown (Also Known As The Keyon Dooling Effect)
Dec 7, 2009 Nets vs. Bobcats, Nets vs. Knicks, Video Breakdown, Xs and Os
We are going to quickly get into the breakdowns today, and these are all going to be positive ones. Over the past two games the Nets have done a lot of things right offensively (Forget about the struggles against the zone. That will be getting it’s own post tomorrow). With a more aggressive Courtney Lee and a healthy Keyon Dooling and Devin Harris, the Nets have been clicking on offense for the most part (Yes the Nets struggled in the second half yesterday, but they put over 60 up in the first half). If they can keep this up, the Nets are going to pick up a few more wins very soon since this upcoming stretch has some very winnable games.
Thoughts On the Game: Nets Win the Big One
Dec 5, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bobcats, Thoughts On the Game
Queen City Hoops, Courtney Lee Interview, Kiki Vandeweghe Interview
Never has one victory, coupled with 18 losses, felt so exhilarating.
With their 97-91 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats in New Jersey last night, the Nets losing streak officially ended. Yes, the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets will always be known for their record-setting 0-18 start, but with this victory, the players now have the 800 pound gorilla off their collective backs. The Kiki Vandeweghe era – which kicked off in similar winning fashion as the Lawrence Frank era in 2004 – should now be about player development and building a foundation for 2010, rather than dealing with questions from the national sports media about the team’s futility.
Yet, when you look at the box score this morning, this Nets game was very reminiscent of the team’s first 18. They only shot 39 percent from the field. They were outrebounded 51-39. They were torched by otherwise ordinary players like Stephen Jackson and Raymond Felton, who each scored 28 points, while Gerald Wallace grabbed 20 rebounds again.
But there was something different about last night’s Nets team from the moment Courtney Lee opened the game with a three-point shot. For starters, Courtney Lee actually opened the scoring with a three-pointer, something that’s been hard to come by for Lee and the rest of the Nets shooters this season.
Kiki Vandeweghe stressed in practice on Thursday that he wanted to return to a “fun” brand of basketball, and that was clearly on display at the Izod Center Friday. They couldn’t shoot, and they couldn’t rebound, but they managed to protect the ball (9 turnovers), while disrupting the Bobcats into 19 turnovers. There should be no questions about the team’s “heart” from Chris Douglas-Roberts or anybody else. The Nets were pushing the tempo offensively, recovering more quickly on their defensive rotations, and diving for loose balls. Devin Harris even ended up in the fourth row late in the 4th quarter, as the Nets clung to a lead, and a ball was trickling out-of-bounds.
Most importantly, the team took a number of right hooks from the Bobcats throughout the game and never fell. The Nets stayed well within striking distance for three quarters, and once they were able to go up by six in the fourth, Stephen Jackson hit a pair of treys to tie it. Cue the “same old Nets” attitude, right? Wrong. The Nets then went on a 7-0 run to ice the game.
Josh Boone (7 rebounds, 3 blocks) managed to lose that hangdog expression he’d been wearing for the better part of a month. He blocked Tyson Chandler and Gerald Wallace early in the 1st quarter. He also laid some hard fouls on Bobcats in the paint – earning props after the game from CDR. We’re even willing to overlook Boone’s embarrassing reverse-layup thingee he attempted in the first quarter, that didn’t come close to the rim.
Devin Harris (16 points) was able to lead the team without having a good shooting night from the field. Typically, a 2-12 from your star player is good for the “L,” but Harris did a great job finding Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee all night, en route to 8 assists. And perhaps no points were any bigger than the three free throws Devo hit in the last 90 seconds to put the Nets up 7. Harris looked energized. I hate to bring this up during a moment of elation, but it was obvious that after last year’s benching in Boston, Devin never really trusted Lawrence Frank again. Whether that’s reason to fire Frank is another story. But Harris looked motivated last night. So, his jump shot wasn’t working. There was never a moment where I could question if Devin Harris actually wanted to be out there last night. I can’t say I’ve felt that way about some of Devo’s other games this season.
Something I really loved: Keyon Dooling in his first game back logged 15 minutes and ended up with 2 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. Yet it was his activity on the bench that really appeared to lift this team. On every defensive possession, Dooling whipped his towel down, cheering on his teammates. It was the kind of emotion and leadership, that’s been sorely lacking all season. Welcome back Keyon.
And then there’s Courtney Lee (27 points, 3 steals) and Brook Lopez (31 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks). Sebastian’s post earlier this week citing Courtney Lee was still putting together a better all-around season this year compared to last despite his poor shooting percentage, elicited a lot of negative response from readers. “Stop making excuses,” Lee advocates were told. Well how does 27 points on 11-16 shooting sound? Lee drained his shots from all over the floor – inside and outside. He looked like a legitimate option on offense last night – not some lost, second-year enigma who may have been overvalued by the man who acquired him – interestingly enough the same guy who was coaching his first game last night and who inserted Lee back into the starting line-up. Lee also made a key steal late in the game when he intercepted a lazy hand-off between Jackson and Boris Diaw, streaking all the way for the two-handed slam.
I’m running out of words of praise for Brook Lopez. He put up another 30+ point night, finishing with 31 on 12-22 shooting, and he was active on the boards, grabbing 14 rebounds, and being involved with countless other plays on the inside. He took one shot beyond 15-feet, and worked the post well against Chandler. This is the Brook Lopez we need to see every game going forward.
For some final thoughts on victory #1, read more after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Quick Recap: New Jersey Nets 97, Charlotte Bobcats 91
Dec 4, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bobcats, Quick Recap
And the streak is over… the Nets win. Thhhhheeeeee…. NETS WIN!
OK, so we can stop talking about 0-82, as the Nets (1-18) ended their historic losing streak and got their first win of the season in a 97-91 victory against the Charlotte Bobcats (7-11) tonight at the Izod Center in New Jersey. The Nets are now 1-0 in the Kiki Vandeweghe era.
- This was a crisp offensive game for the Nets, despite only shooting 39 percent from the game and getting outrebound 51-39. They only turned the ball over nine times, and they never had one of their “infamous” quarters that seem to kill them every game. To boot, the team was clearly hustling all game, punctuated by a spectacular, Derek Jeter-esque dive into the fourth row by Devin Harris in the fourth quarter, while trying to save a ball from going out of bounds.
- Game ball to Courtney Lee who was back in the starting lineup and scored 27 points, with 3 steals. He was hitting his jumpers early, and despite some foul trouble, he never went cold the rest of the game, shooting 11-16.
- Brook Lopez had a terrific night with 31 points, 14 rebounds and 2 blocks.
- Devin Harris struggled from the floor (2-12), but he finished with 16 points and 8 assists, and he also hit three huge free throws in the closing minutes to put the Nets up 7.
- Keyon Dooling and Tony Battie returned from injury for the first time this season. They scored two points between-them (both for Dooling) but they both did a lot of little things to help the team tonight, especially Dooling, who was the biggest cheerleader on the bench.
- Josh Boone looked great on defense tonight with 3 blocks.
- Stephen Jackson and Raymond Felton each scored 28 points to lead the Bobcats, who are now an answer to a trivia question.
Game 19 Preview vs. Charlotte Bobcats
Dec 4, 2009 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Bobcats
So here we go, the Nets are going into their easiest stretch yet, starting with Charlotte tonight. As Mark noted yesterday, Keyon Dooling is going to be back today. The official Nets twitter confirmed this:
For tonight: Keyon’s in, Battie’s in, Yi’s close, Jarvis is up after that. Also, Kiki did not offer up the starters. Bet on Lee, though.
So not only Dooling, but Battie too. That’s another big key, since Battie can play both the center and the power forward spot. Which means less Josh Boone. Less Josh Boone is always a good thing. On to the match-ups:
Devin Harris vs. Raymond Felton
Raymond Felton is a very serviceable point guard who can score when needed, but can distribute the ball and get his guys in position to score. I think it is safe to say that Devin is 100% right now, and his production is showing that. He has been getting to the foul line a ton, and his shots are starting to fall. He didn’t get many assists last game, but as I pointed out earlier, just his presence on the court gives his teammates a better look. This could be key with Dooling back.
Advantage: Devin Harris
Courtney Lee vs. Stephen Jackson
Also from the Nets twitter, there is no hints from Kiki’s first lineup besides Courtney Lee is probably a bet to start. This is good, because it means Lee is 100%. He has looked much better the last two games, and I really think that it will continue. Plus he brings a defensive presence to the court, and it also means that Trenton Hassell is now removed from the starting line-up. He has been a serviceable guy, but he has struggled the last couple, and that was probably his age catching up with him.
Advantage: Stephen Jackson
Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Gerald Wallace
Wallace killed the Nets last game, putting up a 20-point/20-rebound performance. He could have another big night because he is so much bigger than CDR, but you know what? I don’t want anyone else but CDR on him. With all the talking about lack of effort and giving up, you know that CDR will go hard the whole game. You need someone going 100% the whole game on Wallace, or else he will kill you.
Advantage: Gerald Wallace
Josh Boone vs. Boris Diaw
I wouldn’t be surprise to see Tony Battie starting at the 4 a few games down the line. Josh Boone is just not getting it done, and if Tony Battie is back playing at the same level he was last year for Orlando, that is better than Boone. Or Sean Williams for that matter.
Advantage: Boris Diaw
Brook Lopez vs. Tyson Chandler
When these two met last game it was weird neither of them had a good game. Yeah Lopez had 18 points, but he only had 5 rebounds, and Tyson Chandler only had 8 points and 8 rebounds. As I pointed out yesterday, Brook should get a ton of touches, so expect for him to play better tonight
Advantage: Brook Lopez
This is your open thread, so use it guys!
Bloggers Talk: Charlotte Bobcats
Dec 4, 2009 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Bobcats
Remember when the Nets forgot how to score against the Bobcats? That was, what, 14 losses ago? Anyway, the Bobcats are playing better since early November, and Queen City Hoop’s Brett Hainline is here for our next edition of Bloggers Talk.
NAS: The last time these two teams met, it was one of the uglier games of basketball in the NBA this season. Do you expect Charlotte to keep it ugly on their end for round two?
The Bobcats will do their best to keep it ugly. Even since adding Stephen Jackson, they are still slightly below average on offense (104.0 offensive efficiency since Jax joined, league average of 105.5 for the year). So, despite the uptick, they are still not good, let alone mediocre. The Bobcats have begun to win by being aggressive on both ends of the court, which means turnovers, fouls, and strong rebounding – which can all make for some ugly basketball.
NAS: In what ways has Charlotte been able to improve on the offensive end recently?
The improvement has been built around two things: The Bobcats are starting to realize they can’t make threes and they are doing a slightly better job of protecting the ball. Before the trade for Jax, the Bobcats were attempting over a fifth of their shots from 3-point range, nearly 22% – that is down to 19% since the trade. Not a huge difference, but when you are shooting them at just a 28.4% clip, it matters. Down more significantly are the turnovers – in the last games, the Bobcats have turned the ball over on just 15.6% of possessions, compared to 19.6% prior – that works out to over 3 fewer wasted offensive opportunities per game, which is huge when a team struggles to score like the Cats.
NAS: What is wrong with DJ Augustin?
Confidence issues – D.J. has been second guessing himself all season, passing up open looks, careless turnovers, and generally playing tight. He is struggling to become the point guard that Larry Brown requires – and of course having so much competition for minutes this year probably has not done anything to help. Between Raymond, Flip, and now Stephen Jackson being available to act as a nominal point guard, D.J. has been relegated to a lesser role and he seems to be having a difficult time knowing how to respond.
NAS: Gerald Wallace got headlines for his performance against LeBron James and the Cavs recently. Is this the best you’ve seen Wallace play as a Bobcat?
Despite the ugly night against the Celtics the last time, I would still have to say yes. Prior to that game, Gerald had 6 straight double-doubles, averaging 20 points and 12.3 rebounds per game while shooting over 51% from the floor. That’s just incredible from the small forward spot (with some minutes at the 4, but still). He got slowed by foul trouble against Boston (and by Larry Brown’s antiquated notion of how to handle it) but Gerald has still been playing a very high level – his increased focus on rebounding this season has helped the Bobcats exceed expectations defensively – they were expected to be good, but so far they have been great.
Lawrence Frank Has Lost Whatever “Magic” He Had
Nov 3, 2009 Analysis, Coaching, Front Office, Lawrence Frank, Nets vs. Bobcats, Nets vs. Magic, Nets vs. Timberwolves, Nets vs. Wizards, Opinion, Xs and Os
Going into this season, Lawrence Frank’s record record as a coach was 225-225. Exactly .500. After last night’s loss, Lawrence Frank is now 4 games under .500 for his coaching career. This season’s start has taken him from a winning coach to a losing coach, and whatever “grace period” his magical start to his coaching career bought him is now fading away. A lot of Lawrence Frank supporters (are there even any of those anymore) point to that 14-0 start as an example for what type of coach he is. Frank’s trip below .500 proves that this might not be the case. This being said, I am not delusional. I wasn’t expecting the Nets to be 4-0 right now, but with what is going on right now (we scored 7 points in a quarter against the Bobcats) you need to look at the coach for an explanation. When you do that, you find that Lawrence Frank is responsible for a whole lot of head-scratching moves in this short season:
Rotations
I don’t know if it is just me, but these rotations just seem off. I know the Nets are young, and they have been hit with a bunch of injuries, but even still. When you have a young team (and the Nets are indeed young, they have the youngest starting lineup in the NBA), it is the coaches job to put his team in positions that make being successful easier. It is like Lawrence Frank is trying to do the exact opposite.
Some examples after the jump:
Thoughts on the Game: U-G-L-Y
Nov 3, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bobcats, Thoughts On the Game
The Nets should be proud of themselves.
After last night’s disgusting 79-68 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats in Charlotte last night, the Nets redefined the word “ugly.” Last night’s performance was so over-the-top ugly, it helped bring back a nostalgic wave of “your momma is so ugly” jokes for me. For example:
The Nets were so ugly, they had more turnovers (26) than field goals (25).
The Nets were so ugly, they held the Bobcats to 32.4 percent shooting (including 19 percent in the first half), and they still lost by 11 points.
The Nets were so ugly, they scored 7 points in the third quarter.
Last one. The Nets were so ugly, they went more than 10 minutes in the second half without scoring a single point.
It’s almost inconceivable to me that a professional NBA team could play so poorly. The Nets have a number of built-in excuses. Their youth and inexperience has already been discussed ad nauseum, and the injuries are piling up. Devin Harris joined Keyon Dooling, Tony Battie and Jarvis Hayes over the weekend. And then, midway through the third quarter, Yi Jianlian colliding with Gerald Wallace and sprained his knee. He’s now on his way to get an MRI on his knee, and is certain to miss some time.
But these excuses don’t explain a third quarter that I still can’t fully wrap my head around. Let’s look at a sequence of Nets possessions from the point Yi went down with his injury:
5:46: Brook Lopez, turnover.
5:28: Bobby Simmons three-point missed.
5:01: Lopez offensive foul, turnover.
4:23: Terrence Williams jump shot missed. Shot clock violation. Team turnover.
3:57: Simmons jump shot missed.
3:22: Alston jump shot missed.
2:43: Williams jump shot missed.
2:01: Chris Douglas-Roberts layup missed.
And it goes on like this until the 8:38 mark in the fourth quarter, where CDR made a layup and was fouled on the play. Read the rest of this entry »