Thoughts on the Game: Nets Are Cooked in an Instant
Feb 11, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bucks, Thoughts On the Game
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
Hoopdata Boxscore | Bucksetball| Brew Hoop
Since the calendar turned to February, the Nets have done a solid job of keeping games close and competitive. It hasn’t exactly translated to any wins, but at least the effort was seemingly there, providing a glimmer of hope that if some things bounced right for them, they might be able to pull a few “W’s” out and avoid becoming the worst team in NBA history.
Last night was following a similar script until about the 3:30 mark in the third quarter, when an innocent enough substitution by Kiki Vandeweghe turned the game on its ear, resulting in a in 97-77 blowout loss for the Nets against the Milwaukee Bucks, mercifully ending New Jersey’s first half with a 4-48 record headed into a much-needed all-star break.
Kiki subbed in Chris Quin for Devin Harris with the Nets down 60-59 in a back-and-forth game with the Bucks. Harris was in the middle of probably his best game of the season, finishing with 27 points and 9 assists, but after missing Tuesday’s game due to injury, it’s understandable that Kiki needed to sit Devo for at least some portion of the second half. The problem was, the rest of the Nets looked like they had had enough by that point, and packed it in, getting outscored 37-18 the rest of the way, including a fourth quarter where the Bucks started the period 8-10 from the field. It was the usual array of Nets problems that were most evident during their embarrassing west coast swing in January, that reared their ugly head again. Poor rotations and help defense allowing easy buckets on the interior (the Bucks outscored the Nets 48-26 in the paint for the entire game), along with just awful, awful shot selection from the Nets down the stretch.
Don’t believe me? Let’s use a little visual aid here to demonstrate the Nets shot selection in the fourth:
Note that the two shots taken at the rim (a make by Kris Humphries with 23 seconds left and a miss by Chris Douglas-Roberts with 1:53 left) didn’t come until the game’s final two minutes. Outside of those two shots, the next closest attempt was a missed 6-footer by Kris Humphries. Every other shot attempt by the Nets in the fourth was from 10-feet out or more, including a mind-numbering 12 attempts from beyond 15-feet. The emotional side of me just wants to jump to the conclusion that these guys were going through the motions, but I guess that’s a little irrational of me to think a 48-loss team headed into the all-star break with their head coaching situation in potential flux for the second time this season would phone in the last 15 minutes of a basketball game being played in front of 1,100 people during a blizzard.
A few more thoughts after the jump.
Quick Recap: Milwaukee Bucks 97, New Jersey Nets 77
Feb 10, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bucks, Quick Recap
The Nets lost what was actually a pretty competitive game against the Milwaukee Bucks with about 3 minutes to go in the third quarter, 97-77, as the offense completely stalled in the game’s final 15 minutes. The Nets enter the all-star break at 4-48.
- If you want to take anything positive from the way this game shaked out, at least Devin Harris came back from injury and scored a season high 27 points on 9-17 shooting. He also had 9 assists and a steal.
- The problem for the Nets (of many), was that their next highest scorer was Courtney Lee with 11 points. Yi, Brook Lopez and Jarvis Hayes, had 9 points a piece, and the bench was largely ineffective again outside of Kris Humphries 7 points.
- The Bucks outscored the Nets 48-26 in the paint. Andrew Bogut led the way for Milwayukee with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Luke Ridnour continued to hound the Nets with 17 points and 8 assists.
- The blizzard-like conditions in the Northeast made a usually empty Izod Center even emptier, with an announced crowd of just over 1,000.
Game 51 Preview Vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Feb 10, 2010 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Bucks
Before we talk about the game, Brook Lopez was named to the US National team from 2010-2012. He was one of 27 players selected. This is a pretty big honor, made even bigger when you realize how well he has had to perform to get those selecting the team around the stigma of the Nets. Some may not believe there is one, but I do.
This game is a winnable game for the Bucks, especially with the way the Nets have been playing as of late (competing with high quality teams like Boston and Cleveland). Nothing much else to say about this, besides the fact that there are probably going to be like 10 people at this game. I know I am not leaving the house tonight…onto the lineups (a shortened version because I need to get outside and shovel snow)!
Keyon Dooling vs. Brandon Jennings
This is a match-up where I would like to see Devin Harris in there. Devin Harris vs. Brandon Jennings, could be a whole lot of fun if you like speedy score first point guards. I think Dooling will have some trouble stopping Jennings.
Advantage: Brandon Jennings
Courtney Lee vs. Charlie Bell
Courtney Lee has been playing pretty well as of late. I think this can continue against Charlie Bell, who is a pretty nondescript player. Of course with the way things have been going lately, that just means he is going to go off for 30 something.
Advantage: Courtney Lee
Jarvis Hayes vs. Carlos Delfino
Hayes looked good against the Cavs in terms of health. Which is good, I was really worried about him after that collision.
Advantage: Push
Yi vs. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Yi is more offensive orriented, while Luc focuses more on the defensive end.
Advantage: Push
Brook Lopez vs. Andrew Bogut
This is going to be real fun. I think the mobility of Bogut on the offensive end will cause problems for Brook. However, Brook’s size will cause problems for Bogut. This is going to be a fun battle.
Advantage: Push
Bloggers Talk: Milwaukee Bucks
Feb 10, 2010 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Bucks
The improving Milwaukee Bucks hit the Izod Center for the last time tonight (weather permitting), so here’s Jeremy Schmidt from the TrueHoop Bucks blog, Bucksketball (say that three times fast):
NAS: You recently asked your readers their thoughts on the future direction of the Bucks. What are your personal thoughts? Do you believe the Bucks have the capacity to build towards something meaningful in the future?
Do the Bucks have the capacity to build towards something meaningful? Yes, they certainly do. Will they? That remains to be seen. Thus far, John Hammond has stuck to his plan of ridding the team of poor contracts and loading up on short-term deals while they ride out the Michael Redd and Dan Gadzuric deals. The near $30 million of expiring contracts in the summer of 2011 gives Bucks fans hope that with such wiggle room and two pieces that look solid in Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings, the Bucks can get back on track. Now if before the trade deadline Hammond swings for the fences and takes on a big contract that extends past 2011, that would be troubling. Laying out a plan for long term success is one thing, sticking with it is another. So far Hammond hasn’t done anything to lose my trust, but the NBA is a crazy place so who knows what will come next.
NAS: In your opinion, is Andrew Bogut finally evolving into an elite center?
Yes, yes, yes a hundred times yes. I’d love to stand on rooftops and let everyone know how great Bogut has been since the new year began, but my voice isn’t that strong and my market isn’t big enough for anyone to care anyway. Don’t let his good but not great full season numbers fool you, Bogut has been a terror on both ends since January 1st. What bogged down Bogut earlier this year was an abnormally low shooting percentage in December of 45 percent, but since January first he’s shot 58 percent and averaged roughly 17 and 11 while blocking more than two shots a night. Those sound like elite numbers to me. The funny thing is that Bogut’s game extends so far beyond the numbers. He takes more charges than any center in the league and controls the entire Bucks defense. On top of that his relationship with Brandon Jennings has resulted in a pick and roll combination that has an extraordinary feel for each other despite playing less than 50 games together.
NAS: For some reason, Carlos Delfino has the Nets number. Yet he seems like quite an ordinary player against the rest of the league. So what’s the deal here? Is this a fluke, or is there some level of talent there that’s not showing up consistently in the box score?
Delfino seemed to use the last Bucks-Nets game to jump start his season. He was very inconsistent for the first few months and struggled mightily with his shooting, but shortly after a strong showing against New Jersey in the start of January he went on a terror. Delfino bumped his scoring by about six points a night in January and has stayed on track in February despite not shooting as well from deep (40 percent in January, 32 in four Feb. games). Delfino has been getting extended serious minutes for the first time in his career over the past 13 games and looks to really be settling in. He has a lot of different talents and is the Bucks biggest guard/forward so the tools are there for him to be successful even if he’d never put it all together before. Will Delfino keep up his strong play for much longer? It’s tough to tell. This could be who Delfino really is and it’s possible he never showed it because consistent minutes weren’t there. It’s probably more likely that Delfino will taper off again at some point and return to his previous inconsistent form. Either way, I wouldn’t bet against him having a very strong game against the Nets.
Video Breakdown Games 34 & 35
Jan 8, 2010 Nets vs. Bucks, Nets vs. Hawks, Video Breakdown, Xs and Os
Allright, this is going to be a quick one, short and sweet. We are going to be looking at defense exclusively here. In each one of these games, the Nets couldn’t stop one thing. Against the Bucks, the Nets couldn’t stop the pick and roll. Against the Hawks, the Nets couldn’t stop the three point shot. After the jump, we are going to look at some clips.
Thoughts on the Game: Nets Stop Playing After 3 Minutes, Yet I Watch All 48
Jan 6, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bucks, Thoughts On the Game
(You would think the AP would grow tired of taking the same pictures of the Nets bench)
HoopData Box Score – Bucksetball – Brew Hoop
The old adage about NBA basketball is it’s a game of runs. For the Nets last night, they got their one big run against the Milwaukee Bucks early – an 8-0 spurt in the game’s first three minutes, featuring alley-oops, transition offense and solid jump shooting. The Nets then proceeded to put up one of their bigger stinkers of the year – and for a team that’s now 3-31, that’s saying something.
The complete and utter collapse on both ends of the floor in the Nets’ loss to the Bucks started quietly enough. After falling behind early, the Bucks benched Andrew Bogut. Hakim Warrick and Brandon Jennings made a few buckets, while the Nets seemed to go cold. Yi Jianlian, who was one of the few bright spots for the Nets past the game’s opening minutes, finishing with 22 points on 7-12 shooting, got into early foul trouble and Eduardo Najera made a surprise return to the rotation. I would call it a trade showcase, but I don’t know who’s going to want him after scoring 0 points on 0-4 shooting. Not to mention a boneheaded play to end the first half when he failed to even attempt a box out on Francisco Elson, who got the offensive rebound and was then fouled on the putback, to get his first two free throws of the season. Isn’t Najera supposed to be one of those guys who does the “little things?”
What started out so promising turned into a very sloppy first quarter for the Nets as they finished with 10 turnovers, four in the closing two minutes. They went the final 4:10 without scoring a point and the Bucks continued to tack on points with layups and free throws.
In the second quarter, the Bucks bench took over. The shooting combination of Carlos Delfino (17 points, 7-11 shooting) and Luke Ridnour (11 points, 4-9 shooting) helped the Bucks push their lead into double-digits. Bogut then turned it on in the third quarter, scoring 8 points in the first three minutes, and finishing with 18 on 9-12 shooting. Still, the Bucks never had that big nail in the coffin-type quarter that usually puts a team away, so I kept thinking the Nets would be able to get back into this – they just needed to start getting some plays from Devin Harris and Brook Lopez. It never happened.
Lopez looked out of sorts all evening, which is no surprise, because he had trouble with Bogut and the Bucks when the two teams faced-off in November. While Bogut showed how a young center could overcome a rough start, Lopez only attempted 2 shots in the first half and six for the game, finishing with 11 points. He was able to get to the foul line six times in the first half, but that part of his game disappeared as well, as he only attempted two more FTs in the second half.
And what about Devin Harris? Was he even on the floor last night? Of course, I’ve been searching for the 2008-09 Devin Harris all season. He finished with 5 points on 0-4 shooting. Just doing a quick look on Basketball-Reference, it was Devin’s first game wit 0 FGs in 30+ minutes since December 10, 2007, when he was with the Dallas Mavericks.
Regardless of how well Yi Jianlian is playing, the Nets were/are a team built around Lopez and Harris, the point guard and center combination that was supposed to make this team attractive to this summer’s free agents despite the Nets overall team record. There’s obviously still plenty of time for both to get on another roll this season, but when both are simultaneously out of sorts, the Nets are going to resemble what they were tonight – the worst team in the league, and perhaps one of the worst of all time. Read the rest of this entry »
Quick Recap: Milwaukee Bucks 98, New Jersey Nets 76
Jan 5, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Bucks, Quick Recap
Just a pitiful effort for the Nets tonight, as they jumped out to a quick 8-0 start, and then completely fell apart, losing to the Bucks 98-76 to end their homestand 1-6 and to run their overall record to 3-31.
- The Nets padded their record rebounding woes, getting outrebounded for the 22nd straight game, this time 44-37.
- The Nets were off the mark all night, shooting 37.9 percent from the field and 20 percent (2-10) from three. The Bucks shot 45.6 percent for the game and were 3-14 from three.
- After his off game against Cleveland, Yi Jianlian responded with 22 points on 7-12 shooting. The “Muscle Devil” was only able to grab 2 rebounds however.
- Just an awful, awful night for Devin Harris, who scored 5 points on 0-4 shooting. According to my unofficial records, it was the first time Harris was held without a FG while playing 30+ minutes a game since December 10, 2007.
- Equally awful games for Courtney Lee (6 points, 3-12 shooting) and Brook Lopez (11 points, 2-6 shooting) who just never got into any kind of an offensive flow tonight. Meanwhile Eduardo Najera made his return to the rotation (trade bait anyone?), and looked awful, scoring 0 points on 0-4 shooting.
- The Bucks got a boost from their bench with Carlos Delfino (17 points), Hakim Warrick (13 points) and Luke Ridnour (11 points).
- Nice return from Jarvis Hayes, who had 7 points and 6 rebounds and was 1-2 from three-point range.
Game 34 Preview Vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Jan 5, 2010 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Bucks
Well then, today has been interesting hasn’t it? Rafer Alston is out and Chris Quinn is in. Quinn is a nice shooter, and has a phenomenal NBA.com picture. I think that this is a precursor to another move, so hang in there.
Also wanted to touch on Rafer Alston real quick. I thought he was a good fit here, but obviously I was wrong. He dribbled the ball too much and shot too much. Plus I still have no idea what he was yelling at the bench that one game, but it does seem like he was trying to be a good teammate throughout, so I wish him the best.
As for tonight, I think that the Nets should be able to get a W if they can play the same way they have been playing for the past two games. Oh and Jarvis Hayes is back, Boone and Najera are out, but day-to-day.
Devin Harris vs. Brandon Jennings
This is the match-up everybody wanted to see the first game these two teams matched up. Both of these guys are the new breed of scoring PG, using their speed to get into the lane and cause a lot of problems for the opposition. Maybe going up against Brandon Jennings will get Devin going.
Advantage: Devin Harris
Courtney Lee vs. Michael Redd
Michael Redd is a terrific shooter and he has been playing well the last couple of games. Courtney Lee has been the opposite of a terrific shooter this year, but Courtney has been doing everything else great. If you want something to watch during this match-up, check out Lee defending Redd. Lee is a great defender, so that should be fun to see.
Advantage: Michael Redd
Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Luc was out the last time CDR played the Bucks, a game where CDR put up 31 points, so you might not want to expect a repeat performance. Luc is a biggish 3 who can play strong defense and contribute when necessary on the offensive end. I think CDR will have another 20+ game though.
Advantage: CDR
Yi vs. Ersan Ilyasova
Jeremy from Bucksketball.com (Truehoop Network’s Bucks’ Blog) has a pretty interesting take on Yi:
One of the great fears many Bucks fans have is that Easy Yi will one day go on to live up to the vast potential he has, scarring us for life and making us forever rue the day he was given up for what practically amounted to one season of Richard Jefferson. In his last five games, Yi has averaged 20 points and seven rebounds while shooting just a shade under 50 percent. When he was drafted it was expected those types of performances would be common place for Yi, but he did so little in his one year with Milwaukee that he hardly seemed a better prospect than Charlie Villanueva. Regardless, he’s looked good lately and that has everyone on watch in Milwaukee, even if it probably wouldn’t have happened here.
Advantage: Yi
Brook Lopez vs. Andrew Bogut
Bogut got the better of Brook the first match-up, but I think that was before the Nets decided to focus on getting him the ball. The Nets now have a couple of quick hitting plays they can use to get Brook the ball with good position in the post. Look for him to put up a 20 and 10.
Advantage: Brook Lopez
Bloggers Talk: Milwaukee Bucks
Jan 5, 2010 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Bucks
The Nets end their homestand tonight with the Milwaukee Bucks, so we are going to treat you with the final (for now) Bloggers Talk by chatting with Jeremy Schmidt from the TrueHoop Bucks site, Bucksetball.
NAS: After a surprise start, the Milwaukee Bucks seem to be falling to the back of the pack in the East. What are your theories about the decline, and do the Bucks have the personnel to turn it around?
I watch every single Bucks game and I still can’t tell you whether or not the Bucks have the personnel to pull themselves out of the 5-15 tailspin they’re currently mired in. They don’t really have anyone on the team that can be expected to score 20 points a night, or even 15. There have been too many wild inconsistent swings on this team and not just from the role players. Andrew Bogut can finish one game 14-18 and then shoot 6-20 the next night. That’s the life of a big man with a finesse game, but not 15-foot jump-shot. Brandon Jennings hasn’t consistently made many shots since his quick start and has settled in as an under 40 percent playmaker, though he can occasionally carry the team for short spurts. And Michael Redd? Sigh. Who knows about him.
NAS: This could be related to question one. Does Michael Redd still have a role on this team?
Coach Scott Skiles is always saying all the Bucks need Redd to do is make open shots. Well, he hasn’t really been doing much of that, shooting 35 percent and less than 30 percent on three’s. Redd’s said that he’s not in basketball shape yet, and the only way he’ll get there is by playing, but he’s generally been more terrible than good when he’s been playing. But the Bucks don’t really have any other scoring options. Redd’s been a consistent scorer for the last six years and has offensive talents that no other Buck has. At least, we all assume that he still does, because there have been some games where we’ve seen flashes of those talents. Whether he’ll be able to stop flashing them and start using them consistently any time soon remains to be seen. Regardless, the Bucks are probably stuck with him, so they’ll have to keep trotting him out there hoping he figures it out.
NAS: Given their roster makeup, are the Bucks better off making a deal and competing for one of the bottom seeds in the Eastern Conference or taking their chances in the draft lottery?
I’m not sure a deal is necessary for the Bucks to grab a bottom two seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The franchise has placed a lot of importance on attempting to make the playoffs this year while not taking on any additional money for 2010 and beyond, so I don’t see them making any deals unless it’s for expiring contracts. Everyone wants them to make the playoffs. It’s hard to develop talent in losing situations, guys want to see some kind of light at the end of the tunnel sooner rather than later. So I think the playoffs are the first goal. That being said, the Bucks have movable pieces should they decide the playoffs are out of the question would be the expiring contracts of Luke Ridnour, Kurt Thomas, Hakim Warrick and the 2011 expiring Michael Redd. If the Bucks want to sell come trading deadline, they have some pieces playoff teams could be interested in for depth purposes.
NAS: Make the early case for Brandon Jennings winning the Rookie of the Year award:
I’ll be honest, Tyreke Evans is nuts. He’s 20-5-5 every night and that’s not easy to do. Jennings’ Bucks might be closer to a playoff spot, but that’s really just because the East is watered down. If Jennings can start hitting shots again, he could make it interesting, but it’s tough to make the case right now. That all being said, for a 6′1 160 pound point guard that didn’t go to college and supposedly couldn’t shoot, Jennings is doing just fine for himself. 19 points and six assists is nothing to sneeze at, especially when he’s playing the most difficult position to learn in the league.
Video Breakdown: Game 12, Nets vs. Bucks
Nov 20, 2009 Defensive Keys, Nets vs. Bucks, Video Breakdown, Xs and Os
Ugh, that was a rough game huh? The Nets were able to contain Brandon Jennings (sure he put up 19, but that is 6 points below his average), but they let Andrew Bogut go off on them. He has always been a great player in the low post, but the Bucks also did a great job running sets for him that led to easy baskets (he is pretty mobile for a big man which helps the coaching staff run sets for him). We are going to take a look at two of those:
Set 1 (Poor Rotation)
Here the Bucks are running a guy off of Bogut’s screen. Brook seems to know it’s coming and he is starting to edge out on it. CDR does what most NBA defenders are taught to do, and he trails the man coming off the screen.
The screen gets curled, so Brook needs to come out and show to keep him from getting an open lane to the basket. Bogut is starting to roll on the screen, and this is where the breakdown in rotation comes from. Josh Boone has his eyes fixed on his man.
Boone leaves the lane far too soon leaving Brook Lopez in no-mans land as he just watches Bogut get the ball in the lane and finishing. Josh Boone needs to understand who the bigger threat here. Boone’s man is two passes away, and the only way the ball is getting to him is if there is a skip pass thrown, that gives him enough time to recover. Boone needs to stay in the lane until Brook Lopez recovers, and if the ball goes to Boone’s man, then he can close out on him.
Set 2 (No Switch):
Here we got another set-piece involving a screen. This time, Bogut is the one coming off a screen. Here, CDR is trailing once again, and the set sort of looks like the previous one I talked about. However, instead of CDR’s man coming off the screen, he quickly sets up to set one.
This must of caught CDR off guard, because it seems like he didn’t call the screen. Brook Lopez gets blindsided and he gets caught in the screen. Now usually teams don’t like switching little/big screens because it presents mismatches.
And CDR doesn’t switch this one. He should have recognized this and switched the screen. You don’t like having Brook cover a guard, but it is better than giving Andrew Bogut an easy lay-up.
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What these plays show you is that while they lock down and play hard on defense, they don’t really know situations and they break down mentally a good amount. This is something the Nets can’t do. The Nets work so hard just to get a shot attempt, and then they turn around and give up open easy to get buckets (in the case of the second set, it only took them 5 seconds to get a wide open layup).