Bucksketball | BrewHoop

Remember when the Nets had 8 guys score in double digits.  There was no question that was the main reason for the Nets big win against New Orleans.  Well, last night, the lack of depth is what really killed the Nets.  Outside of Devin Harris and Courtney Lee, nobody really did anything of note.  In fact, other than those two guys, the Nets only had 1 more player in double figures.  It was Yi, who finished with 11 points, but it was 2-8 shooting, and he really didn’t have a major impact.  Jarvis Hayes had a rough game, since he wasn’t knocking down his shot.  It is usually feast or famine with Jarvis, and last night was famine.  Jarvis is a fantastic shooter, but he seems to go in those slumps where he just can’t knock anything down, and that was the case last night.  Brook Lopez also really struggled.  Totally wasn’t expecting that since Andrew Bogut was out, but Brook just didn’t get into a rhythm offensively.  As Jon noted in the comments, part of it had to do with Devin’s hot start.  The other part of it just has to do with the Nets’ offensive strategy.  It just never seems like getting Brook Lopez involved is a priority, and against a team that just lost their best defender in center Andrew Bogut, it’s frustrating.

Trying to focus on the positive a little bit, it was good to see Devin Harris and Courtney Lee get it going.  Now that the Nets have gotten their 1oth (and 11th) win to avoid infamy, the wins don’t really matter.  You want to see the guys who are going to be with the team next year finish on a good note, and seeing Courtney and Devin play well is the start of that.  Both of those guys have been through so much in terms of slumps and injuries that if they can finish the year playing well, they can have something to work off of.  Something to keep them motivated.  On the flip side, I am not really worried about Brook Lopez finishing the year off slow (or slower than the beginning of the year), just because he has played so strong all year and never really had to face any injuries or adversity.

Some more thoughts after the jump:

• Terrence Williams had a pretty rough game, but it is a game I can live with.  It wasn’t like those poor games he had earlier in the year, just because he isn’t shooting crazy long jumpers.  He just had a tough time getting his floater to go down.  I have said this in the past, when T-Will goes shot happen, part of it has to do with his shot selection, but the rest of it has to do with the lack of movement on the offensive end.  When Terrence Williams penetrates and nobody cuts, he is left to put a floater up.
• In continuing our “Random Guys Beat You” theme of the year, Jerry Stackhouse and Ersan Ilyasova combined to score 31 points on 15-21 shooting.
• I know Mark (and probably other Nets fans) aren’t happy about not being able to see these games, but you have to admit, it is coming at a pretty good stretch.  This is coming from someone who has seen the games, you aren’t missing much besides headaches.
• Call me crazy optimistic, but I think the Nets can finish .500 during this final four-game stretch.  They play the Bulls, the Pacers, the Bobcats, and the Heat.  I think the Nets will lose to the Bulls (who are playing for something – that final playoff spot) and the Pacers (who for whatever unknown reason continue to win and hurt their draft chances).  I think the Nets wins will come against the Bobcats (I am convince the Nets have their number.  It just happens between teams) and the Heat (who I am hoping will be sitting their starters).  While 13 wins is an awful season, thinking about where we were a little bit ago (staring at the schedule, scratching for wins), that is a pretty big achievement.
• Good news!  John Wall and Evan Turner officially put their name into the draft.  I am counting down the days until the draft lottery…

• 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.

With that being said, the Nets are coming off a bit of a disappointing result in a 10 point loss to the Wizards.  However they have had 2 days off (while the Bucks are coming off of a battle against the Bulls), and the Nets actually play pretty well coming off of multiple days rest.  The Bucks are a terrific defensive team, so the goal here is to not get down if you have some long stretches of scoreless basketball.  The Nets also need to keep this game within 3-4 baskets.  Anything more than that (even in the first quarter), and the Bucks are too good on the defensive end that they won’t let the Nets back into it.  Onto the lineups…

Devin Harris vs. Brandon Jennings

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Courtney Lee vs. John Salmons

Advantage:  John Salmons

Jarvis Hayes vs. Carlos Delfino

Advantage:  Carlos Delfino

Yi vs. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

Advantage:  Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

Brook Lopez vs. Kurt Thomas

Advantage:  Brook Lopez

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.

• I know I’ve been hard on Chris Douglas-Roberts this season, but the reason I supported his move to the bench was because I thought he would provide a spark for the second unit and ultimately help the team win. I am absolutely mortified by how Kiki Vandeweghe is using him. His DNP-CD Tuesday night could at least be justified by the fact that Jarvis Hayes and Courtney Lee were shooting lights out for most of the game, but how did he not see any meaningful PT last night? With the Nets struggling for buckets at the end of the third quarter, Kiki opted to go with Trenton Hassell instead, not exactly a guy known for his offense, and Tennessee did nothing but continue the offensive nosedive. What I found most insulting was how Kiki finally called on CDR to play the game’s final three minutes in garbage time. Unless we read from one of the beat writers tomorrow that CDR missed his bus or threw a snowball at Bruce Ratner before the game yesterday, I just don’t understand how a guy could go from 15-point scorer in the starting lineup, to the 12th man treatment, in the span of a few weeks. I have come to believe that there is absolutely more going on here, and I think it goes beyond whatever stilly stuff Douglas-Roberts is putting on his Twitter account. CDR gave Julian Garcia of the Daily News a very curious quote after Tuesday’s game – telling the beat writer when pressed about his PT situation that he and Rod Thorn were “fine.” No mention of Kiki. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if there are any dots worth connecting in all this, especially since Thorn is now reportedly investigating Kiki about making a “deal” with Del Harris to become head coach behind the team President’s back – an under the table deal that could get Kiki the axe.
• I think it’s getting safer to say that Devin Harris is “back.” He’s now averaging 20 points and 8 assists in his last four games, including 27 free throw attempts (22 makes) on 61 field goal attempts. So he’s shooting well, passing the ball and getting to the foul line and a highly proficient rate, all of the things he did well last year in his breakout season.
• I was really impressed with Courtney Lee’s defense on Brandon Jennings in the first half. Lee was able to stay in front of the quicker Jennings most of the times the two were matched-up, and didn’t take the bait on any of the rookie’s pump fakes. Jennings was held to 7 points in 20 minutes. The problem was, Jennings’ replacement, Luke Ridnour, killed the Nets again with 17 points and 8 assists off the bench.
• Speaking of the bench, it was a major liability for the Nets again. Barely a week after I wrote a post praising the newfound depth on the bench, these guys have really disappointed. Kris Humphries is resembling the shoot-first ask questions later guy who couldn’t get off the bench in his previous stops in the league and Terrence Williams had an assist and a steal in 13 minutes, but not much else. As I mentioned earlier, the offense completely stalled and died once Chris Quinn was subbed in during the third quarter, and the only reason he was playing was because Keyon Dooling injured himself again. The luster of Trenton Hassell from November has long worn off, and Tony Battie should not be getting playing time in this league period. Unless he’s hurt, I don’t see what Battie brings to the table that Josh Boone can’t bring you, and trust me, I’m not a Josh Boone fan.
• At the very least, I can credit the Nets organization for going the extra mile for the fans tonight. Because of the awful weather, they offered fans who had tickets to last night’s game additional tickets to one of two games later this month. They also invited all fans who showed up at the Izod Cetner to move down to courtside. the emptiness of the arena, gave the game a high school basketball field, and I was able to hear some crowd noise quite clearly – including some chants about a certain GM turned head coach doing something that rhymes with the word “ducks.”

• 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.

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

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.

Nets vs. Bucks

Defending The Pick & Roll

It’s a side screen and roll here.  Brook shows, to prevent Luke Ridnour from getting to the basket.  So far we are looking good.  Brook is wide, and he is forcing Ridnour towards the baseline.

Luke Ridnour gets to the baseline and he has nowhere to go.  This is where the good defense stops.  As Dooling tries to get back to Ridnour, he needs to get in the passing lane, to make Ridnour’s pass to Bogut harder.  He doesn’t, so as Bogut cuts, he has a clear lane to receive the pass.

So the pass gets made, and since Dooling was out of position, he lunges for the steal, but just misses it.  Notice the wide open lane for Bogut to drive through when he makes the catch.

By the time Lopez and Najera get to Bogut, it is too late because he was already allowed to load up his jump.

And he finishes with the dunk.

Nets vs. Hawks

Defending The 3 Point Shot

The Hawks shot 13-22 from 3 against the Nets.  A lot of these three point shots were wide open looks with no hands in the shooters’ face.  A lot of this was because the Nets gave the Hawks a heavy dose zone, but even in man to man defense, the Nets gave up a ton of open looks.  This was because of poor rotations.

Mike Bibby makes the catch, and he gives Devin a pump fake.  You have to close out hard on Bibby, he is a good shooter, so you have to respect the shot.

After closing out though, Devin needs to use his speed to regain position on Bibby, and not let him drive.  Instead, Harris just reaches.  I can’t understand this, Devin Harris is one of the quickest guard in the league, but slower guards continue to get by him because he chooses the lazy way out and reaches.  Once he reaches here, Bibby puts him on his hip and forces the Nets into rotation.

Lee makes the correct rotation (he rotates over to Al Hortford as the pass gets made), but everyone else is late with their rotations.

As Al Hortford makes the catch, all 5 Nets are in the paint.  After Hortford assess the situation, he realizes that Joe Johnson (one of the better shooters in the NBA) is wide open for 3.

Joe Johnson gets the pass, and is allowed to pull up for 3, without a defender getting a hand in his face.  As the Nets continue to mis-rotate, Nets’ players are going to lose faith in their teammates in terms of rotations.  So instead of allowing his man to get open shots, nobody is going to help, and opponents are going to be able to drive to the lane with ease.  This is what I am most worried about, as this team moves forward, they need to clean up their rotations.

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.

• On a positive note, it was great to see Jarvis Hayes back on the floor tonight. He was totally solid drilling his first FG attempt, a 18-foot jumper from the right side, en route to a 3-5, 7 point night. He even was active on the glass, grabbing 6 rebounds. His presence on the Nets bench is important, as he was one of their most consistent contributors last season. With him and Dooling back in supporting roles, the Nets could possibly get into a groove, if the starters could ever gain some consistency.
• The Nets just had no interior defense, getting outscored on points in the paint 44-16. Also, for those keeping score, make this the 22nd consecutive game the Nets have been outrebounded, extending their own record.
• Like the Cleveland game, Chris Doulgas-Roberts started hot with 10 points on 5-6 shooting, but he didn’t make another field goal the rest of the game, and he only got two more attempts in the second half, finishing with 12 points. He seemed to bang his ankle again in the second quarter, but returned later in the quarter.
• I alluded to it earlier, but there was no other explanation for Eduardo Najera being on the floor tonight unless the Nets plan on shipping him out in the near, near future. They guy just looked terrible, but the Nets seemed determined to prove he was healthy enough to play. I guess he was healthy, but he wasn’t good. What about playing youth Kiki?
• I’m starting to wonder if Courtney Lee is ever going to get it together from a consistency standpoint this season. I’ve accepted the fact that he’s not this hidden all-star as some were trying to make him out to be after he was acquired in the Vince Carter trade, but I’ve been adamant in trying to compare him to Kerry Kittles – a guy who, when hot, could take over a game offensively, but was best suited as a  13-15 points per game player with solid defense. Last night, Lee looked good early, hitting a few jumpers, including one with the shot clock expiring in the first quarter, but he was a mess afterwards, missing his next 9 shots, and finishing 3-12.
• I know Kiki Vandeweghe is experimenting with player combinations right now, but what kind of doghouse is Terrence Williams in that he only got 1 minute in garbage time, while Bobby Simmons got 5? Also, with the Nets getting killed defensively, why not get Trenton Hassell in there?
• I don’t have a stopwatch, but Michael Redd’s release on his jumper looks a bit slower than what I remember.
• Of Yi’s good games since his return, this might have been his most complete offensive effort. He successfully hit 5 jumpers in mid-range, and he took it to the hoop for two additional scores.
• You know an announcing duo is bored when they start debating their nicknames for dunks like Ian Eagle and Mike Fratello did. I also appreciated how the Czar didn’t know who “Kid” from “Kid N’ Play” was. Speaking of which, nice haircut Brandon Jennings.

• 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.