Thoughts on the Game: What’s Kiki Dooling?
Feb 18, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Heat, Thoughts On the Game
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
Hot Hot Hoops – Peninsula is Mightier
While no one has ever stopped me from writing my opinions on Nets Are Scorching, I’ve always sensed that there’s been this unspoken rule about not outwardly ripping on a coach or specific coaching decisions. I get that. I’ve never been a professional coach. I’ve never played professional basketball. I’m just a guy who happens to follow the Nets, who also happens to write a blog about the Nets. It’s a lot easier for me to judge what’s right or wrong about a game-time situation 8 hours after the fact from the comfort of my living room couch.
I’m tempted to make an exception about this unspoken rule after last night’s 87-84 Nets loss to the Miami Heat, but I’ll try to honor the code and instead look at a very specific moment in the game and its aftermath. You could call this moment the turning point if you’d like. Otherwise, I’m going to do my best to withhold any value judgements. Just the facts ma’am.
At the 4:45 mark of the fourth quarter, and the Nets clinging to 80-74 lead, Kiki Vandeweghe took out Keyon Dooling, who had just converted a three-point play when he was fouled on a layup, and put in Courtney Lee, who was shooting 0-7 for the game. Over the next four and a half minutes, the Nets missed all of their field goal attempts, including two missed threes from Lee, who went on to shoot 0-9 for the night. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade for most of the game after he left in the first quarter with an injury, went on an 13-4 run to put the Nets away.
I understand that Keyon Dooling is far from an all-star, especially on a Nets team that would have won two games in a row for only the first time this season if they found a way to overcome their terrible finish. But, Dooling had come into the game at the 2:20 mark of the third and the Nets trailing 66-60. Dooling proceeded to score 10 of his 14 points during that 9+ minute stretch of play. On the aforementioned three point play, Dooling looked absolutely pumped after the foul, and his teammates seemed pumped by his performance as well.
Do you see where I’m going with this? In the game’s critical closing minutes, the guy who perhaps playing the best and providing the most energy on the team in that exact moment, was sent to the bench in favor of a guy who hadn’t hit an open shot all game. I know Courtney Lee is a part of the future of this franchise – he had a great game Tuesday night in Charlotte and I even noticed with about 90 seconds left last night he sprinted back on defense after Michael Beasley rebounded a Devin Harris shot attempt in order to stop a fast break attempt by Miami. But, I would have rather seen Dooling play out the last few minutes of the game, to see if the Nets could have put the Wade-less Heat away, in similar fashion to the way they distanced themselves from the Bobcats on Tuesday. Instead, we saw another Nets collapse. We saw the Nets lose another winnable game. We saw the Nets move one step closer to the worst of numbers in the NBA – 73, as in losses for a season, when the number 6 seemed a lot more plausible in the moment. It’s taking me every last bit of restraint to not say what I truly feel about Kiki Vandeweghe right now.
More thoughts after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Quick Recap: Miami Heat 87, New Jersey Nets 84
Feb 17, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Heat, Quick Recap
There’s just something about the Nets losing these gut-wrenching games to the Miami Heat this season, huh? Tonight, the Nets lost a back and forth affair 87-84 at the Izod Center.
- The Heat were able to prevail playing most of the game without superstar Dwyane Wade who left with an injury early in the first quarter. Michael Beasley led the way for Miami, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. The Heat closed this game out on a 13-4 run.
- Devin Harris was in double digits early, but he finished with 18 points and 6 assists on 6-14 shooting.
- Courtney Lee had just an awful night, shooting 0-9 and scoring 2 points. In general, the Nets were awful from outside, shooting 1-15 from three.
- A double-double for Brook Lopez, who finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks.
- Rafer Alston was 0-5 in his long awaited return to New Jersey, but he gets props for a crafty defensive play on Devin Harris with seconds to go and the Heat up 3, as he pulled the string on Harris in the post, throwing Devo off, who then missed the shot.
Game 54 Preview Vs. Miami Heat
Feb 17, 2010 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Heat
So a win huh? That was pretty exciting. I said it in the comments of one of the posts today that we shouldn’t shrug off a win against the Bobcats as the Nets beating a crappy team. The truth is that the Bobcats are a pretty quality opponent, and their loss to the Nets last night actually dropped them back to .500. Oh and they beat the Heat by about 40 points a month ago (now I am not saying the Nets are 40+ points better than the Heat but this is just to say that the Bobcats are good). So how did the Nets beat a quality team? Well, they have been doing the same thing that they have been doing for the most part during this 7 game stretch. The only difference was last night they did it for 4 quarters instead of three.
Moving onto tonight. The Heat beat the Nets by 1, and they needed two incredibly lucky three pointers to do so. I think that this is another game that the Nets can win, only if they play another full 48 minutes though..oh and oh yeah, the return of Rafer Alston!
Onto the lineups…
Devin Harris vs. Rafer Alston
Devin Harris looked like his former self last night. The numbers don’t really show it, but he was under control, and more importantly only tried to take over when he needed to. He ran the offense correctly and was finding guys in proper spots. He will be going against Rafer, who actually has been playing pretty well in Miami. Hopefully all the bad vibes he had in the Izod Center return to him now that he is a visitor.
Advantage: Devin Harris
Dywane Wade vs. Courtney Lee
Dywane Wade is playing some really good basketball, and he scares the crap out of me. However Courtney has been playing well on both sides of the ball, so he might be able to hold Wade down.
Advantage: Dywane Wade
Jarvis Hayes vs. Quentin Richardson
Mark pointed out to me that Hayes is averaging 10.6 PPG as a starter. The most important thing to me is that he seems to be a stabilizing factor for this Nets lineup. You know exactly what you are going to get from him. A couple of threes, a couple of jumpers, and hard work on the court. I love CDR and think he should play more, but he has been so inconsistent as of late. You don’t know if you are going to get the attacking CDR (that puts up a lot of points) or the passive CDR who only takes 2 shots in 30 minutes. I think that is why Kiki is sticking with Jarvis here.
Advantage: Push
Yi vs. Micheal Beasley
Beasley looked pretty good during the rookie-sophmore game, but his biggest problem is that it takes him a ton of shots to get his points. With Dywane Wade on the same team as him, he isn’t going to get the shots he needs to be a 20+ PPG scorer. He still is a dangerous player though, and if he gets hot, he can really hurt the Nets. Also, Yi seems to be the best match-up for him (I think he is too athletic for Hump), so that really scares me as well.
Advantage: Micheal Beasley
Brook Lopez vs. Jermaine O’Neal
Brook was on his way to a really special game, but foul trouble seemed to derail that. He gets another favorable match-up tonight too. Jermaine O’Neal is too small to defend Brook in the block, so if he gets the ball in the post (and stays out of foul trouble) he has the chance to have a really big game.
Advantage: Brook Lopez
Bloggers Talk: Miami Heat
Feb 17, 2010 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Heat
The season is more than half over, yet the Nets are getting their first visit at the Izod Center from the Miami Heat tonight, which means we have our first Bloggers Talks of the season featuring Surya Fernandez from the TrueHoop blog, Hot Hot Hoops.
NAS: Since the Nets are one of those teams looking to spend this summer, we’re obviously interested in what people think about the status of Dwyane Wade in Miami. Deep down, do you think he stays, or will he look to go elsewhere if the situation is right (like if he could go play with LeBron James in Brooklyn)?
If you would have asked me this before the season I would have been 50/50 on this but the more the season is progressing I’m more and more convinced that Wade, Lebron and (to a slightly lesser extent) Bosh will stay with their current teams. Yeah, I think Miami has an outside shot at convincing Bosh to sign with them and Lebron’s ego is perhaps getting a bit too grandiose for Cleveland and would suit Brooklyn better but of the three I’m most convinced that Wade stays with Miami. Just because other teams could sign him doesn’t mean their teams don’t have just as many question marks as the Heat’s roster does. But what makes Miami’s situation so unique is that they have no bad contracts and are in prime position to reload their roster anyway Riley (or Wade) sees fit.
NAS: The Heat are clinging to one of the last playoff spots in the East and are around .500. Given the team’s performance the past couple of years, do you get the sense that the franchise is in a bit of a holding pattern? Not good enough to win anything, but not bad enough to warrant blowing the whole thing up and starting again?
No question the Heat is in a holding pattern and many of the fans bemoan a sense of wasted years of Wade’s prime. Heck, many fans (despite the championship!) still lament the Heat had to let go of a young Caron Butler and a resurgent Lamar Odom for Shaq. The Heat surprise no one that they’re .500 and, at best, show flashes of overachieving. At least they have their “go-to” guy in Wade and he is capable of lifting their overall play against quality opponents.
NAS: With Cleveland reportedly close to trading for Amare Soutdemire, a name that’s been linked to the Heat, is there anyone else out there on the trade market you feel is worth pursuing?
The Heat have too many plugs to fill on this roster and it just might be worth it to wait it out and be patient until the summer. As long as the player has an expiring contract, like Roger Mason or Kurt Thomas, I would offer anyone short of Wade and Beasley. I don’t see the point in getting someone less than an All-Star at the moment because it most likely won’t be enough to get the Heat out of the first round.
Video Breakdown: Games 8, 9, & 10
Nov 16, 2009 Chris Douglas-Roberts, Josh Boone, Nets vs. Heat, Nets vs. Magic, Nets vs. Sixers, Terrence Williams, Trenton Hassell, Video Breakdown, Xs and Os
So I have been a little behind in terms of breakdowns but we are catching up right here and now. We are going to be looking at some stuff from the game against Philly, @ Orlando, and @Miami. As of right now, a lot of the stuff you are going to see here is going to look like nit-picking (especially with how well the team has been playing despite being limited), but if some of the bad stuff seen here continues as people start coming back, it could be a problem. This is going to be a big one, get those reading glasses on:
Thoughts on the Game: Wade Wins It, aka Another Nets Nightmare
Nov 15, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Heat, Thoughts On the Game
I guess it would be poor form for me to start off a game recap by saying “the Nets are jinxed.” No one is going to take me seriously if I start speculating about how maybe this is the “curse of Vince Carter” or maybe this is some retribution from the basketball gods who are trying to stick it to Bruce Ratner for desperately wanting to move this organization to Brooklyn.
That’s just ridiculous, right? Because 0-10 starts to the season, along with a horrific amount of injuries to key players and losing a game by 1 point because of a Dwyane Wade buzzer-beater after Trenton Hassell literally blanketed Wade during the possession, are just routine, totally acceptable occurrences in sports. Going the route of jinxes, or curses, or offended sports gods is just not rational.
…
In all seriousness (yes, I was sorta joking above), these are the kinds of games as a fan that just give me nightmares. While the Nets have had some questionable end-of-game scenarios since the season began, there was nothing about how last night’s 81-80 loss to the Heat ended that I could kill the Nets for, besides the actual results. With about 25 seconds left in the game, Quentin Richardson drilled a three to tie things up while Chris Douglas-Roberts was playing him about as well as you could ask for from a defender. And still, the Nets came back with 4 seconds left with a tip-in from Brook Lopez off the Rafer Alston miss. Yes, the Heat still obviously had more than enough time to take the game back, but finally, for the first time this season, momentum was all on the Nets’ side in the game’s final seconds.
The Wade play, which ended up giving the Heat its final three points and the win, looked like it was about to busted up by Hassell. Wade had briefly lost possession of the ball during his dribble, but was able to recover to get the shot off, with Hassell still in his face. But Dwyane Wade is a superstar, one of the best players in the NBA who’s born to make these kinds of killer shots. There is nobody currently playing for the Nets right now that comes remotely close to Wade’s level of deliverance.
Trying to mention something positive about this game, the Nets saw a Sean Williams last night who looked like he had some legitimate star-power. I had mentioned after Friday’s loss to Orlando that Sean Williams seemed to be turning a corner, so during this period of win-lessness and injuries, he deserved to get his number called more by Lawrence Frank. Last night, Williams didn’t get an opportunity until the third quarter, but he ended up playing perhaps his finest 15 minutes as a Net. It wasn’t just that he scored 12 points on 6-7 shooting that was impressive, it was how and when he was doing it. He was grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring on a series of putbacks and jump hooks. Then, with 42 seconds left, he drilled an absolutely clutch jump shot from the right elbow as the Nets looked to be breaking down on offense. On the next play, Williams made a fantastic block on Michael Beasley in the corner while he was attempting a three-pointer. The only problem was he couldn’t keep the ball inbounds, so Miami regained possession, which of course led to the Richardson three-ball to tie the game.
After last night, there is no reason for Lawrence Frank not to play Sean Williams early and often. He doesn’t have to start at PF, but considering how Bobby Simmons (who missed last night’s game for personal reasons), isn’t really a very good option at the four, Josh Boone seems afraid to attempt any kind of field goal outside of garbage putbacks, and Eduardo Najera is just not a very good defender anymore, the time has come to just give the keys to the car to Sean Williams. If he ends up crashing it after a couple of games, then you take it away again, but after watching him the past two nights, it’s just outrageous to think about how this team has been playing with 8 healthy players for more than a week, and Williams is only now just getting into games. These are the kinds of fickle coaching decisions Lawrence Frank makes that make it very hard to defend those who want to give him the benefit of the doubt. You have to put your team in a position to win, and not using Sean Williams when your roster has been decimated by injuries because you’re still trying to teach him some kind of lesson about concentration and effort is just insane. Let the kid play. He’s earned it.
In a one-point game there are a lot of plays you can look back at as key plays, so let’s examine a few after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Quick Recap: Miami Heat 81, New Jersey 80
Nov 14, 2009 Nets vs. Heat, Quick Recap
Welp. Well you are 0-9, that is kind of how it works huh? The Nets played great tonight, but great wasn’t enough as the Heat win 81-80. The Heat came down and hit two big threes to take out the Nets, winning by 1. Some quick bullets:
- Richardson banks in a three. Wade hits one at the buzzer. Sometimes, it just feels like this team isn’t supposed to win.
- Both threes were defended well. Just better offense…that and luck…
- I felt very smart today when Marv and Mike talked about how Brook Lopez was floating too much. He did it again tonight, but at the end, finished in the post. He was even floating when he wasn’t setting the screens, they need to run some sets to get him in the post.
- The Nets held Dwyane Wade to only 22 (he has been averaging over 30), but let Udonis Haslem go off for a new career high.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts looks to be back, he was getting in the lane finishing and drawing fouls, a good sign to see.
- If Sean Williams can do that (I am not even talking about scoring, I am talking about the energy) every night, I will be a very happy man.
- The one place where the Nets struggled was on the defensive boards. At one point, they gave the Heat four attempts at the basket.
- Who knew that Trenton Hassell could play with his back to the basket in the post?
- All in all great effort, and I am very confident we can go into these next three games and get at least one win out of it.
Game 10 Preview vs. Miami Heat
Nov 14, 2009 2009-2010 Open Thread, 2009-2010 Regular Season, Game Preview, Nets vs. Heat
Just a quick thing about Brook Lopez. People have been criticizing him for his poor play both games against Orlando, and that is fine. But for anyone saying this proves that he won’t be an elite big man (and there are some people saying that), let’s take a deep breath. Dwight Howard makes most big men look like Brook did last night, he has a combination of strength that isn’t often seen, and he knows how to use it. Also, Brook Lopez is only 21, in his second season, and he is getting the attention of every team right now with all of the injuries. If you want to criticize him for a poor game, that’s fine, but its just a game, not a trend. With all that being said, Sean Williams looked great last night, and if he can produce while getting the backup C minutes, that allows for Boone to be Yi’s backup full time (and start when he is out). I like that rotation.
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Another tough game for the Nets and they will once again face a tough team with a great SG. Dwyane Wade is playing some good basketball now, and he is adding a nice shot from the outside to is repertoire. A very scary player.
Nets Projected Starting Lineup
- PG – Rafer Alston
- SG – Trenton Hassell
- SF – Bobby Simmons
- PF – Eduardo Najera
- C – Brook Lopez
Magic Projected Starting Lineup
- PG – Mario Chalmers
- SG – Dwyane Wade
- SF – Quentin Richardson
- PF – Michael Beasly
- C – Jermaine O’Neal
Their Mismatches
Dwyane Wade vs. Trenton Hassell - Trenton Hassell did a pretty good job on Vince Carter last night, and tonight will be even tougher. Vince Carter likes settling for those outside jumper, Dwyane Wade on the other hand, he will drive, and once you go to stop that, then he will shoot from the outside.
Our Mismatches
Brook Lopez vs. Jermaine O’Neal – I am going to be honest, I don’t know how well O’Neal is playing this year, but he was awful, just plain awful, last year. Maybe he was hurt, but he just looked lost on the defensive end. Let’s see if Brook can have a nice bounce-back game.
Matchup Of The Night
Rafer Alston vs. Mario Chalmers - The sage veteran vs. the young rookie. Vague, I know, but I couldn’t come up with anything else.
Keys To Victory
Don’t Let Wade Get Hot – When he is “on,” there is nobody who can stop him. So you don’t want to see him start hitting from the outside, because if he does, it will be a long night.
Limit Turnovers – When you limit turnovers it does two things. It gives you more opportunities to score, and it prevents the other team from getting easy baskets. Both are very important to the Nets. As they continue to struggle to score, they need as many chances at the hoop as they can get. Also, they have been playing very well defensively, so you don’t want to give teams easy buckets. You want them to try to score on your half-court defense.
Prediction
Current Prediction Record: 5-4
Heat win.