Thoughts on the Game: Nets Take Extra Time to Accomplish the Inevitable
Apr 15, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Heat, Thoughts On the Game
AP Photo/Alan Diaz
Hot Hot Hoops – Peninsula is Mightier
The Nets haven’t done a whole lot right this season, so it’s only fitting that they even found a way to screw up their final game of their worst-ever season. With the Miami Heat playing for nothing but seeding, sitting Dwyane Wade, the Nets fell into a huge hole in the third quarter and looked to be playing another game on cruise control on course for their 70th defeat. But rather than just punching the clock and finishing off this putrid season, they came all the way back in the fourth to tie it, had a chance to win it on a fluke offensive foul call by the refs, played poorly in the first overtime but still forced a second, only to ultimately lose anyway.
And what did those 10 extra minutes actually do for the Nets as the organization looks to greener pastures this summer? MIA for all of the fourth quarter and OT periods was their present, Devin Harris, and their future, Terrence Williams, while Brook Lopez was inserted back in for the first OT, only to turn the ball over three times on boneheaded plays (a travel, a shot clock violation and an offensive foul). Yi Jianlian, who’s still trying to prove he belongs on this team in some capacity next season, finished with a more than solid stat line of 23 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks, but was virtually ignored towards the end of regulation when Courtney Lee opted to take the ball to the hoop and draw a foul rather than pass it to the wide open Yi in the corner for a chance to win the game. Also, it was nice to see Chris Douglas-Roberts get into the game and make some plays on offense, though 9 points and 4 turnovers for a guy that’s supposedly going to make hay in this league as an instant offense guy is a bit of a letdown.
It was a happier time for Chris Quinn, who looked like a JV player playing out of his league on the varsity squad during Monday’s loss to Charlotte. Last night, Quinn ran the point effectively, only netting 5 points and 2 assists, but grabbing 7 rebounds – which is amazing in itself when you consider he’s the most physically unimpressive player on the floor by far – and not turning the ball over, which is a major accomplished for a team that gave the ball away 20 times last night, leading to 23 points.
But a Yi scoring outburst, some good/some bad from CDR and some efficient play from Chris Quinn are not really the things we as Nets fans should be having dreams about headed into the summer. While this season was far from promising back in October, at the very least, I thought it would be entertaining, watching Devin Harris shoulder the burden by himself, while watching players like Lopez, CDR, Yi, TWill and Courtney Lee evolve into legit NBA ballers. It really didn’t work out that way. Harris seemed overmatched when he wasn’t injured, Lopez grew up, but CDR regressed as the season went along. There’s promise in Terrence Williams, but we haven’t seen enough consistency, and more importantly, accurate shooting, to say anything more, and Yi remains an enigma, the Oliver Perez of the NBA for all of you Mets fans out there. Last night, Harris didn’t play when it mattered, TWill was off, Lopez looked gassed, CDR was okay, and Yi was alternating between sweet looking jump shoots and being rejected by the rim and turning the ball over.
Whereas a team like Miami can essentially play for nothing but a rank – I’d personally rather take on Atlanta in the first round as the #6 seed than Boston as the #5 seed – with their superstar/all-world player on the sidelines in a suit, and still find a way to win. The Nets are still finding ways to lose, perfecting it like a Julliard student does the violin. It was an absolutely ugly game, with the Nets shooting 36 percent, while the Heat shot 40 percent. The only offensive weapon the Heat had, Michael Beasley (25 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) fouled out in the first overtime. Yet it was Yakhouba Diawara, playing his first minutes of the game, drilling a critical three in the second OT to stretch the lead for Miami.
What I’m getting at is that it’s frustrating to look at Miami’s players on paper, especially when Wade is out, and watch them still outslug the Nets like this, even if it took them two overtimes to do it. 82 games and a few additional minutes later, and I still don’t know what to take from this Nets season. There was the 0-18 start, the Frank firing, the January to forget – where I saw this team play about as uninspired and awful as I’ve ever seen an NBA team play – and the last 6 weeks or so where this team demonstrated a pulse, and more importantly, some ability. But then the last two games for the Nets left a sour taste in my mouth. There was a lot of the “old” Nets on Monday and last night – letting a depleted opponent getting ahead, failing to make a shot when it mattered, the spontaneous disappearance of Devin Harris – and that’s disappointing after an other promising end to the season. When pondering the foundation of this Nets team, are they the players who came out and took advantage of a San Antonio Spurs team without Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker, or are they the team that lets Mario Chalmers and Yakhouba Diaware beat you in double OT? I guess we have all summer to find out.
Quick Recap: Miami Heat 94, New Jersey Nets 86 (2 OT)
Apr 14, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Heat, Quick Recap
As if the Nets haven’t tortured us enough this season, it took them two overtimes before falling to a depleted Miami Heat 94-86 in the season finale tonight in Miami.The Nets finished the 2009-10 season 12-70.
- The Nets were down double digits headed into the third quarter, but the bench got them back into this game, as Devin Harris and Terrence Williams sat out the fourth quarter and both overtimes and Chris Quinn ran the point. Quinn rewarded Kiki Vandeweghe with 5 points and 7 rebounds.
- Yi Jianlian finished his season on a high note with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Courtney Lee chipped in with 17 points and 6 rebounds.
- Brook Lopez finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds and had just about as bad as an overtime that you can have when he turned the ball over three times in the first OT. Of course, Lopez had been sitting for a bulk of the fourth quarter.
- Josh Boone had 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 badly missed free throws off the bench.
- The Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade, were led by Michael Beasley, who finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks before fouling out. Mario Chalmers finished with 15 points and 7 assists and was 3-9 from three.
Game 82 Preview Vs. Miami Heat
Apr 14, 2010 2009-2010 Open Threads, Game Previews, Nets vs. Heat
The Nets played the Bobcats pretty tough throughout the night, but they just outclassed them in the end. The Bobcats played their starters that game, however, tonight the Miami Heat may not be doing the same. Ira Winderman has the info:
Based on shootaround, it looks like no Wade, no Jermaine and no Udonis tonight against Nets. Milwaukee seemingly to determine its own fate.
I didn’t like the Nets chances of getting 13 this morning, but after reading that, I am starting to like them more and more. It is going to be interesting how Kiki goes about this rotation tonight. Last game he gave Chris Quinn loads of minutes, will guys like Bobby Simmons and Josh Boone get minutes tonight? Onto the lineups…
Devin Harris vs. Carlos Arroyo
Advantage: Devin Harris
Courtney Lee vs. Dorell Wright
Advantage: Courtney Lee
Terrence Williams vs. Quentin Richardson
Advantage: Quentin Richardson
Yi vs. Michael Beasley
Advantage: Michael Beasley
Brook Lopez vs. Joel Anthony
Advantage: Brook Lopez
Thoughts on the Game: More 3rd Quarter Blues for NJ
Mar 23, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Heat, Thoughts On the Game
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
Hot Hot Hoops – Peninsula is Mightier – View from the Couch
Take another “winnable game” off the board for the Nets.
It sadly, has come to this. With just 12 games left in the season, the Nets will essentially need to play better than they’ve played all season and I just don’t know if they’ll do it. I don’t know because last night looked like another opportunity for the Nets that they just let sail by them in such effortless fashion, it’s hard to imagine things finally starting to “click” with just 12 games to go. If it hasn’t clicked after 70, why start now?
Maybe my expectations should have been lowered. Coming into last night’s game, the Nets were matched up against a team fighting for its playoff lives. But the Nets have also played these same Heat tough in two losses earlier this season, including a heartbreaker in November that was probably the game that cinched the now historic 0-18 start. And in reality, the Nets had a fighting chance this entire game, despite shooting 38 percent and allowing Miami to shoot 56 percent, including closer to 60 percent through the game’s first three quarters.
But things fell apart, once again, in the third quarter. Similar to Saturday’s game against Toronto, the Nets settled for too many jumpers, played too little defense, and got outscored by wide margin: in this instance 27-14. And just to pile on, one of the Nets better players the past few weeks, Terrence Williams, landing awkwardly on Jermaine O’Neal’s foot during a drive to the hoop during the quarter, and was limping pretty badly when he went back to the trainer’s room for more evaluation. Williams looked primed for a triple-double last night, scoring 9 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. However, in addition to his performance last night, I just don’t know if the Nets, as they’re currently playing, will be able to win three more games with Terrence Williams out. While the Nets are yet to win a game since TWill has been inserted into the starting lineup, I do think the team tends to play better when he’s on the floor. The Nets were actually playing their best earlier in the night when Williams wasn’t scoring, but he quickly amassed 6 assists and 5 rebounds. I think I can safely say he’s the only player currently on the roster that makes the team better without having to score.
A few more thoughts after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »
Quick Recap: Miami Heat 97, New Jersey Nets 87
Mar 22, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Heat, Quick Recap
The Nets assault of the 72-73 Sixers W.O.A.T. continued, as the Nets fell to the Miami Heat 97-87 at the Izod Center tonight, dropping New Jersey’s record to 7-63.
- So why did the Nets lose tonight? Without even getting into specifics you can start with shooting percentages. The Heat were good (55 percent) and the Nets didn’t (38 percent). Then there were more third-quarter blues, as the Nets were outscored 27-14 in the period.
- Unfortunately, the Nets also lost Terrence Williams for the foreseeable future, with an ankle/foot injury in the third quarter. What was most frustrating was TWill looked well on his way to a triple-double, finishing with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 23 minutes of play.
- Strange game statistically for Brook Lopez, finishing with 26 points, but only 1 rebound.
- Miami was led by the two-man game of Dwyane Wade (27 points, 12 assists) and Jermaine O’Neal (25 points, 9 rebounds). Michael Beasley also chipped in with 16 points.
- The Nets PF tandem of Yi Jianlian and Kris Humphries combined for 10 points on 3-14 shooting.
- The Nets only totaled 5 fast-break points and 34 points in the paint.
Game 70 Preview Vs. Miami Heat
Mar 22, 2010 2009-2010 Open Threads, Game Preview, Nets vs. Heat
Last game against the Raptors, the Nets had a pretty good first half, but like they tend to do, they couldn’t hold onto the lead, and the Raptors ended up pulling away late. It comes down to something we have talked about at length here. The Nets just settle for too many jumpers in the second half.
I don’t know what it is to be honest. Maybe it is because teams amp up their defense (though the Raptors are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, so you figure it out). I honestly think that the Nets get so nervous that they just want the game to end when they get the lead. They hold onto the ball at length, there isn’t a lot of passing, and the ball goes up on the outside. The Nets are going to have to play better in the second half if they are going to want to win three more games (and let’s be honest, that is the goal here). Onto the lineups (a quickie):
Devin Harris vs. Carlos Arroyo
Advantage: Devin Harris
Courtney Lee vs. Dwyane Wade
Advantage: Dwyane Wade
Terrence Williams vs. Quentin Richardson
Advantage: Push
Yi vs. Michael Beasley
Advantage: Michael Beasley
Brook Lopez vs. Jermaine O’Neal
Advantage: Brook Lopez
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.