The Nets Go Inside, Then Out
Mar 8, 2010 Nets vs. Knicks, Xs and Os
In Saturday night’s win against the Knicks, the Nets were able to go 14-24 from the three point line, obviously the team’s best performance from deep. So how does a team who is 29th in the NBA in terms of 3 point shooting percentage (30.2%) shoot 58.3% against the Knicks? They attacked the basket.
Now, you all know how important I think attacking the basket is. When the Nets’ do so and are aggressive, they either get themselves to the free throw line or get good looks in close at the basket. What doesn’t get talked about though is how attacking the basket opens up things on the outside. The Nets are poor shooters from deep, we know that. However, when they attack the basket, the Nets give their outside shooters better looks that are easier to make. Let’s look at a few plays from Saturday night:
This first play is a transition possession. We have seen Terrence Williams attack the basket the past few games, and the Knicks know that. As Terrence Williams crosses the three point line, Devin Harris’ man drops down to the lane to meet him. Williams uses his vision to spot the wide open Devin Harris who knocks down a big three pointer.
On this one, Keyon Dooling attacks the baseline. Instead of giving up his dribble and trying to force up a lay-up, he keeps his head up looking for a teammate. To me, under the basket is the under-belly of the defense. If you can get there, it forces defenders to focus on the ball rather than their man. Look at the above clip. All 5 Knicks’ defenders have their eyes on Dooling, who has his pick on who to get it to on the outside. Dooling chooses Courtney Lee, who knocks down a three, extending the lead to 16.
Now this might all have happened against a terrible Knicks defense, but the theme is the same. When you force the defense to make decisions or rotate, there is a better chance that they make mistakes. And when they make mistakes, the Nets are going to be able to take advantage.
Thoughts on the Game: Nets Turn Aside Rough First and Whip the Knicks
Mar 7, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Knicks, Thoughts On the Game
The Knicks Blog – Knickerblogger.net – Posting and Toasting – View from the Couch
I have a confession to make about last nights Nets/Knicks game. I almost didn’t stick around long enough to watch what was initially shaping up to be a major-league blowout for the Knicks, but ended up being a laugher and win No. 7 for the Nets.
Do you blame me? It’s a Saturday night match-up between two teams who are really only competing for the long-shot chance of signing a major superstar this coming summer. In the games first 6 minutes, the Nets were shooting 1-13 from the field and were down double-digits, as the Knicks were just running them off the floor, scoring 10 fast break points during that timeframe. The Nets looked inept on offense and outright lazy on defense. Seriously, how does Danilo Galinari get ahead of four Nets defenders and score on a 65-foot inbounds pass the way he did in the first quarter? So, pardon me for being tempted to shut the television off, go out for a few hours and come back in time to watch the last few minutes of what I was assuming was going to be another Nets loss so I could fudge a recap and some bitter, angry “thoughts.”
Fortunately for you, dear readers, my desire to maintain the high standards of Nets Are Scorching kept me watching long enough to see some kind of light switch on for the Nets. Similar to their game last weekend against the Boston Celtics, where the Nets fell down by 10 early, they used the long-ball to get back in and eventually distance themselves from the Knicks. And unlike the Celtics, who gave the Nets a run for their money in the fourth quarter, the Knicks looked very disinterested down the stretch, as the Nets continued to make ridiculous shots, drawing hearty boos from the MSG faithful, who act like their team is on the verge of making nefarious history, and not just in the midst of another lousy season. Then again, the Knicks did set an NBA record last night by attempting the most amount of threes (18) without a single make. So now the Knicks and the Nets both have 0-18 scarlet letters on their respective resumes.
Going back to the positive, I think the Nets are finally starting to consistently get the Courtney Lee they expected to acquire from Orlando back in June. In his return from an ankle injury, Lee picked up exactly where he left off before injuring himself in Boston last week. The long-range shooting from Lee (5-7 from three) adds an element to the Nets offense that’s otherwise missing unless Jarvis Hayes gets into a groove. But where Lee has been really impressive lately is with his mid-range pull-up jumpers. Lee finished 4-8 from the 15-18-foot range, and when he’s doing it off the dribble, it opens up so many more possibilities on offense for both he and his teammates.
It was also great to see the Devin Harris of February make his return to the ranks of the NBA last night. For three straight games, I’ve been wondering if Harris was dealing with a relapse with his wrist injury based on the vast number of misfired jumpers he was taking (most of which were coming up short off the front of the rim, sure sign of a wrist injury). Harris attacked the basket early – even scoring on a dunk at the 6:20 mark of the third quarter, something I haven’t seen Harris do for almost the entire season. He led all scorers with 31 points, including 9 in the fourth quarter, taking over the game in a way he’s only really done a handful of times this season.
I’d also be remiss in mentioning that Yi Jianlian left the game towards the end of the first quarter with an ankle injury. While, I would never wish an injury on anyone, the timing was pretty good in this case, as Yi was making a number of his trademark low IQ plays early-on which were contributing to the Knicks early onslaught, which put New York up by as many as 16. Yi was looking to have one of those games where even when he did something positive, it was tinged with something negative, like when he grabbed a loose ball at around midcourt with about 6:25 left in the first and proceeded to barrel over the Knick defender for a layup. I was shocked he wasn’t called for a charge, and even Mike Fratello was admonishing Yi for not hanging the ball over to Keyon Dooling, who was right there.
A few more thoughts after the jump:
Quick Recap: New Jersey Nets 113, New York Knicks 93
Mar 6, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Knicks, Quick Recap
In an absolutely stunning reversal of fortune, the Nets withstood an early Knicks barrage trailing by as many as 16, and came back to throttle New York at the Garden, 113-93 to get their 7th win of the season.
- The Nets and Knicks were polar opposites from beyond the arc tonight, with the Nets finishing a season-best 14-24, while the Knicks missed all 18 of their long-range attempts. The Knicks set an NBA record for most three attempts without a make.
- In his return from injury, Courtney Lee was spectacular, finishing with 25 points, including 5-7 from three and 9-16 overall.
- Devin Harris led all scorers with 31 points on 13-21 shooting.
- Good all around game for Brook Lopez, who finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.
- Terrence Williams proved he could be an asset without scoring, finishing with 11 rebounds, 7 assists and only 3 points.
- David Lee led the Knicks with 23 points, adding in 6 rebounds.
- The Nets actually lost Yi Jianlian to an ankle injury with about two minutes to go in the first quarter. No timetable given for his injury, but it looked like a nasty turn for Yi on the replays.
Game 62 Preview Vs. New York Knicks
Mar 6, 2010 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Preview, Nets vs. Knicks
Both the Knicks and Nets are coming off of losing efforts last night. The Knicks are a much different team from the one that faced the Nets last in December (and was victim #3 for the Net at the time). The Tracy McGrady trade gives the Knicks a new weapon on offense, in addition to a ton of cap space this summer. And we no longer have Nate Robinson around in NYC to joke around with his buddy Terrence Williams.
Devin Harris vs. Bill Walker
Walker is not an ideal point guard, but he’s been having some decent games offensively as of late, going for 21 against Cleveland and 22 against Detroit in the past week. Harris’ shooting woes continue after last night’s 7-21 against Orlando. Still, I envision Devin getting the better of Walker in this match-up.
Advantage: Harris
Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Tracy McGrady
McGrady is desperately trying to prove his career isn’t finished but he’s been very up and down (more down) since coming to New York. If CDR looked anything like he did the first month of the season, I’d give him the edge here, but Douglas-Roberts hasn’t done much to distinguish himself since Courtney Lee went down with an ankle injury.
Advantage: Tracy McGrady
Trenton Hassell vs. Danilo Galinari
Hassell continues to get the nod from Kiki Vandeweghe and it’s not like Jarvis Hayes is doing anything that suggests he should be the starting SF. Terrence Williams on the other hand, has been, but I suspect Hassell will be matched-up early against the sharp shooting Galinari, who’s not necessarily the greatest shooter ever as the Knicks will have you believe, but is a nice player.
Advantage: Danilo Galinari
Yi vs. Al Harrington
Harrington has to be licking his chops with the Nets coming to town. He’s averaging 22.7 points in his three games against the Nets and I can’t see Yi having a breakout defensive performance to stop him.
Advantage: Al Harrington
Brook Lopez vs. David Lee
Brook has put together some solid games against the Knicks this year, but David Lee is no slouch either. I think both will probably get a double-double tonight, canceling each other out.
Advantage: Push
Thoughts On The Game: The Nets Spread It Around…And Win!
Dec 31, 2009 Nets vs. Knicks, Thoughts On the Game
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I am going to do something that I have been doing since after the Minnesota game. Gush over Yi. I already wrote a couple Daily Dime pieces on him, but he just continues to impress. You rarely see a guy change so much from year to year, but Yi is coming in with a new mentality and I love it. What I liked the most about tonight’s performance is that he only took two shots from outside 15 feet, and he was 0-2 on those shots. If he had a shooting performance like this last year, it would have been one of those rough nights for him. This year though, Yi just decided to take it to the basket. He was 6-9 at the rim, 2-3 inside 10 feet, and 1-2 inside 15 feet finishing with 22 points. The fact that he is driving the basketball now is what will make him a consistent player in this league. Nights the shots don’t fall (like tonight) he will be able just to put his head down and drive. Nights he’s on, watch out.
Rafer Alston picked up a DNP-CD (did not play, coaches decision) tonight, and I think that is a sign that he isn’t working out as a Net. I don’t think the Nets will make any moves, but if they do, he is probably the guy who will get shipped. He just hasn’t fit here in New Jersey, and this is coming from someone who thought he was going to be a great fit, but I was using Orlando Rafer Alston as a template, but that isn’t the Rafer Alston that arrived in New Jersey. I don’t know why (maybe because he is in his contract year/maybe it’s just because he isn’t on a good team), but he has seemed to revert to that guy who played in Houston and Miami, pounding the ball on the floor as hard as he can and just shooting it. It seems that he was the guy who was in the middle of the “division” and now Kiki and Del aren’t giving him minutes now that Keyon Dooling seems to be 100%. You could see it against the Thunder when he came in, the ball just stuck in his hands. The pace and the feel of the offense was noticeably different with Rafer Alston in the game. Tonight, Del and Kiki didn’t give him the chance to effect the game.
This was only the second game that the Nets had their original opening day starting lineup (they are 1-1 | .500 baby!). With the right guys finally all on the court, you can see what Kiki and Rod Thorn had in mind when they built this team. You had 6 out 8 guys who played score in double figures. What that means is the offense can’t load up on one specific guy. At one point in the fourth quarter, you had CDR dribbling against Dalino Gallinari. If you have Trenton Hassell, Josh Boone, or Rafer Alston on the court while this is happening, the Knicks would have been able to send whoever was covering one of these guys to double CDR and force him to give up the ball. Since everyone on the court could score, no double came, and CDR just attacked the basket, hitting the big lay-up. With everyone back, it also allows for guys to settle in their natural roles, most specifically Courtney Lee. Nevermind the fact that we thought he could be a number 3 scorer, it is becoming apparent that he isn’t ready for that at this point in his career. Where he can help the Nets is being defensive guy (tonight he got his hands on a ton of basketballs), who hits a shot here and there. Now that everyone is back, he can do this. A few more tidbits after the jump.
Quick Recap: Nets 104 – Knicks 95
Dec 30, 2009 Nets vs. Knicks, Quick Recap
The Nets were able to use a great 2nd quarter to get enough separation to hold on for the win in the fourth.
- Can we put the Brook and Yi stuff to rest? It was just a bad stretch for the big guy, and seeing that he is 21, it was bound to happen. Yi (and Dooling to some extent) is actually going to open things up for Brook. People have been talking about his lack of touches, but that has been happening all year.
- How awesome is it to have balance? 6 guys, yup let me repeat that, 6 guys with double-digit scoring outputs. All 5 starters Yi (22), Brook (21), CDR (17), Devin (17), Lee (10), and Dooling (12) off the bench were all in double figures.
- Did you notice that the Knicks didn’t go zone, even though it was very effective last meeting? Well that is what the shooting threat of Yi and Dooling does for you.
- Devin looked real good again tonight. Keeping his turnovers down, getting his assists, and scoring. Let’s hope he can keep this going.
- The Nets only attempted 7 threes, they got a whole bunch of points in the paint, which is awesome.
- The Nets defense was great in the fourth quarter. The offense got cold during a stretch, and that is usually when opponent’s leads expand and their leads dwindle. Not tonight, the defense stepped up and held the lead.
- Brook Lopez stealing the ball and starting a fast break is the greatest thing I have seen all year. Bring on the Cavs!
Game 32 Preview Vs. New York Knicks
Dec 30, 2009 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Knicks
Before we get to the lineups, just wanted to say one thing. Expect Brook Lopez to get a lot of touches. He is playing a smaller big man who he put up nice numbers against already this year. He is also coming off a game where he didn’t get many touches. A lot of people are equating the return of Yi to this downturn in production from Brook, but I don’t see it. He struggled against Minnesota because of foul trouble, plus Al Jefferson looks to be 100% healthy, and he is a very good defender. He played pretty well against Houston, and against the Thunder, well, the Thunder took defending Brook to the extreme. The Thunder fronted Brook every single time they could. This made it tough for him to make the catch, and that is why he had such a rough game. I am expecting a big game from Brook tonight.
As for the team’s health issues, CDR and Josh Boone are back to push to roster to 13 with Hayes and Najera being the only two out. Yi/Brook Lopez/CDR/Devin Harris all together again, this could get exciting. Onto the matchups!
Devin Harris vs. Chris Duhon
Chris Duhon has been playing much better since the Nets and the Knicks played last, while Devin has sort of been treading water since his return. I think the return of Yi and CDR will help Devin not only put up more assists, but it will help him when it comes to scoring, because in CDR and Yi, you have two more threats out there that defenses need to focus on.
Advantage: Devin Harris
Courtney Lee vs. Wilson Chandler
With all the talk of Yi’s success and Brook’s lack of success, Courtney Lee is getting lost in the shuffle. He still isn’t shooting the ball as well as you want him to, but he is knocking down more shots, hitting some threes and playing some awesome defense. Oh and how about that dunk from Devin’s pass against the Thunder? I thought there was no way he was going to get to it, then he kept rising, grabbed the ball with one hand, and threw it down.
Advantage: Push
CDR vs. Danilo Gallinari
CDR is back, and he is getting a pretty favorable match-up in Danilo. I say favorable, because Gallinari is more of a spot up shooter, and with CDR coming off an ankle injury, a guy like Gallinari is easier to defend, than say, a guy like Brandon Roy. I am going to be holding my breath when Al Harrington enters the game for Danilo.
Advantage: Push
Yi vs. Jarred Jeffries
Yi has been phenomenal since his return, against the Knicks I see that being able to continue. Yi should be able to pull Jeffries out with his shot, and now that Yi actually wants to drive, he is going to be able to blow post him when he closes. New Yi is awesome.
Advantage: Yi
Brook Lopez vs. David Lee
Brook Lopez had two nice outings against the Knicks and like I said above, I am hoping that will continue. The only thing that could set everything back is if Brook picks up fouls. Hopefully that doesn’t happen, and I really don’t think it would because the Knicks shoot more than they drive, and that is less chances for Brook Lopez to pick up fouls.
Advantage: Brook Lopez
Quick Note
Quick recap might be a bit late tonight, but it will be there, so don’t worry everyone.
Bloggers Talk: New York Knicks
Dec 30, 2009 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Knicks
The New York Knicks are back in town again, so NAS has talked with Tommy Dee over at The Knicks Blog to get some insights about the Knicks’ improved play, Nate Robinson, David Lee and other things about the team.
NAS: A lot has been made about the benching of Nate Robinson, but the Knicks are clearly playing better without him. How much are these two things connected, and how do you see “Nategate” playing out?
I noticed mid-year last year that D’Antoni had soured on Nate, but he was playing well at the time and since they had limited options at the guard spot, Nate still go minutes. This year, with the addition of both Larry Hughes and Toney Douglas, who now will receive rotation minutes, D’Antoni has options. He doesn’t feel Nate is his type of player and as a proven coach, he reserves that rite. In the end, I don’t see Nate being traded or bought out based on the fact that teams had the chance to sign him this past off season and received zero offers.
NAS: David Lee may be playing himself out of the Knicks’ price range by the end of the season. If you were Donnie Walsh, would you find a way to ink Lee long-term this summer?
Walsh’s plan has been clear since day 1, he wants the opportunity to sit down with a major free agent July 1st. Lee has said he wants to be part of the solution here, but as you mentioned, he may demand a contract out of the Knicks’ price range. Is he the defensive presence in the middle on a 50-plus win team? Moreover, the four position in D’Antoni system has to be able to stretch defenders out to the perimeter, which isn’t Lee’s game. If a team jumps on Lee right away in July, which they didn’t do last summer, then his career may be over in New York. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out.
NAS: Part of what’s wonderful about playing in the Eastern Conference is you could be under .500 and still in playoff contention. Any chance the Knicks make a deal that could put them over the hump and into the 8th seed?
I think some Knick fans think that player is Tracy McGrady, but that’s a big question mark for me. They will have to trade rotation players to be able to match salaries. If the Rockets take back salary, read Jared Jeffries, I think Walsh would deal, but the team has played well enough recently to at least sniff 6-7 games under .500. If they get to a place where they can sustain 3-4 games under with this group, I think Walsh will pass on McGrady, but again if he can move Jeffries he has to do it. I’d like to see them take a hard look at Randy Foye who is out of the mix in Washington. He’d help them.
The Nets Struggles Against The Zone
Dec 8, 2009 Analysis, Nets vs. Knicks, Video Breakdown, Xs and Os
Get used to the zone defense Nets’ fans, because we may be seeing a lot of it in the next few games. Even before looking at any video, you can tell that the Nets really struggled against the zone on Sunday. They went from scoring 61 points in the first half, to scoring just 36 in the second.
The Nets struggle against the zone because they don’t have the personnel to shoot their way out of it. Usually when a team runs a zone, they do it just to switch things up, and when the opposing team hits a shot or two, they get out of it switching back to man. The Nets never hit “a shot or two” against the Knicks. So if the Nets struggled so much against the zone, why haven’t we seen it more? Well, to be honest teams were beating the Nets so handily, that there was no reason to employ it. The Nets might see it a lot more now because the Nets are going to be going up against teams that have been struggling and teams the Nets might be able to get a lead on late in the second half. If that happens expect to see zone. I am going to share some clips with you guys and explain what the Nets are doing wrong against the zone, and what they can do to beat the zone, and force teams to go to man.
Games 19 & 20 Breakdown (Also Known As The Keyon Dooling Effect)
Dec 7, 2009 Nets vs. Bobcats, Nets vs. Knicks, Video Breakdown, Xs and Os
We are going to quickly get into the breakdowns today, and these are all going to be positive ones. Over the past two games the Nets have done a lot of things right offensively (Forget about the struggles against the zone. That will be getting it’s own post tomorrow). With a more aggressive Courtney Lee and a healthy Keyon Dooling and Devin Harris, the Nets have been clicking on offense for the most part (Yes the Nets struggled in the second half yesterday, but they put over 60 up in the first half). If they can keep this up, the Nets are going to pick up a few more wins very soon since this upcoming stretch has some very winnable games.