Alright, back to the breakdown. As you might expect, we are going to look exclusively at the second quarter. You know, the one where the Nets gave up 49 points. The Mavericks shot over 80% in the first half, and the reason was the Nets defense gave up too many wide-open looks, due to very poor rotation:

The Nets came out and played some zone in the second quarter, an interesting 2-1-2 zone, but it didn’t really work at all.

Dallas recognizes the zone early, and the overload it.  What I mean by that is they put 4 players in an area where there are only 3 defenders.

The ball gets swung, and Dallas does a pretty interesting thing right here.  They have Dirk switch sides too, and now since the ball AND Dirk are on the same side, the focus is over there, even though the play will go to the other side.

The first problem starts with Sean Williams.  He is up way too high, and part of that is the playcalling.  Because they are running a 2-1-2, Sean Williams starts high, but the pick and roll action sucks him even higher.  In reality though, Williams doesn’t even need to concern himself with the pick and roll.  Because Devin is in the correct position, there is no real threat there.  The problem with Williams being too high is that Bobby Simmons has nobody to pass Jason Kidd off to.  Kidd cuts along the baseline, and when a zone is run correctly, he would be passed off from defender-to-defender along the zone.  That doesn’t happen though, and Simmons sticks with him to prevent an open lay-up.

This lack of rotation leaves J.J. Barea wide open (there is nobody within 20 feet of him).  If Simmons would have been able to pass off Kidd instead of having to stick with him, he would have been in proper defensive position to defend the shot.

I am posting this picture as an added bonus.  Look at Bobby Simmons.  You would think that a shooter making 10 million plus this year…a shooter that isn’t shooting the ball very well…would be doing anything he can to snap this losing streak.  Including closing out hard on shooters…nope…Simmons jogged briskly to Barea, just to get close enough to not get yelled at by the coaching staff.  Embarrassing.

One more for you.  Again, the Nets are playing the 2-1-2 zone:

Dallas decides to attack it the same way, with a pick, and the look is almost the same.  The only difference is that this time, they overload the left side.

Josh Boone is in the right spot (for now), but look at Courtney Lee.  Why is he even trying to get through the pick when the Nets are playing zone?  There is no reason to get through it because Devin Harris is on the other side ready to defend.  Now his back is to the basketball, and he has to turn around to close out on Dirk.

Courtney Lee actually does a real good job of getting himself turned around and in position to close out on Dirk.  The problem now though is Josh Boone.  For some reason, he completely ignores the man in the corner to close out on Dirk.  This isn’t just because of Dirk either.  Every game, you can point at an over rotation Josh Boone makes.  I think that his lack of speeds forces him to try to anticipate plays, and he usually anticipates incorrectly.

Because of Josh Boone’s incorrect rotation, the Mavericks are given another wide open shot.  We aren’t talking about “NBA-open” either.  In the NBA, open is considered a guy with a hand in your face, but not really close enough to effect it.  Here, these guys are WIDE FREAKING OPEN.  Teams don’t go 17-19 from the field when a team closes out on them.  The Nets poor rotation and lack of close outs is the reason why the Mavericks shot so well.

Another effect of poor rotation?  Guys are less likely to help, because they aren’t sure whether the guy behind him is going to be there or not.  Trust is a big key on defense.  You need to trust the guys behind you, and the Nets just don’t have that trust.  I mean look at this:

Trenton Hassell is so worried about his man that he is willing to leave a man (with the basketball!) under the basket open to go cover a guy at the three point line (there wasn’t even a pump fake made).  That shows the lack of trust Trenton Hassell has in his teammates’ ability to rotate correctly, and I don’t blame him.

AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

GameFlow, Two Man Game, Mavs Money Ball, Devin Harris Interview, Tom Barrise Interview

As someone who has followed the Nets closely and loyally for nearly 20 years, I’ve experienced a lot of pain and suffering. I’ve had to endure the unrealized potential of Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson, the death of Drazen Petrovic, Dwayne Schintzius and Yinka Dare, draft busts like Ed O’Bannon and Marcus Williams, Coach “Cal” John Calipari, the penny-pinching trade of Kenyon Martin and Jason Kidd’s “migraine.” So, you have to believe me when I say the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets are not the worst Nets team I’ve ever seen.

Yet, at 0-18, the record books may beg to differ. The Nets are now sole owners of the worst start in NBA history, and if they continue to play basketball the way they did in last night’s second quarter against the Mavericks, I think it’s going to be a real long while before the Nets register their first win of the season.

That second quarter was an out and out embarrassment. The Nets allowed 49 points to the Mavs on 17-19 shooting. And it wasn’t like Dallas was just getting lucky either. The Nets were leaving shooters wide open like Tim Thomas at the 7:59 mark of the quarter, and then Dirk Nowitzki (24 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists) of all people was left all alone at the top of the key behind the three point line at the 3:55 mark. Erick Dampier (18 points, 11 rebounds) was dominating in the post, grabbing offensive boards, and continuing the trend of big, burly centers giving Brook Lopez (16 points, 2-6 shooting) fits.

I could quibble about the fact that interim coach Tom Barrise stuck with Trenton Hassell and Josh Boone for too long in the second quarter. The Nets second unit actually had done a nice job keeping the game tied at 28 after one, and keeping the game close about 4 minutes into the second quarter when Barrise went with his “first string” again. That’s when the floodgates opened. Guys are getting healthy now. It’s time for Trenton Hassell and Josh Boone to go back to the bench where they belong.

But what was most alarming about the game, was even with historic futility staring these players straight in the face, the continued to play without any real urgency. As the the Mavericks went nuts in the second quarter, you could just see the Nets body language: “Here we go again.”  Brook Lopez and Chris Douglas-Roberts had their typical looks of anguish and despondence. Devin Harris had his usual (and puzzling) look of indifference. Josh Boone looked like there were 500 other places he’d rather be than guarding Dirk Nowitzki.

Case in point, at the around the 6:54 mark in the third, Chris Douglas-Roberts made an errant pass and was staring down a fast break with Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion coming straight at him. Marion and Kidd were passing the ball back and forth, and were taking so much time, they were practically begging the Nets to get back on defense and stop them. Yet, besides CDR, not a single white shirt appeared in the frame for the entire play. By the time Kidd laid the ball in, CDR threw his hands up in disgust, and you could more or less see him mouth something to his teammates. The bottom line? One would think that a group of professional athletes wouldn’t want to be known as a bunch of “losers,” but that’s what they looked like last night. And yes, that’s what they’ve become.

As the final second of the game ticked off, whoever was remaining at the Izod Center booed the team heartily. I was kind of shocked by this reaction, because a lot of this losing streak has been a matter of circumstance. The team was especially unlucky with injuries and just some heartbreaking inexplicable losses. How can you boo guys for that?

But then I think about a quote the great Bill Parcells, “you are who your record says you are.” The booing may be an odd response, but I can understand people’s patience wearing thin. This team is no longer as decimated by injury as they were three weeks ago. The time for this team to start coming together is upon us. I wish Kiki Vandeweghe all the luck in the world, because the Nets currently resemble a dysfunctional bunch that’s incapable of putting four quarters of competent offensive and defensive basketball together. If they keep this up, the Nets will surely be challenging more records for futility this season.

Final Thoughts after the jump.

• Just how significant was that second quarter meltdown? The Nets actually outscored the Mavs by 11 in the other three quarters. But you’re not going to win games getting outscored 49-22 over any stretch of time. It’s absurd how the Nets continually pick a random quarter each game and fall apart. You could call it youth, or mental lapses, or whatever you want. Either way, it stinks.
• How apropo that Jason Kidd scored the Mavs first three points last night. Kidd just fell two rebounds shy of a triple-double, (16 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds) which would have really been the icing on the cake for him.
• In the early going, Kidd was lobbing so many alley-oops to Rodrigue Beaubois, I thought the refs were going to ban the move out of mercy for the Nets.
• Courtney Lee seemed to get his stroke going for a bit in the third quarter, even hitting two threes. But he went cold in the 4th, and ended up 5-14 field.
• I might be hopping off the Sean Williams bandwagon as quickly as I jumped on last week. He had little positive impact in his 14 minutes tonight, and even made one really boneheaded play in the third when he fouled Dirk, and then hung on the rim after the play, disrupting the shot, and giving Dirk the basket. As stupid as it was, I had to laugh since I was thinking back to a preseason game against the Knicks were Williams did that and Sebastian turned to me and said, “he knows he’s not supposed to do that, right?” I guess not.
• Rafer Alston didn’t play tonight because of a sore left knee. Did anyone really care?
• Here’s what a difference a year makes. In the first quarter at around the 8:44 mark, Devin Harris went behind the back, breaking Beaubois’ ankles in the process, giving Devo a wide open three, and he totally bricks it. That shot goes in last year. Guaranteed.

Devin Harris vs. Jason Kidd:

Last year Devin went off for 41 against the Mavericks.  A lot of people were talking about him wanting revenge, and that was the motivation.  I just think it is a poor match-up for Kidd.  I mean Kidd is still a great passing point guard, but he is up there in age, and isn’t as fast as he used to be.  Devin Harris’ strength is Jason Kidd’s weakness.

Advantage: Devin Harris

CDR vs. Rodrigue Beaubois

Chris Douglas-Roberts struggled last game.  I don’t know if it was that he was going against Kobe, or if it was him just burning out after falling behind early.    I wouldn’t be too worried though, and at 6-0, Rodrigue Beaubois CDR has the clear height advantage.  Look for him to have a real bounce-back game tonight.

Advantage: CDR

Trenton Hassell vs. Shawn Marion

I don’t think Courtney Lee is going to get the start tonight, so we are going to see Hassell at the 3.  As for Shawn Marion, it took him a little while to get going this year, but he has scored 12+ points in each of his last four games.  Look for that to continue.

Advantage: Shawn Marion

Josh Boone vs. Dirk Nowitzki

I already talked about Dirk at length today, but I did want to add something.  Josh Boone is going to get the start more than likely, but I still think Sean Williams is the best option against him.  Granted, Sean Williams is probably going to foul out in like 5 minutes, but boy is that going to be a tough 5 minutes for Dirk.

Advantage: Dirk Nowitzki

Brook Lopez vs. Erick Dampier

I think that Dampier is going to give Brook some trouble tonight.  Dampier is a physical player who uses that to his advantage.  Dampier is going to push Brook out of the post and force him to catch it farther out.  Expect to see a good number of jumpers from Brook tonight.

Advantage: Brook Lopez

Prediction

Current Record: 10-7

After tonight you can refer to the Nets as the “record-breaking New Jersey Nets.”  Whenever someone who doesn’t watch basketball ask you, “what record?”  Just ignore them.