Thoughts On The Game: Over Before It Started for Nets
Nov 25, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Nuggets, Thoughts On the Game
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
GameFlow, Roundball Mining Company, Devin Harris Interview, Brook Lopez Interview, Lawrence Frank Interview
This is where Coach Lawrence Frank loses me. You are up against a big and physical team with maybe the best SF with his back to the basket on the block, and you go small for a large portion of the game? That just doesn’t make sense to me, now I understand with Brook Lopez in foul trouble for most of the night, you can’t put Brook and Sean Williams in the game together, but you need to get a bigger body than Trenton Hassell on Kenyon Martin. Yes, we know Josh Boone is limited, but in this game, you need him out there just because he is a big-body, and with Boone playing Martin, that allows you to put Trenton Hassell on Carmelo Anthony.
Speaking of Carmelo as soon as the Nets went small the Nuggets immediately went to him in the post. 4 possessions in the block resulted in 3 buckets and a trip to the foul line. Lawrence Frank then called a timeout and switched back to Hassell on Carmelo, and then around 5 minutes later the Nets went small again, and the Nuggets went right to Carmelo on the block. If the Nuggets can see it, if the announcers can see it, if I can see it, then why can’t Lawrence Frank see it? With these mismatches the Nuggets had, they scored 60 points in the paint. 60!
Lawrence Frank always talks about match-ups, and he likes to adjust his roster to what the other teams throw out there, so it was interesting to see Lawrence Frank go small when it really made absolutely no sense.
This isn’t all on Lawrence Frank though, nobody came out and played hard, and from the start the game just had the feel of a scrimmage to me for some reason. Brook Lopez picked up two real silly fouls in the first half, and so did Chris Douglas-Roberts (I believe he got 2 of them trying to cover Carmelo in the post). Maybe I got spoiled, it is funny to think about an 0-13 team spoiling their fans, but it did happen. I sat on my couch and flipped on the game not expecting to win, but expecting the team to put up a real good fight. That is what makes this team fun to watch right now, you see them going hard and fighting, you feel good as a Nets fan. I do get a little critical from time to time (ok a lot of the time), but as a fan up until last night, the Nets have been fun to watch. It just seemed like they were just going through the motions most of the game and the last quarter and a half was basically running back and forth and whoever got the first pass after half-court put up a shot. The Nets got the lead down to 10 at one point in the fourth against the reserves, but Carmelo, J.R. Smith, and Chauncey remained on the bench, the Nuggets reserves turned it on and extended the lead again. That’s how bad it was, the Nuggets reserves weren’t playing hard against the Nets. The team has played all year, and I guess they can have one off night, they are in Portland tomorrow, so let’s see if they can get the effort back up. No key plays today since they pretty much sucked, there were are a few bullets though:
- At one point Sean Williams got a block to start a fast break and Terrence Williams finished it off with a slam. The Nets showed life on that play, and it might have been the only time the whole game.
- Early in the 4th Carmelo picked up his 5th foul. George Karl was going to take him out, but Carmelo waived him off and left him in for a little while. Good to see how serious the Nuggets were taking the Nets.
- 60 points in the paint is a lot.
- Terrence Williams might have been the lone bright spot. He wasn’t settling for too many jumpers. Took 11 shots, which is still too much, but he is cutting them down. He made 5 of them and was attacking the basket.
Quick Recap: Denver Nuggets 101, New Jersey Nets 87
Nov 24, 2009 Nets vs. Nuggets, Quick Recap
You know how they say during a blow-out “the score isn’t indicative of the game?” Well, tonight, it wasn’t as close as the scored said. The Nets were able to cut the lead down to 10 at one point in the fourth, but that was with the Nuggets backups in the game. Carmelo sat out the final 10 minutes. The Nets didn’t really show any fight tonight, and I guess that was the real sad thing.
- Brook Lopez accumulated 3 fouls in 6 minutes during the first half, and CDR had 3 fouls early in the 2nd as well. Maybe if they get going in the first half, this is a different game. They finished with 5 and 4 points respectively.
- For some reason Lawrence Frank was determined to play small ball today. It didn’t work. With Trenton Hassell playing a lot of minutes at the 4, he was forced to cover the Kenyon while CDR/Lee/T.Williams was on Carmelo. The Nuggets finished with 60 points in the paint. Now you could play Sean Williams and Brook together because he wasn’t on the court enough, but Josh Boone has the size to stay with K-Mart. Yeah, he can’t do anything on the offensive end, but it makes the match-ups easier.
- Carmelo took one shot outside 20 feet.
- Rafer Alston and Devin Harris both lead the Nets with 19 points.
- Terrence Williams quietly had a good game, 14 points on 5 of 11 shooting along with 2 rebounds.
- Trying to be positive, the Nets did a terrific job of getting to the line tonight, getting there 36 times making 26 of them.
Game 14 Preview vs. Denver Nuggets
Nov 24, 2009 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Nuggets
The last time the Nets played the Nuggets, they were without Devin Harris and they still hung tough with them for about a half. Let’s see if the return of Harris and Lee (who is coming off the bench along with Devin), can give the Nets enough firepower to get some things done on the offensive end. Brook Lopez is in the lineup today after spraining his ankle yesterday.
Another thing to look for is to see if the Nets defense comes back around. For like 6 or 7 games the Nets played really well, but everything broke down against the Nets. Let’s see if it was just the Knicks style or if there is something more to it. Here are the lineups:
Chauncey Billups vs. Rafer Alston:
Chauncey is such a physical point guard he is going to have his way with Skip. You beat Chauncey by out-quicking him, and Rafer doesn’t have that type of speed anymore. If Devin was starting, I would call this a push, but he is coming off the bench.
Advantage: Chauncey Billups
J.R. Smith vs. Chris Douglas-Roberts
You can call him Earl, I am still going to call him J.R. Smith is a great shooter, so CDR is going to have to stick with him. I have really loved CDR’s defense of late, and he seems to be the Nets most consistent player when he is out there.
Advantage: Chris Douglas-Roberts
Carmelo Anthony vs. Trenton Hassell
I talked about Carmelo at length earlier. He is probably the best SF in the post, but what makes him so tough is that he is just as good 30 feet from the basket. He can do everything. Pass, shoot, drive, and when he wants to he plays defense. After LeBron, I think Carmelo is the league’s most complete player. Hassell is going to play him tough no question, but Carmelo is going to be too much for him.
Advantage: Carmelo Anthony
Kenyon Martin vs. Josh Boone
Kenyon Martin is making news because he has been saying that Bruce Ratner is the reason that the Nets are as bad as they are. Kenyon, it has been a few years, let it go. Also, reporters need to stop bringing this up too. I know that he was a popular guy here, but you don’t have to talk to him about the trade every single time the Nuggets play the Nets. It is starting to get old. Oh and Kenyon is going to work Josh Boone tonight.
Advantage: Kenyon Martin
Nene vs. Brook Lopez
Brook Lopez took one 14 foot jumper against New York. That makes me feel so much better. It is interesting to see how the return of Devin Harris gets Brook back into the paint. Let’s see if it continues against Nene, who is a very physical presence down low. I think it can.
Advantage: Brook Lopez
Keys To The Game
Limit Runs:
This Nuggets team is very streaky, they go on big runs a lot. If you can keep them from going on multiple double digit runs, you can keep this team close.
Take Advantage Of The Nuggets’ Lulls:
The problem with a streaky team is that they aren’t always hot. They tend to run cold as well (The Clippers went on a 19-0 run on them). The Nets need to take advantage of this and cut into the Nuggets lead or extend their own when this happens.
Prediction
Current Record = 7-6
Nuggets Win. Nets will keep it close for 3 quarters though. Oh and I am going to be over at the Daily Dime tonight, so check it out.
Thoughts on the Game: Nuggets Outrun, Outgun Nets
Nov 5, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Nuggets, Thoughts On the Game
Headed into the game last night with the undefeated Denver Nuggets coming into town, you just had to have a sinking feeling in your stomach about the Nets chances to pull out their first win of the season. Between the onslaught of injuries and just the overall poor fundamental play that has plagued the team in the season’s first four games, the Nets reminded me of a TV actor embroiled in a contract dispute with the producers headed into the season finale. As a viewer, you’re watching the show and waiting to see if the writers bump the character off, or keep them hanging around in some kind of open-ended way that suggests there could be a resolution over the summer if cooler heads prevailed.
The Nets last night made it through the first half of the show unscathed, and even looked like they could end the program conclusively on the winning side before getting smashed in a car wreck, thrown off a bridge, dropped into a burning building and shot 30 times by the explosive Nuggets offense. By the time the fourth quarter had started, with the Nuggets up by 17, it was pretty clear to me that the producers had made their decision about the Nets’ fate.
This is going to be a recurring theme with the Nets this season. They are yet to put four consistent quarters of play together. Maybe if they had, they wouldn’t be winless and off to one of their worst starts in franchise history. While the abomination known as Monday night’s third quarter against the Bobcats showcased how completely clueless the Nets could look on offense for long stretches, last night’s third quarter showcased their porous defense. With Carmelo Anthony struggling throughout most of the first half, it was clearly inevitable that he was going to hit his shots eventually. Meanwhile, the Nuggets were able ride Nene on the inside and Ty Lawson created havoc pretty much everywhere else. The Nuggets scored 44 points in that quarter and never looked back. Read the rest of this entry »
Quick Recap: Denver Nuggets 122, New Jersey Nets 94
Nov 4, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Nuggets, Quick Recap
The Nets (0-5) will have to wait until at least Friday before getting their first win of the season as they were trounced by the Denver Nuggets 122-94 at the Izod Center in New Jersey tonight.
- After leading 51-50 at halftime tonight, the Nets allowed the Nuggets to score 72 points in the second-half, including 44 points in the third quarter.
- Rookie Ty Lawson led a very balanced scoring attack with 23 points off the bench.
- Carmelo Anthony (8-24) struggled with his jump shot all night, but still ended up with 22 points.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts led all Nets with 19 points. He chipped in with 7 rebounds.
- Eduardo Najera did an admirable job filling in for Yi Jianlian at the PF spot, finishing with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
- Brook Lopez finished with 12 points, and a team high 8 rebounds.
- Terrence Williams provided some energy off the bench with 13 points and 6 rebounds.
- Courtney Lee is still struggling to find his jumper, finishing with 10 points on 2-11 shooting.
- Bobby Simmons actually hit a shot tonight, but missed 8 others to finish with 2 points on 1-9 shooting.
- The Nuggets shot 55 percent from three-point land going 10-18. The Nets, on the other hand, still can’t buy a three, finishing 2-15 from beyond the arc.
- The Nets did manage to keep their turnovers down tonight, finishing with 13.
Game 5 Preview Vs. Denver Nuggets
Nov 4, 2009 2009-2010 Open Thread, 2009-2010 Regular Season, Game Preview, Nets vs. Nuggets
Before we get started talking about the Nuggets game, I just wanted to say I re-watched the Bobcats game, then I watched the third quarter one more time. It was really bad. I spared you guys by not doing the video breakdown because the whole quarter was so bad, it was difficult to pick anything out.
As for tonights game, the only thing the Nets have going for them is that this isn’t in Denver.
Quick Note: I know I said Tuesday, but I will get these rankings out before Friday’s game I promise.
Nets Starting Lineup
- PG – Rafer Alston
- SG – Courtney Lee
- SF – Chris Douglas-Roberts
- PF – Eduardo Najera
- C – Brook Lopez
Bobcats Starting Lineup
- PG - Chauncy Billups
- SG – Anthony Carter
- SF – Carmelo Anthony
- PF – Kenyon Martin
- C – Nene
Their Mismatches
Carmelo Anthony vs. Chris Douglas-Roberts - Carmelo is a mismatch for everyone right not not name LeBron or Kobe. He is playing out of his mind right now, and for a little perspective, his 25 points last night was his lowest output so far this year. Yikes. He also likes to work in the post so the fact that he has 30 pounds on CDR could pose a problem.
Chauncy Billups vs. Rafer Alston - Through all of the losing, Rafer has been playing pretty well on the offensive end. For the most part he has controlled his “shoot first” mentality, and he is getting the ball to guys in spots to score. The defensive end is a whole nother story however. Billups should be able to have his was with Rafer.
Our Mismatches
Courtney Lee vs. Anthony Carter – The only reason Anthony Carter is starting is because J.R. Smith is suspended right now. Lee looked like he had his stuff straightened out before the 3rd quarter fiasco, and maybe this string of playing against backups can get him going offensively.
Matchup Of The Night
Kenyon Martin vs. Eduardo Najera - Najera started his career with the Nuggets, so maybe there is some motivation there, but after all the injuries, he can’t compare athletically with Martin anymore. That doesn’t mean this won’t be a fun match-up to watch, especially with both of these guys’ “bulldog” attitude. Another reason to watch, to see if Najera can play well enough to keep Bobby Simmons glued to the bench.
Keys To Victory
Get Brook Touches Deep In Post - Nene is a good center, but he is at his best defensively when he is off the ball, helping. He isn’t the greatest post defender. So getting Brook the ball works for two reasons. 1, Brook should be able to score on him. 2, It will keep Nene occupied and not allow him to help.
Attack Carmelo When He’s On Defense - This is the only thing I can really think of when trying to find a way to stop him. He is in such a groove right now, nothing the Nets do defensively will stop him. If we attack him when he’s on defense, he could pick up some fouls. Also, making him play both sides of the ball rather than just offense will tire him out, and maybe some of his 4th quarter shots will fall short because of it.
Prediction
Current Prediction Record: 1-3
This could get ugly. Real ugly. If Denver stays motivated through the whole game (I think they will, they did it against Indiana last night), this could be a 30/40 point win for the Nuggets. Since we already know the Nets will lose, you want to watch for the type of fight the Nets put up. I don’t want to see this team giving up at any point during the game.
Bloggers Talk: Denver Nuggets
Nov 4, 2009 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Nuggets
As we plan to do before every Nets home game this season (or until another blogger tells us where to stick it), today we talk with Jeremy Wagner of the fantastic TrueHoop Denver Nuggets blog, Roundball Mining Company. Wagner answers some questions for us and lets us know how it feels to root for a team that might actually win an NBA title. And just to show what a good sport I am, I’ve done the same over at this site, sans the telling people what it’s like to root for an NBA title contender.
NAS: There’s been a lot of early buzz about Carmelo Anthony’s hot start. Is there anything that he’s doing differently that you believe could be at the root of this MVP-caliber of play?
Wagner: The best way I can explain Carmelo’s play so far this season is to compare it to the end of The Matrix when Neo realizes he is The One and what was once difficult or impossible became effortless. Melo is exuding a great deal of confidence and everything he does seems to have a purpose. He is very conscious of earning the best shot he can and will eagerly pass off if a teammate has a better opportunity to score.
In addition to his improvement on offense, he is playing very hard on defense. Last season he learned how much simply paying attention to what was going on around him can help improve his defense. This season he is coupling that with hard work and determination. In the second game of the season he welcomed the opportunity to go mano a mano with Brandon Roy on both ends of the floor and he won that game for the Nuggets in Roy’s building.
Obviously there will be nights when his shot is not falling, but as long as he continues his complete play, he should be a legitimate MVP candidate.
NAS: Do you feel the Nuggets are a forgotten team in the West by the pundits considering the attention the Lakers and Spurs got in the off-season?
Wagner: I did think the Nuggets were being undersold before the season started. Clearly the Lakers are the team to beat and even if Ron Artest does not make them better, they were still the best team in the conference by a comfortable margin.
I absolutely do not concede that the Spurs are a better team than Denver. I do not think Richard Jefferson is going to help as much as most observers expect him to and Portland’s big signing of Andre Miller is a poor fit for what they do as well. The acquisitions of Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson were not intimidating by any stretch of the imagination, but they both fit needs the Nuggets had much better than some of the players other contenders brought in.
NAS: Nets fans are always linked to Kenyon Martin. Do you have any hope that he puts together a full healthy season with the Nuggets this year?
Wagner: What I consider a healthy season from Kenyon is not what I would consider a healthy season from Dwight Howard or Chris Paul. Many Nuggets fans hold Kenyon’s big contract against him as well as his injury issues, but I think Martin deserves all the credit in the world for what he has done. No other player in the NBA, and probably any of the major sports has ever undergone two microfracture procedures and returned to play. Not only did Kenyon return, but he is as athletic and aggressive as ever.
While many people consider Kenyon and Nene to be injury prone players, I consider them to have had bad luck (I mean Nene had cancer, how many NBA players in their mid 20’s have missed a season because of cancer?). Kenyon has had a couple of major injuries such as the broken leg at Cincinnati and his two knee surgeries, but those were in the past. He will miss a week here or a week there with his balky back or an ankle turn here or there, but I expect him to play between 65 and 70 games ever year. Instead of rehabbing last summer Kenyon finally worked on his jumper he loves to shoot and so far it looks better thanks to the way he moved his left hand back on the ball. He no longer has to make an awkward twist of his wrists to get the shot off.
NAS: Given the financial situation in Denver and what the starting five is expected to make next season, do you feel this is Denver’s last shot with this current group to win an NBA title?
Wagner: Geez, can’t I just enjoy this season? The truth is you are absolutely right. The Nuggets have the potential for an $80 plus million payroll next season and as John Hollinger likes to point out, their five highest paid players alone could be over the tax limit. There is certainly a chance Nuggets fans could be facing a fire sale next summer.
Owner Stan Kroenke has been very much against paying the luxury tax lately, but he does not have much choice this season. However, he has splurged on the Nuggets before as just two seasons ago by my calculations he spent about $95 million in salary and luxury tax. Plus Mark Warkentien claimed just a few days ago that the Nuggets will pull the trigger on a big deal if it makes sense.
I cannot predict the future and if you doubt me I will show you my record on NFL picks this season, but if the Nuggets do indeed prove to be legitimate contenders, I think at the very least he keeps the team together and allows them to make another run. Of course with the success the front office has had with slashing costs while still improving the team, they may not hesitate to ship out a veteran or two and sign cheaper alternatives.
Whatever ends up happening with their track record over the previous two offseasons it will be difficult to argue with anything they do.
Game 5 Scouting Report
Nov 4, 2009 Nets vs. Nuggets, Opponent Scouting Reports
Game 5 vs. Denver (4-0)
Projected Starting Lineup
1. Chauncey Billups | 6′3″ | 202 lbs. | 35.8 MPG | 23 PPG | 6.7 APG | 43.1 FG | 48.1 3 | 88.2 FT
Strong physical guard with a knack to knock down the big shot. He is terrific at using his size to get his defender off balance, and then he can rise above them to get a shot off. Also a great passer and defender. Lost some speed with age.
2. Anthony Carter | 6′2″ | 195 lbs. | 22.5 MPG | 4.8 PPG | 3.3 APG | 38.8 FG | 42.9 3 | 100% FT
Starting until J.R. Smith returns. A decent shooter and average defender.
3. Carmelo Anthony | 6′8″ | 230 lbs. | 36.5 MPG | 34.5 PPG | 6.5 RPG | 50 FG | 45% 3 | 85% FT
Playing the best basketball of his life right now. He has put up some big numbers against good defensive teams. Likes to work in the post, but is a good jump shooter and can take the ball to the basket.
4. Kenyon Martin | 6′9″ | 240 lbs. | 35 MPG | 10.5 PPG | 6.5 RPG | 50% FG | 0% 3 | 25% FT
Hey, this guy looks familiar. Still crashes the boards hard and plays very physical. Can hit from 15 every once in a while. If he is on, he will be a pain to stop, because he will start pump faking, taking one dribble, and going hard at the basket.
5. Nenê | 6′10″ | 250 lbs. | 35 MPG | 14.3 PPG | 9.8 RPG | 55.8% FG | 0% 3 | 63% FT
Nene is a tough guy inside, but he has a nice touch and a polished post game. Even though he’s not a great leaper, Nenê is a terrific athlete for a center. He’s fast afoot and extremely quick when making moves at the basket, which is the main reason his foul-drawing rate is so high. He is a better help defender than a on the ball defender.
Bench
F/C. Chris Anderson | 6′10″ | 288 lbs. | 22 MPG | 6.3 PPG | 7 RPG | 47% FG | 0% 3 | 82% FT
A high energy guy who gets the crowd going or shuts them up (on the road) with his big blocks and dunks. He is a great rebounder, and he really gets the fast break going, and if he doesn’t he is usually finishing them.
G. Arron Afflalo | 6′5″ | 215 lbs. | 19.8 MPG | 6.3 PPG | 1.8 APG | 45.5% FG | 40% 3 | 100% FT
Arron Afflalo seems to be the Nuggets younger, longer, and more athletic version of Dahntay Jones. He can also play a little better on offense instead of Jones. Actually if you look at 82games.com opponent PER figures and plus-minus data, they say that Afflalo is a better defender.
G. Ty Lawson | 5′11″ | 195 lbs. | 19.5 MPG | 9 PPG | 2.3 APG | 50% FG | 40% 3 | 85.7% FT
Lawson’s game translates well to the pro level despite his height because of exceptional athletic indicators. As a Tar Heel, Lawson was a very efficient scorer and dynamic playmaker who excelled in Roy Williams’ frenetic style. As such, he’ll fit right in with the Nuggets.
G. Joey Graham | 6′7 | 225 lbs. | 10.8 MPG | 4 PPG | .3 APG | 50% FG | o% 3 | 85.7% FT
Graham rebounds well for a small forward and is a great finisher at the rim, but he generates few blocks or steals. He doesn’t have a solid outside game either.
F. Malik Allen | 6′10″ | 255 lbs. | 8 MPG | 4 PPG | 1 RPG | 50% FG | 0% 3 | 0% FT
A PF who doesn’t really go inside and he ends up settling for a good amount of jumpers.
G/F. J.R. Smith | No Regular Season Stats: Suspended
F. Johan Petro | No Regular Season Stats: 4 DNPs
G. Renaldo Balkman | No Regular Season Stats: 4 DNPs
Offensive Tendencies:
This team likes to run, and they have the personnel for it. They use Carmelo in ISO sets on different spots in the court. They do it on the low block and at the high post. They also run the pick and roll for Billups a good amount.
Defensive Tendencies:
After what seems like years of pleading from coach George Karl, this team is finally starting to play defense. They got a few good off the ball shot blockers, and they like to go for those blocks, using them to start fast breaks.
Keys To Victory:
Find a way to stop Carmelo. If we let Carmelo get his, we can’t let anyone else go off. Allow everyone but Carmelo/Billups to shoot the three. Without J.R. Smith (suspended), this team is lacking a consistent shooter from 3. Close hard on everyone and let Brook handle them if they get past the outside defender.