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Video Breakdown: Game 39

Jan 18, 2010 Nets vs. Pacers, Video Breakdown, Videos, Xs and Os

The Nets were outscored by 19 points (24-5 in total) during the final six minutes on Friday night?  Why?  Well it is because they failed to execute on both ends of the court:

Thoughts On The Game: Six Minutes Is All It Takes

Jan 16, 2010 Nets vs. Pacers, Thoughts On the Game

Advanced Box Score | Eight Points Nine Seconds | Indy Cornrows

During the final six minutes of the first half, the Nets were outscored 24 to 5.  That equals minus 19 for those six minutes.  For the other 42 minutes, the Nets were +3.  Six minutes is all it takes to make a close game a blowout, a game where the Nets had a chance to win to another 15+ point loss.  During this stretch, the Pacers were able to shoot 8 for 10 from the field (80%) and 6 for 7 from the line.  That is just way too easy, even for the Nets who seemingly let all of their opponents shoot over 50%.  The Nets offense as it currently stands isn’t going to outscore anyone, and there are going to be stretches (like this six minute one) where the Nets are going to just go cold and not score.  The Nets need to recognize when this is coming and dig their heels in the defensive end.  Also, the Nets need to attack the basket on the offensive end.  During this run the Nets settled for way too many jumpers and they lost the aggressiveness that kept them in the game up until that point.  The Nets got zero foul shots during that six minute stretch.  Getting to the foul line during opponent runs is so important not only because you get easy baskets with the clock stopped (the Nets are one of the better foul shooting teams in the league), but because it slows everything down as well.  When a team gets to the foul line, everything stops and the rhythm of the opponents run is broken.  Unfortunately the Nets didn’t do any of this as they went cold, they just watched as the Pacers scored 24 points in 6 minutes.

I mentioned this briefly in the quick recap, but I wanted to talk about it some more.  Despite everyone getting on Devin Harris calling him soft, injury prone, and talking about how he isn’t a leader just because he isn’t bashing him teammates to the media day-in/day-out.  Devin Harris is leading this team, and he is doing it by example.  Devin Harris estimates his health at about 80%, and he is still out there.  Why?  Well he told the media on Tuesday:

“I owe it to them [the Nets].  I mean, we have a better chance to win when I play even if it’s [the wrist] is only 80 or whatever.  We’ve been hurt all year long and this is the first opportunity that we have had everyone healthy and everybody in full uniform.”

Devin Harris goes out every game and takes a lot of hits (yesterday he had Brook Lopez and Roy Hibbert wrestling on one of his legs) and he just gets up and keeps playing.  That is a great example for our young players.

Kris Humphries got 27 minutes yesterday, and he rewarded Kiki’s trust by playing very very well.  He was a threat on the offensive end when he caught it, and he was setting a lot of good picks then making himself available on the rolls.  He was 5-7 from the field (including 5-6 from the line) and he finishes with 15 points.  Humphries also played well on the defensive end, he had a big block on Roy Hibbert, and he even “pulled the chair” on him at one point in the second half.  He just looks comfortable out there, and I can see Humphries finding a home (and some playing time) in New Jersey.  Some final bullets after the jump.

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Quick Recap: New Jersey Nets 105 – Indiana Pacers 121

Jan 15, 2010 Nets vs. Pacers, Quick Recap

Sigh.  6 minutes.  6 minutes is all it takes to make a close game and put it out of reach.  The Nets were competitive for all of 6 minutes, but boy were those 6 minutes bad.  The Pacers scored 41 points in the second quarter, and never really looked back.  The Nets were able to cut it to 15 a couple of times, but the Pacers hit a few shots and the lead stretched back to 20.  The Pacers hit 13 threes and most of them were uncontested.

• People like to get on Devin Harris because he isn’t the vocal leader.  I don’t care about that, he leads this team by example.  He takes more shots than anyone I have seen play this year, and he always pops up after them.  He played very well tonight going for 22 on 7-15 shooting (including 7-10 from the line).
• Brook Lopez finally shook his demons against Roy Hibbert.  Brook went for 27 on 9-16 shooting (including 9-9 from the line).
• CDR and Courtney Lee really struggled tonight, and they just didn’t look aggressive except a few plays here and there.  3-13 combined for 11 points.
• The craziest thing about these past few games is that the Nets are taking care of the ball (only 8 turnovers tonight), they just miss way too many shots to make that meaningful.
• Kris Humphries looks good, and he looks like he is trying to make the most of this opportunity.  15 points on 5-7 shooting.  He had a tremendous block of Roy Hibbert, and he showed his basketball IQ on a play by “pulling the chair on Hibbert” forcing the turnover.  He looked real good.
• Six minutes…

Game 39 Preview Vs. Indiana Pacers

Jan 15, 2010 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Pacers

Tonight Brook Lopez is going up against his old nemesis Roy Hibbert.  I’m serious, Roy Hibbert gives Brook fits.  Hibbert is big enough to be able to push Brook around and on the offensive end, he seems to get pumped for this match-up and plays well.  Against the Nets, Hibbert has just plain dominated.  He has shot 60.7% from the field, scores 19.5 points, and gets 9.5 rebounds per game.  On the other hand, Brook Lopez’s numbers are poor against the Pacers.  In 2 games Brook has only shot 36% from the field.  Ouch.  Anywho…onto the matchup!

Devin Harris vs. Earl Watson

Earl Watson is a favorable matchup for Devin, and I am hoping that Devin can use his speed to get into the lane and cause some problems.  You might get tired of reading this, because I say this a ton, but in my opinion getting to the middle of the lane is key for Devin.  He can draw fouls (which is something he is very good at), get easier attempts, and draw help (this leads to easy baskets for his teammates).

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Courtney Lee vs. Luther Head

Dahntey Jones seems to have fell off on the offensive end, which is why Luther Head has replaced him in the lineup.  Head is a very good shooter who can attack the basket as well.  I think Courtney should be able to contain Head because he has the size to keep him in check.

Advantage:  Push

Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Troy Murphy

CDR is in a no-win situation tonight.  If he takes a lot of shots and scores, he will be called a selfish player by the media.  If he plays within the offense, only takes a couple shots, and picks up a few assists, the media will talk about how he hates his teammates for not getting enough shots.  The only way this stuff will cool down is if the Nets get a win, I hope that happens.

Advantage:  Push

Yi vs. Danny Granger

Danny Granger is going to give Yi fits on the defensive end.  However, I expect Yi to make Granger work.  Granger is back and healthy, and will probably go off against the Nets tonight.  If he does, the Nets need to contain everyone else if they want a chance to win.

Advantage:  Danny Granger

Brook Lopez vs. Roy Hibbert

We already talked about this up top, but I wanted to talk about why Hibbert gives Brook trouble.  Hibbert is big enough to push Brook farther out than he wants to be.  This makes Brook catch it farther out, and when that happens, he either settles for the shot, or he makes a move too far away from the basket and he takes an awkward shot.

Advantage:  Push

Bloggers Talk: Indiana Pacers

Jan 15, 2010 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Pacers

The Indiana Pacers make their second and final visit to the Izod Center, so NAS is serving up our second and final Bloggers Talk with the fantastic Eight Points Nine Seconds site from the TrueHoop network. Tim Donahue, who helped us out earlier in the week by providing some insight on Shawne Williams, does the honors.

NAS: Are you more optimistic about where this season could end up for the Pacers now that Danny Granger has come back from injury?

Not particularly, at least in terms of the standings.  To have a shot at the playoffs, the Pacers would probably have to win a minimum of 26 or 27 of their remaining 45 games.  With Danny, they’re probably a team that is .500, maaaaaaybe a little better, but I don’t think they’re capable of playing well enough to put together a stretch at 8 or 9 games above .500.

It really depends on how you look at things.  Some could view Danny’s return would result in .500 ball the rest of the way, putting their win total in the low 30’s, but likely moving their draft out of the top 5.  The fear is that we once again finish with a middling pick and get a middling player and don’t really move forward.

Objectively, I understand the value of just being bad and getting a Top 5 pick.  The fan in me, however, hopes that Danny can play like he did last year (and for the last three quarters on Monday), the young guys can develop, and the Pacers can be competitive for the rest of the season.  It may be ill-fated, but I’ll take a middling pick over the outright embarrassment I’ve felt over this team and it’s play at times this season.

Three big reasons – two related to Lopez and the third towards your team’s strategy.

First for Lopez, he takes too many jumpers.  In two games against us, he took a total of 16 shots from 16-23 feet.  He only hit 3 of them.  That doesn’t put enough pressure on Hibbert, who will get in foul trouble if tested.

Second, Lopez plays behind Roy too much defensively.  If you let Hibbert catch the ball, and work, he’s going to be very effective.  He’s not overly strong, but he does have size and a very, very nice set of post skills, when he’s not rushed…which brings us to the team strategy:

When Smits played here, the teams that he struggled against were the teams that knew they were too small to play him straight up.  Essentially, they dug and doubled and harassed him so that he could never get into any rhythm.  On the other hand, he had a tendency to destroy centers that would seemingly be able to deal with him without help:  Ewing, Mutombo.  The same’s going to be true with Roy.  It’s been a while, but my impression was that NJ did very little in terms of helping Lopez.  Therefore, Hibbert had time to work, and if you let him do that, almost every Center in the league is going to be reduced to hoping he misses (or gets in foul trouble).

I’d have Lopez mix and match his positioning, and I’d send diggers.  The Knicks doubled aggressively a couple weeks ago, and Roy ended up with 7 assists, but that game was such a disaster, it’s difficult to tell if that meant anything.  Also, you have to attack Hibbert, both on perimeter penetration and in the pick and roll.  He’ll take himself out of games with fouls.

I like the idea of Jefferson, but I would not want him if it cost us Danny Granger.  The other problem is that playing Jefferson and Hibbert together results in two players who would get in each other’s way offensively, while being disastrous defensively.  I suppose you could build a package around Hibbert, but, truth be told, I’m far from convinced that Al Jeff is the second foundation player we want to put next to Danny, and our assets are so sparse, that it’ would be difficult to come up with a coherent offer that excludes Danny.

Tough call…I’d say it’s really all or nothing.  I think O’Brien is implementing Bird’s policies almost to a T.  I also think it’s because they’re pretty much in sync, worldview-wise, as opposed to Obie being a “yes” man.

Honestly, I don’t expect there to be a shake up this summer.  It makes no fiscal sense, and probably only makes marginal basketball sense.  If there is one, I believe it will be Bird deciding to step down, because he simply doesn’t want to deal with the crap, and his replacement possibly firing O’Brien.  However, David Morway is sure to succeed Bird, and I could easily see him staying with O’Brien for the last year of his contract (2010-2011).

Brook And Where He Makes His Catch

Dec 15, 2009 Brook Lopez, Nets vs. Bulls, Nets vs. Cavs, Nets vs. Pacers, Xs and Os

So it is becoming apparent that Brook seems to struggle (granted his struggle still leads to a 20/10 game – he takes too many shots though) a bit against centers who can push him out of the lane.  Roy Hibbert was able to do this against Brook successfully in two games against the Pacers.  Look where he caught the ball in Chicago (a game where he was very effective):

Now look where he catches it against the Pacers:

It’s not that he is catching it out of the paint (you catch it directly out of the paint to avoid getting called for three seconds), but look how high he caught it against the Pacers than he did against the Bulls.  When you catch it along the baseline, it takes away an option from the defense.  They can’t send a double that way, so Brook doesn’t have to worry about it, and that makes his move simpler.

Look at where he caught it against the Pacers though.  The Pacers can send double teams from either direction, plus he is a little farther out, so he needs to take another dribble, and that throws his whole move off.

As I showed you in my scout of the Cavs, you can get position on Shaq by catching him off guard.  If Brook does that early, it is going to be up to his teammates to get him the ball.  If he doesn’t get a catch in close early, get used to him taking jumpers, because that is when he starts floating.

Thoughts On The Game: Nets Can’t Get Over The Hump In The Third

Dec 12, 2009 Nets vs. Pacers, Thoughts On the Game

Eight Points Nine Seconds | Indy Cornrows | Devin Harris Interview | CDR Interview

The defense is what really let them down last night.  They were lethargic the entire night on that end of the court.  They really struggled with their on the ball defense, whatever Pacer who had the ball was basically taking a straight line to the hoop, with nobody even helping out.  Where the defense really let the Nets down though was in the third quarter.  Though offense was finally clicking, and they were scoring on just about every trip.  Three or four times, the Nets were able to get the Pacers’ lead down to 5 or 6.  Each time though, the Pacers got an easy basket that would allow them to stretch the lead.  The final time was in the middle of the quarter where the Nets got the lead to 5, but then gave two wide open jumpers to Tyler Hansboro at the high post (he was knocking shots down from their all night).  Once the lead got to 9, the offense started to struggle again, then Devin Harris got his hand stepped on (x-rays negative), and the defense continued to struggle.  The game was over at that point.

Meanwhile, on the offensive end, the Nets really have to figure out their identity.  Kiki has told the press that his one major change is that he wants the Nets to run some more on offense.  The problem with that though is that the Nets aren’t the best running team.  When they pick and choose their spots, they look real good on the break.  Real good.  Devin hit Brook with a nice alley-oop on one, and Rafer hit Courtney on a real nice cross court pass on the other.  Most of the time though, the young Nets’ players seem to confuse running with taking quick ineffective shots.  These shots lead to the low shooting percentage, and it effects guys.  CDR only got 7 shots, most of that was due to the fact that guys were just coming down and taking shots after one pass, or worse, with no pass at all.  The Nets need to push the ball up the court, press the defense, and if the defense gets back, they need to slow it down and get into their offense.

Moving on to Brook, boy, that sure was a disappointing double-double huh?  Brook had 25 points, but it came on 23 shots.  The number of shots isn’t really the problem, the problem is how many of these shots came outside of the paint.  Brook only got 14 points off his shots (9 of them came from the free-throw line, that was the only bright spot in his game last night).  “The book” is starting to get written on Brook Lopez too.  He struggles with bigger guys.  Not taller guys, but guys who are in his weight class.  They get behind Brook and push him out a little farther then he would like to be.  If he catches the ball, he isn’t in the spot where he can start his move.  If he doesn’t get the ball, he tends to give up position and float to the outside (this is where most of his outside shots come from).  This is on both Brook and his teammates.  Brook needs to fight for position and hold that position a little bit longer.  His teammates need to recognize that he is working his tail off to get position and give him the ball.  Some more random thoughts after the jump:

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Quick Recap: New Jersey Nets 91 – Indiana Pacers 107

Dec 11, 2009 Nets vs. Pacers, Quick Recap

Alright, that was a tough one to swallow.  The Nets didn’t really show any effort defensively negating a decent night offensively.  The Nets had trouble stopping penetration all night, allowing for the ball handler just to get walk in the lane without any protest.  There were 3 or 4 points in the second half where the Nets cut the lead to 5 or 6, but they just couldn’t get that one stop to allow them  to cut into the lead anymore.  The last one came after a nice little run cutting the lead to 5, but then Tyler Hansboro hit two open jumpers from the top of the key extending the game to 9, and it was over from there.  In the fourth quarter the Nets got it to 11, but Dunlevy drilled a 3, putting the game out of reach for the final time.

• Terrence Williams made his return, getting 18 minutes.  I think the benching had a positive effect as T-Will attacked the lane (all four of his shots came inside), and he had a big dunk in the lane.  He finished with 6 points and 5 rebounds.  A step in the right direction.  Just a step though.  Expect for his box score to look like this for the next couple games.
• Second straight night CDR was a non-factor.  Only got 7 shots, making 2 of them.  He finished with 7 points.
• With 6:20 left and in the middle of a pretty nice run, Devin Harris goes to the floor for a loose ball and gets his hand stepped on.  A sprained pinky was the result, and he only played one minute after that.  He netted 18 points and 3 assists before that point.
• Lee played well.  Missed 3 3s late, but other than that he was active both offensively and defensively.
• Roy Hibbert is a certified Brook Lopez stopper.  In two games, Lopez is 18-50 while settling for way too many outside shots.  Hibbert’s big body really bothers Brook, and he uses it well and keeps Lopez out of position.
• Troy Murphy and Tyler Hansboro both had big games on Josh Boone, who didn’t box out yet again.
• Roy Hibbert made a three.  Sums up everything nicely.

Game 23 Preview Vs. Indiana

Dec 11, 2009 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Pacers

So this Terrence Williams saga is going to get a lot worse before it will get better (if that is even possible at this point).  Today, he told the beat writers to stop talking to him.  From Fred Kerber:

I approached him with Al from The Record.

Me: “How are you handling all this?”

Williams: “What?”

Me: “Have you spoken to Kiki? It’s two games you haven’t played.”

Williams: “Let me ask you a question.”

Me: “Sure.”

Williams: “Like what do you guys get out of asking me these questions? Like, you guys get a better story? You guys feel better about yourself asking me these?”

Me: “Okay, would you rather we don’t talk to you?”

Williams: “Yeah”

Me: “Okay, fine”

So I walked away with Williams mumbling something as incoherent as his shot selection.

Nice little dig by Kerber at the end, but can you blame him at this point?  I already talked about my experiences with Terrence (which were pretty similar to this one), and this is sad.  Especially for me, since I had so much hope for him, both as a personality and as a player.  This isn’t anyone over-blowing anything either, this is Terrence Williams putting himself in a bad situation, and he is just making it worse and worse.  All this being said, Terrence still has the potential to make an impact on this team if he gets his head on straight.  The talent is there if he can just focus on defense and attacking the basket.  He doesn’t have a NBA-level shot right now (we knew that going in), but he is just settling for too many jumpers.  Fans won’t forget about the Tweets if he starts playing better, but it sure will be put on the back-burner if he can perform well in some Nets’ wins.  Who knows when he will get back on the court though?

Onto the game, the Nets are finishing up a stretch of 5 winnable games with the chance of going 3-2.  That isn’t the worst, but it isn’t great either.  I would have loved to see this team go 5-0, but I can live with 3-2.  If you notice, the two losses came against teams who can score and like to run up and down the court.  In both games, the Nets faced long-cold streaks while their opponent continued to score.  The Pacers aren’t an up and down team, so that is a good sign for the Nets.  Keyon Dooling is out with a hip-pointer, Bobby Simmons should be back, and Tony Battie might not be available.  Onto the matchups:

Devin Harris vs. T.J. Ford

Look for Devin to have a good game here.  T.J. Ford isn’t as quick as him, and he should be able to get into the lane and cause mayhem.  Devin has been doing everything right except for making shots.  I think he has enough games under his belt to the point he will start hitting those shots.

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Courtney Lee vs. Brandon Rush

Brandon Rush is an athletic shooter who can play pretty good defense.  Courtney Lee has quietly been coming out of his funk, and I think that that could continue here against the Pacers.

Advantage:  Push

CDR vs. Dahntay Jones

CDR has been very good the second game off of a bad one.  I would love to see that trend continue, but Dahntay Jones is a very good defender.  I know this sounds funny, but I would love to see CDR exert himself a little more on the offensive end.  I don’t mean take more jumpers, I mean I want to see him drive the lane, his awkward game should help him here, because guys don’t know how to defend his dribble or block is shot.

Advantage: Push

Josh Boone vs. Troy Murphy

Troy Murphy is pretty underrated for what he can do on the court.  He can shoot, he can rebound, and he can score out of the post.  Josh Boone is the opposite.  He can rebound a little bit, but he can’t shoot, or score out of the post.

Advantage:  Troy Murphy

Brook Lopez vs. Roy Hibbert

If you don’t read Hardwood Paroxysm, you need to start doing so.  In the site’s daily 15 footer segment, he talks about the Brook vs. Roy matchup:

If you want something to focus on tonight, how about Hibbert-Lopez? Hibbert’s been less than phenomenal, but his per40’s are still pretty good (16, 10.9, 2.5 blocks and 5.9 fouls per game- he’s not necessarily fouling out every game! He was at 8.5 PF per 40 last year. Seriously.), and the size matchup is interesting. I believe Brook Lopez deserves an All-Star nod that he will never, ever get because the system is moronic. It’s fun to watch Lopez against bigger guys because he uses more of his skillset. Now that I’ve said that he will shoot 10% and not play due to foul trouble. Damn you!

I totally agree.  Let’s hope he doesn’t shoot 10% though.

Advantage:  Brook Lopez

Thoughts On the Game: Nets Make It O-fer 11

Nov 18, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Pacers, Thoughts On the Game

AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

GameFlow, Eight Points Nine Seconds, Always Miller Time, Indy Cornrows

In recent weeks, the injury-ravaged Nets have done a pretty good impression of a scrappy, hard-luck team that was falling just short of success. Last night, their play from the opening tip was more reminiscent of the reality – this is a lousy team that’s not going to beat anybody in this league while Devin Harris, Courtney Lee and others sit on the bench while guys like Rafer Alston, Trenton Hassell and Bobby Simmons are forced into playing big minutes.

On paper, the Indiana Pacers may have looked like a beatable team coming into New Jersey, but even while they weren’t clicking on all cylinders last night, they never really ever lost control of the game, and they held the Nets in check when in counted. Two 7-0 runs to open the first and third quarters, helped get Indiana out to a decent cushion, and a 31-point first quarter had the Nets reeling, who once again only suited up eight players for the game.

Rather than coming out strong, as they’ve done against teams like the Celtics, Magic, Heat and 76ers, the Nets came out against Indiana sluggish and sloppy.  Some missed layups and turnovers by the Nets led to an 11-2 lead by the Pacers in the early going. While the Nets were able to close within four in the second half, the Pacers led throughout.

That may be tough to swallow considering Danny Granger had a relatively quiet night, scoring 22 points, but on 6-16 shooting and the Pacers overall shot only 39 percent, but Indiana’s big man, Roy Hibbert was a force down low all night, scoring 19 points on 9-11 shooting, grabbing 10 rebounds, and blocking 3 shots. Compare that to Brook Lopez, who had more points (26) and rebounds (16), but needed 26 shots, including 10 of them outside of 15-feet (sinking three) to make it happen.

This was one of those nights where you really start to wonder when the Nets can get Devin Harris back. Not just because Harris is such a dynamic player, especially on the offensive end, but because Rafer Alston is such a liability sometimes. Yes, he had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals, but the numbers that matter most to me are the 2-12 shooting and the 5 turnovers. Three of those turnovers came in the games opening minutes and put the team, which is struggling to score on even its best nights, in an early hole. There was even one point around the 4:07 mark in third quarter where it looked like Chris Douglas-Roberts was shaking his head in disgust after another Rafer pass that went nowhere good.

Fortunately for the Nets, CDR looks like he’s back on the offensive side, and not a moment too soon. As the Nets struggled to score very early in the first, I was wondering how this team would turn it around when at around the 7:13 mark, Douglas-Roberts attacked the basket for the first time for two points. CDR led all scorers with 27 points, though even while acknowledging the positive, it’s worth noting that it took him 25 shots to get there. CDR did grab 12 rebounds, for his first career double-double.

After his great Saturday night, Sean Williams saw 13 minutes of game time before picking up three fouls. But it was Bobby Simmons playing the four in the game’s closing minutes and while Lawrence Frank may consider him a good offensive player, he finished with 3 measly points on 1-4 shooting.

Personally I’m tired of speculating when the first win is going to come for this team. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s Saturday, not just because it’s the Knicks, but because Devin Harris and Courtney Lee are expected to be back by then. At this point, I think that’s just what it’s going to take. Talent. Real talent. Until then I believe this team is as bad as their record says they are.

Let’s look a few more plays after the jump.

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