How The Nets Stay Competitive
Feb 26, 2010 Nets vs. Trailblazers, Xs and Os
Over the past 10-15 games, the Nets have been competitive in every single game in spurts. The most glaring example of the Nets’ Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde act was their game against the Portland Trailblazers. In the first half, the Nets were down 19 points and only scored 37 points, that’s pretty bad. In the 3rd quarter, the Nets scored 33 points and cut the lead to 7. That’s pretty good. Since we usually focus on the bad (we don’t do it intentionally), I want to focus on the good of the third quarter for the Nets, showing what they did (and need to do moving forward) and how they did it.
Offense
On offense, the Nets came out of the gate clicking. The biggest thing is that they were running their sets all the way through. We know the Nets sets, some of them are pretty good and some of them aren’t, but the biggest problem for the Nets isn’t the actual set. It is that the Nets’ players seem to get antsy when running things, and plays never get run correctly, or all the way through. Look at this video though.
This is a play that the Nets run at least 10-15 times a game (not exaggerating), and I think that this is the best they ever ran it. The first thing is Brook, look how he sets up Devin’s man for the screen. He fakes a seal, spins, and hits a screen. Trenton Hassell remains patient knowing the play is developing and waits for Devin to get open. Devin gets open, and knocks down the jumper. If the Nets ran all of their sets as hard as that, they would get so many more open jumpers.
Thoughts On The Game: Nets Still Can’t Put Two Halves Together
Feb 24, 2010 Nets vs. Trailblazers, Thoughts On the Game
Advanced Box Score | Portland Roundball Society | BlazersEdge
All season long, the Nets have been unable to put together a complete basketball game. The past two games that the Nets was an example of this trend killing the Nets. On Sunday against the Grizzlies, the Nets outscored Memphis 58-47 in the first half, but there were outscored 57-36 in the second for a 10 point loss. Last night, it was the exact opposite, the Blazers started the game on fire (which was something that I was worried about going in) taking a 56-37 halftime lead. In that first half, the Nets shot an awful 36.1%. The second half was a totally different story with the Nets playing good defense, smart offense, and most importantly they were hitting shots (they outscored the Blazers 56-46 in the second half). The Nets shot 21-33 for the half (63.6%), and that is with them missing 7 out of their 9 shots.
The biggest problem for the Nets (and it has been a problem since Vince Carter left) is that they can’t close out games. This is because they don’t have a closer. They don’t have a guy you can just give the ball to and say “here, win the game please?” We’ve known this for a while, but I think it really was apparent last night because you saw what the Brandon Roy did for the Blazers. He put that team on his back, he played incredible in that final quarter. The Nets on the other hand have a few nice scorers, but nobody who can put the team on their back for an entire quarter. The 4th quarter against the Blazers was a perfect example. Courtney Lee started the quarter on fire, but he needed a break. Devin Harris picked up the slack and attacked the basket strong. In those final 3 minutes though, neither of them could get anything going. Yes, we have Brook Lopez, but your go-to guy late in games can’t be someone who needs to rely on other people to get him the ball. It just doesn’t happen. Think about all the “clutch guys” in the league’s history. Very few of them have been centers and that is why.
Speaking of the trio of Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, and Courtney Lee; they put up their best game (combined) of the year. They scored a total of 73 points on 26-48 (54.1%) shooting, including 17-18 (94.4%) from the line. Now if you have 3 guys shoot over 50% and score 73 points, you should normally get the win if just another person or two would show up. That didn’t happen last night. The other 7 Nets that played scored 20 points on 8-21 (38%) shooting, including 2-3 from the line. This is the other big problem for the Nets. They don’t have that reserve player (shoot, some games they don’t even have that 3rd scorer) who will consistently get you those 10 to 15 points a game that will get you over the top (Oh and before we get comment after comment about CDR being that guy, he’s not playing enough right now to be that guy, so there is no reason to talk about him).
A few more thoughts after the jump
Quick Recap: Portland Trailblazers 102, New Jersey Nets 93
Feb 23, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Trailblazers, Quick Recap
The Nets used a strong third quarter to turn what was looking to be a blowout into a close game, but inevitably fell 102-93 to the Portland Trailblazers at the Izod Center tonight.
- Devin Harris had a strong game in the losing effort, scoring 28 points, including 10-11 on free throws, and dishing 5 assists. He even had a blocked shot.
- Courtney Lee also scored 28 points, finishing 4-4 from three-point land, including a 55-foot trey at the end of the game.
- Brandon Roy scored 28 and LaMarcus Aldridge 27 for the Blazers, who shot 54.1 percent for the game and only turned the ball over 4 times.
- Another double-double for Brook Lopez, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Game 57 Preview Vs. Portland Trailblazers
Feb 23, 2010 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Trailblazers
Before I get to the game preview tonight, I just wanted to talk about something real quick. Things are starting to get chippy again in the comments again. I know that this is a tough season and it is wearing everyone’s patience pretty thin, but you guys still need to be respectful to each other. Just do me a favor and check out the commenting constitution one more time. Thanks.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s talk about tonight’s game. Portland is coming off a tough loss Sunday night against the Jazz where they held a pretty big fourth quarter lead and gave it away, allowing the Utah Jazz to send the game into overtime, where the Jazz won. There is no question in my mind that Portland is going to come out like gangbusters tonight. If New Jersey can whether the first burst, I think they can hang with them for the duration of the game. If they get down double-digits early, this isn’t going to go well. Onto the lineups…
Devin Harris vs. Andre Miller
With Steve Blake now in L.A. playing for the Clippers, Andre Miller and Jared Bayless have been getting the majority of time at the point. Miller isn’t going to blow by anyone at this point in his career, and he struggles with the outside jumper, but the one thing Miller does well is playing with his back to the basket. I see Miller posting (or at least trying to) Devin up a lot tonight. On the other end, Devin needs to use his quickness to get into the lane and make plays.
Advantage: Devin Harris
Courtney Lee vs. Brandon Roy
Brandon Roy is Portland’s go to guy. Late in the game, if the ball is in his hands, Portland is usually in a good spot. So the goal of the Nets’ defense tonight is to keep the ball out of Roy’s hands. I think that this can be done. Courtney Lee is a very hard worker and a real good defender, so if the Nets decide to deny Roy, they could have a chance at shutting him down.
Advantage: Brandon Roy
Trenton Hassell vs. Martell Webster
It’s funny, the day Mark decides to talk about CDR and why everyone continues to discuss him, Hayes is going to be out and CDR is being talked about everyone again. According to Dave D, Trenton Hassell is starting, but CDR is going to be in the rotation:
Vandeweghe said Trenton Hassel will start at small forward in Hayes’ absence. Chris Douglas-Roberts, who did not get off the bench in Sunday’s game, will not start but be in the playing rotation tonight, Vandeweghe said. The coach said CDR’s DNP Sunday was the result of “an internal matter,” though CDR had a puzzled look on his face when asked about this “internal matter.”
Advantage: Martell Webster
Yi vs. LaMarcus Aldridge
Aldridge is a very talented and athletic big, and the exact type of player that gives Yi a ton a trouble. Aldridge doesn’t really work out of the post, but that doesn’t really effect his productivity. On the other hand, Yi had a decent game last night, but I expect him to struggle tonight.
Advantage: LaMarcus Aldridge
Brook Lopez vs. Marcus Camby
Brook Lopez had a tremendous game last time out, but it was actually a bit of a disappointment if you watched the game. Brook had 22 points in the first half, and only finished with 26. There has been a lot of talk about who is at fault for the lack of touches Brook gets. I have heard Brook needs to demand the ball more, Devin needs to force it into him, and Kiki needs to call more plays for him. Those are all valid arguments, but in my opinion it is the lack of shooting on this team that really hurts him. Late in games, you see teams playing zone against the Nets or doubling Brook right on the catch, because nobody else on the court scares opposing teams. Look at the games where the Nets shot well from the outside, and I guarantee you will see Brook have good numbers in that game.
Advantage: Push
Bloggers Talk: Portland Trailblazers
Feb 23, 2010 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Trailblazers
The Portland Trailblazers may have one of the savviest online fan-bases in the NBA. And a lot of that is due to the greatness of the Blazers blog, Blazers Edge. Benjamin Golliver on BE was nice enough to enter today’s Bloggers Talk hotseat to talk Nets/Blazers tonight. Be sure to follow him tonight, and any time you want Blazers updates and thoughts, over at his Twitter account.
NAS: The storyline coming out of Portland right now seems to be their stunning collapse Sunday night against the Utah Jazz. From an outsider’s perspective, the Blazers look like a team that knows how to deal with adversity. From your perspective, do you see the team recovering from this setback, or could this be the game that sets the season into a downward spiral?
This team has proven to be fairly resilient and it’s finally starting to get healthy, so I’m not sure there’s a huge concern that things are going to spiral, at least in the short-term. If anything, I think the team is looking at this upcoming road trip — which starts in New Jersey — as an opportunity to stack some much-needed Ws, as 3 of the 5 games are against non-playoff teams. If the Blazers don’t exit the trip with a winning record, or if Brandon Roy suffers another health setback, I think the urgency level will ratchet up immediately. People will flip out, no question.
On the bright side, the team’s March schedule slows down some (13 days in 31 nights) and the quality of competition drops (just 5 current playoff teams) so there’s still some upside potential for this group although that feels difficult to type coming off back-to-back brutal losses to the Celtics and the Jazz. With a healthy Brandon Roy (but no Greg Oden), this team is probably the 6th best in the Western Conference. Without a productive Roy it could drop as far as 11th. So anywhere in between those two poles is still in play.
NAS: How has Marcus Camby looked early on?
I was joking the other day that the Blazers gave up playing with a healthy center for both Ramadan and Lent this year. Now that Camby is here it’s time to gorge.
It’s been the fairly typical mixed bag play you would expect from a mid-season acquisition. He’s looked lost at times on both ends of the floor and committed some turnovers by sending up-tempo outlet passes to places where the slow-down Portland guards were not expecting them. But he’s made an immediate impact on the boards (he had 18 on Sunday night) and brings highlight-reel quality swatting that the Blazers haven’t had at the 5 spot since both Oden and Joel Przybilla went down with injury. Nate McMillan has admitted that he’s still limiting his offensive playbook when Camby is in the game but the hope is he will have all the information picked up sooner rather than later. He seems to be a quick study and has been very receptive to coaching, his teammates and fans here in Portland already during his first week in town.
The big question on offense for Camby is whether he will be able to lay off his inefficient midrange shot. If he can do that, he should fit well as he’s mobile on the perimeter and has shown the ability to set some good screens. On defense, he’s such a big upgrade over Juwan Howard that it’s not even worth nitpicking.
NAS: How concerned are you over the long haul with Brandon Roy’s hamstring injury?
Long-term, not that concerned at all. With a summer of rest, rehab and recovery I think everyone expects Roy to enter camp next year 100%.
If you meant long haul as in the rest of this season I think that’s one of the top two questions facing this Blazers team, the other being the inconsistent play of its role players (Rudy Fernandez, Martell Webster, Jerryd Bayless, Nicolas Batum).
Roy has repeatedly reported worrisome symptoms after recent games — pain, soreness, tightness, discomfort — and perhaps most disconcerting has been his regular statements about a fear of or concern about suffering a re-injury. In a January game against Philadelphia he re-aggravated the hamstring on a drive to the basket, which caused him to miss the All Star Game and led to the last month of downtime. His play recently has been tentative and non-explosive, as if he’s concerned about making demonstrative moves with the ball in his hands because they might lead to another pull.
He did seem to show an ability to adapt to playing with the injury on Sunday against Utah, as he scored 23 points. He’s really smart at finding ways to score that require limited effort or impact on his hamstring (face up jumpers, free throws). But he’s been a shell of his former self right now on both sides of the ball. That’s obviously a concern as he’s the team’s franchise player and their go-to option in just about every 4th quarter. Should Roy not be able to play out the season or only be able to play in a limited capacity, more of the offensive load falls to Andre Miller and Martell Webster, who have stepped up admirably at times this season but simply are not reliable scoring threats like Roy is. If he’s not able to impact games meaningfully, this is a borderline playoff team at best.
Thoughts On The Game: Nets Show Effort, But It Isn’t Enough…Oh Yeah, Brook Lopez Is A Man
Nov 26, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Trailblazers, Thoughts On the Game
GameFlow, Blazers Edge, Brook Lopez Interview, Lawrence Frank Interview
I am much calmer as I type this than I was after the Denver game. Why? The Nets showed effort, and they stayed competitive putting a scare into Portland. Portland simply had much more talent and while they were shuffling in guys like Rudy Fernandez and Andre Miller off the bench. The Nets responded with guys like Bobby Simmons. The gap in talent was very obvious. Like the Denver game, I sat down on the couch not really expecting a win, but unlike the Denver game, the Nets showed effort, a ton of it.
Most notably, Brook Lopez came out and showed fire. I was really worried about Brook going into tonight, mainly because he had a bad game yesterday and he was going up against a big center in Greg Oden. Brook has struggled against the bigger centers so far this year. Dwight Howard, Brandon Haywood, and Roy Hibbert all gave him problems. Not tonight though, Brook looked aggressive, and maybe most importantly, he showed much better body language. The only thing that has disappointed me about Brook has been his poor body language, whenever there is a foul he disagrees with, he shows his displeasure and usually picks up a cheap foul soon after. Not tonight, even when he picked up an early one against Greg Oden, he didn’t react or anything like that, he just went back to work. You know Roy Rogers is getting in his ear.
Chris Douglas-Roberts had a bounce back game as well. It was apparently early that he wanted to get to the rack. He didn’t start shooting jumpers until after he made a few line-ups. That is really good to see.
It just came down to the gap in talent, you had to know this was going to be a rough year, and though it has been a little rougher than most would have expected, this team is starting to put some things together and look better. If the Nets have this kind of game, they can put themselves to get a win on Friday. I tried to write down times and plays today so I can do some key plays, but when I looked at them after the game they were unreadable. Maybe it was because I was writing and watching the game at the same time. So no key plays today, but there are some bullets after the jump:
Quick Recap: New Jersey Nets 83 – Portland TrailBlazers 93
Nov 26, 2009 Nets vs. Trailblazers, Quick Recap
You can’t ask for much more than that from the Nets when they play a team like the Blazers. The real difference was the second unit. The Blazers were bringing in guys like Rudy Fernandez, Andre Miller, and Jarred Bayless. The Nets were bringing in guys like Bobby Simmons. Good effort though, and if the Nets play like that, they have a chance against the Kings.
- Alston/Harris/Lee combined for 10 points tonight.
- The Nets were down 12 at one point in the 2nd quarter, and got it to 5 at the half. In the second half, the Blazers went on a 8-0 run and the Nets responded with a run of their own, tying the game. They responded a couple times (which was real good to see), just ran out of gas.
- CDR and Brook both bounced back from their poor games which was really good to see. Brook put up a career high 32 and CDR finished with 18.
- Speaking of Brook’s 32, it was great to see him playing with that fire against a big center. He struggled against Haywood, Dwight, and Hibbert but tonight he was really going. Only took a few outside jumpers, and he did man-work in the post.
- At one point in the third Brook got a repost. That is the first time I have seen it all year, and it should happen more then once every 15 games.
- The Nets held the Blazers to 13 points in the third quarter, but they only got 12 themselves.
- Rudy Fernandez was 4-7 (4-5 from 3). Man, why can’t the Nets have someone like that on their team…oh wait, we got Bobby Simmons I’m sorry, I can’t even joke about that.
- Speaking of Bobby Simmons, he is officially useless. Teams are giving him open threes and he can’t make them.
- Sean Williams and Brook Lopez played together and they played well together. Looking at Sacramento’s roster, that could be successful again Friday.
Game 15 Preview Vs. Portland Trailblazers
Nov 25, 2009 2009-2010 Open Threads, Game Previews, Nets vs. Trailblazers
Getting this one up pretty early because of some family obligations…
Last night sucked. The Nets were in that game for approximately 5 minutes, and after taking a 9-2 lead, it looked like the Nuggets decided to start trying and just pulled away. I am not going to talk about that game much, just because I want to forget about it. The Nets did not show any effort, but you know what? With so many guys playing 40 minutes early in the season, it was bound to happen once, so don’t look at yesterday and say Lawrence Frank has “lost” his team. Look to see what happens tonight, that is going to be the key.
As for tonight the Blazers are another very deep team, and they have one of the best perimeter players in the league. Also, don’t look now, Greg Oden seems to have “arrived.” Here are the matchups:
Steve Blake vs. Rafer Alston:
When the Blazers signed Andre Miller, many thought he was going to be the starter, but Blake simply took the job from him. Blake has been playing very well. He isn’t a guy who is going to out-quick you, but he is a smart player who can shoot the 3, and knows where to get his teammates the ball. Devin Harris isn’t starting tonight, but it looks like this will be his last game coming off the bench. It is about time, I think I am the last one on the Rafer Alston is doing ok bandwagon, and I am about ready to jump off.
Advantage: Steve Blake
Brandon Roy vs. Chris Douglas-Roberts:
CDR had an off game last night, but like the rest of the Nets you can give him a mulligan here. CDR was on the bench because of foul trouble and just really never got it going. He is a young guy though and with his attitude, you know he is itching to get out there and prove everyone wrong again. I think he will. Brandon Roy is very good as well, he is probably the Blazers’ best offensive option and he will have a very good game tonight.
Advantage: Brandon Roy
Martell Webster vs. Trenton Hassell:
Martell Webster is a quick guy with a smooth stroke, if he can get going, you have to watch out. That being said, with the rest of the lineup the Blazers are putting out there, you want to force Webster to score. You want to funnel the ball out of Roy or Aldridge’s hands. If Webster beats the Nets, so be it, I’d rather see that then see Roy and Aldridge put up 20 each.
Advantage: Martell Webster
LaMarcus Aldridge vs. Josh Boone:
LaMarcus Aldridge is a match-up for every single 4 the Nets have on their roster. He is an athletic guy who can do some stuff from the outside, but his length really presents a problem in the post. Josh Boone is going to struggle against him mightily. It would be interesting to watch Sean Williams play against him, but Lawrence Frank just seems to refuse to play him at the 4, so it isn’t going to happen.
Advantage: LaMarcus Aldridge
Greg Oden vs. Brook Lopez:
As I alluded to earlier, Greg Oden is having himself a pretty nice year. If you watch Sportscenter or the highlight shows, you just see him getting dunked on, but very quietly Oden is leading the league in FG% and he is third in the league in BPG (behind Brook). This is going to be a real fun matchup, but I do think Brook is going to want to prove himself and post a big game as Devin continues to get more minutes (Brook just looks like a different player when he and Devin are on the court at the same time).
Advantage: Brook Lopez
Prediction
Current Record 8-6
The Blazers are going to take this one, it is up to the Nets to decide how long this game will be watchable.