Nets Are Scorching

Photo credits: Marc Serota/Getty Images North America
Box Score – Hot Hot Hoops – The Heat Index

Round two looked a lot like round one.

Both the Heat and the Nets are brand-new teams looking to construct their identities. The Nets are future-oriented – young, developing, talented players who the front office is hoping will be able to experience a Celtic-like synergy two or three years down the road. The Heat, though, are about the now: they’ve got three great players who are looking to win five consecutive championships together, starting this year. The Nets were just another victim of this identity beginning to take shape: the Heat essentially showed off for 48 minutes last night, taking just enough time in the second and third quarters to build a lead necessary for victory. While the final score indicates a relatively close game – 101-89 isn’t too bad, all things considered – the score does not indicate the massive gulf between these two teams.

If there was one thing that was evident early, it’s that the Nets did not want to be an afterthought. The intensity was there on both sides of the floor – even if athletically the Nets just can’t compete with Miami, they were working to ensure that they were on every loose ball, boxing out hard, and trying to find the best shot every trip up the floor. Anthony Morrow was gunning (finally, since that’s his job), Lopez dominated Joel Anthony with three shots in the post early in the quarter, and Morrow also got a couple of nice steals (including one where he ripped off a LeBron James pass and drove the length of the floor for a layup and-1). Morrow was the silver lining in last night’s dark cloud; he scored 19 points in the first half on 7-10 shooting and finished the night with 25.

Matt Moore (of Hardwood Paroxysm) put it eloquently on Twitter: the Heat were trying to look pretty, the Nets were trying to win. And it’s true. Dwyane Wade tried to pull off a reverse dunk in traffic, only to be sent back by Kris Humphries. LeBron James missed a wide-open alley-oop. The problem with the Heat, though, is that most of their pretty plays work. LeBron came back with a dunk on the next possession, and Wade had a particularly nice behind-the-back dribble move into a layup soon after. Unfortunately for New Jersey, Miami’s style can still hang with most of the league’s substance, and after one period the Nets were only ahead by 1, 25-24.

In that first period, the Nets had more offensive rebounds, assists, steals, and fewer turnovers than the Heat. They were certainly executing their offense more effectively. That doesn’t matter, though; Miami is just so talented that they’ll find points in places where no other team could. Many of Miami’s shots came at the rim (more on this after the jump), where the Nets have generally been solid defenders this year (as mentioned in the pregame thread, the Nets before this game were 5th in the NBA at opponent FG% at the rim). I assume that’s just the Miami effect – they dictate on both sides of the floor, and frankly the Nets looked scared. Either way, it was strange – despite the Heat’s seemingly insurmountable talent advantage, I felt like the Nets should have been winning by more than just one point after that first period.

The second quarter began the same way – the Nets were just outhustling the Heat. One play, we saw Derrick Favors snare an offensive rebound away from Big Z & miss the putback, only for Brook Lopez to clean up the mess. Another saw the Nets run back on D ahead of every Heat player, changing what would have been a one-man LeBron fast break into a turnover. Then, Anthony Morrow blocked – yes, blocked – a Dwyane Wade shot, leading to a Travis Outlaw dunk in transition.

However, at about the five-minute mark of the second quarter – about the time LeBron James returned to the game – the momentum shifted. The Nets suddenly stopped running for loose balls as quickly, instead playing back on their heels. Wade blocked a Lopez dunk attempt. (That sounds familiar.) LeBron then found Haslem for a layup. He then stole a pass and finished with a two-hand windmill in the open court – possibly his best dunk as a Miami player yet. He then found Chris Bosh & Dwyane Wade for dunks, Wade’s on a behind-the-back pass in transition. It was the LeBron James Show, with a pretty solid cast of characters. The Heat went on an 18-5 run in this span, pushing their lead to nine. However, the Nets still found a way to close the half well: defensively they switched to a 2-3 to stymie the Heat’s slashing style, & offensively they got a huge dunk from Favors and a Morrow three off a nice Terrence Williams dish. After a Globetrotter-esque first half from the Heat, they still only led by 4, 55-51.

Third-quarter adjustments have been an issue for the Nets in the past few years, and while it’ s been an occasional problem so far early on I’m hoping that they’ve been left in the past with the old regime. The first positive adjustment that the Nets made was sticking with that 2-3 zone. The idea is to force the opposition into shooting jumpers instead of driving the lane, and it worked – the Heat’s first six attempts in the quarter were jumpers, and they only made one of them (Chris Bosh drew a foul on another). However, the Nets unfortunately seemed content with shooting midrange jumpers as well (see more on this after the jump) with a couple of exceptions, and as a result failed to make any real dent in the lead.

It doesn’t help that as the quarter progressed that the Heat (or, I should say, the big 3) were able to find multiple shots at the rim of the “Holy Miami” variety: circus layups, alley-oops, and ferocious slams, including a monster dunk by Chris Bosh over Brook Lopez. It was another prime example of the Miami Heat Extravaganza, and the Nets were only as relevant as the defender on a poster. What started as a one-point lead in the first turned into a 19-point deficit after 3. All in all, the Nets were outscored 32-17 in the third quarter, but I don’t think it was an issue of adjustment. I think it was just the Heat synergy finally working. They showed off precisely why they’re possibly the best team in the NBA in that third period, capped with a ridiculous fallaway three from about 28 feet at the buzzer from LeBron James. I mean, you can’t defend that. You just can’t.

All in all, I don’t think much was proven last night. The Nets hung around for a half with what’s possibly the best team in basketball, but couldn’t sustain that momentum over 48 minutes.  That’s not surprising. The Heat had three players with over 20 points – guess who – and no one else in double figures, but against a team like New Jersey that’s all they needed. Nothing earth-shattering. They’re starting to shape their identity more and more as the big 3 begin to synergize. Thankfully, the Nets don’t face off against Miami again until April 3rd – I’m sure they’ll be happy to see LeBron’s old team in a home-and-home Tuesday and Wednesday night.

More thoughts after the jump.

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For the second time in the first six games, the Nets will take on the the SuperThree of Eddie House, James Jones, and Mario Chalmers. I think they have some other guys, too. The Heat come into this game 4-2, fresh off a loss from the still-unbeaten New Orleans Hornets in an unbelievably fun game to watch last night. It wasn’t fun because the Heat lost – I’m not one of those vindictive anti-Heat folks you’ll find around the country – it was just a great game.

Anyway, the Nets hope to give LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and their team of cronies at least half a fight, and they’ll be doing it in Miami – their second consecutive game in Florida after the loss to the Magic two nights ago. Here are some things to look out for:

• Brook’s bounce-back. After arguably the worst performance of his career – 0 blocks, 5 fouls and 3-17 shooting in which he started 0-13 – Brook will assuredly be happy to see anyone but Dwight Howard manning the post. He scored 20 points in the first Miami game on 8-17 shooting, and while I’d rather he shoot on the other side of 50% from the field let’s hope his numbers look more like that than Thursday’s.
• Miami’s defense. For all the talk of Miami’s offensive firepower, they’re “only” seventh in the league in offensive efficiency. However, they have absolutely dominated the defensive end – leading the NBA by allowing only 94.2 points per 100 possessions. One of the big ways they’ve done this is interior defense: despite having no true interior defender, Miami leads the league in opponent FG% at the rim, as opponents only convert 52.7% of their shots in the area. (For what it’s worth, New Jersey is 5th in the NBA at 58.2%, slightly ahead of Orlando and Boston.) Through five games, it’s hard to find any real weaknesses in this Miami defense – they’re either above average or at the top in every defensive category.
• The power forward rotation. With Troy Murphy back and Joe Smith inactive, the minutes are going to continue to spread thinner for Kris Humphries and Derrick Favors. Humphries was by far the best power forward on the floor for the Nets against Orlando, so I’d expect to see him maintain his minutes, but that could also mean that Murphy & Favors see less time than expected. However, Favors did have arguably his best game so far against Miami – pulling down ten offensive rebounds and earning the first double-double of his young career – so if he shows off the same ability, it’ll be hard to keep him buried on the bench.

For further Heat coverage, I highly suggest you check out ESPN’s The Heat Index. Say whatever you want about it, but they’ve got some of the most talented NBA writers in the country covering the most high-profile team in NBA history. Kevin Arnovitz, Tom Haberstroh, Michael Wallace, and Brian Windhorst are four of the best in the business, and if anyone can cover this team, it’s those guys. Also suggested reading is long-running Heat blog Hot Hot Hoops, run by Surya Fernandez since 2009 and now running independently.

After beginning the season 2-0 against two decent teams, the Nets finally face their first mega-test of the season in taking on the Miami Heat. This is going to be a difficult one to win just due to the sheer talent on Miami’s squad. Still, here are a few things to look out for:

• Dominate the inside. One of the biggest weaknesses in this Miami team is their lack of a true post defender at the 5. Troy Murphy is still out, but Brook Lopez has looked dominant offensively in these first two games and could provide a huge boost if he shows off the arsenal he brought to the table in the first two games. Averaging 27 points after the first two victories, another big showing could be key in keeping this game close.
• Attack the basket. Devin Harris has played more like 2008-2009 Devin Harris than he ever did last year in these first two games. He has a definite quickness advantage over anyone Miami could throw at him at point – Mario Chalmers and Carlos Arroyo won’t be able to keep up with him. I hope to see a bunch of pick & rolls with him and the two big men on the floor, since that would utilize our biggest strengths (interior scoring & PG slashing) against their two biggest weaknesses (interior defense, play from PG’s).
• Push with the second unit. Jordan Farmar, Terrence Williams, and Derrick Favors are three excellent athletes who have been gelling in the first two games. When Miami’s starters sit, the Nets have to take advantage and push the tempo. There are a lot of easy baskets to be found – let’s hope they find them.
• The Big Three. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh. Duh. No explanation needed here.

Also, I’ll be chatting occasionally during the game over at ESPN’s Daily Dime Live. Come check it out, because really, what else do you have to do at 1 PM on a Sunday?

With LeBron James and Miami Thrice coming to the Prudential Center today, it’s not only the fans who are reminded of the team’s failure to attract one of the “Big Three” in free agency this past summer. Fred Kerber talks to members of the front office, and captures what exactly went wrong in the team’s pursuit of LeBron and Chris Bosh, which reportedly went well when the team first made its pitch in July. Key section:

For the first podcast of the season, Mark, Evan, & I espouse our thoughts about free agency, the draft, the future, the rotation, our front office, our favorite acquisitions, & more.

Download Here

Here is audio from Rod Thorn’s conference call:

(Remove the audio player – it played automatically and it was getting annoying)

If the above player doesn’t work, click the link here. It is a pretty interesting listen, so if you get the time, check it out.  The big thing that I took from this conference call is that Rod Thorn is going to be willing to spend in 2010. Thorn said that  if he chooses, the Nets can offer two-max contracts.  Having money is just half of the equation though, players are going to have to want to come to Nets (notice I didn’t say New Jersey).

Will that happen (I know this is real early to start talking about this, but this a much talked about topic among Nets fans)?  Pessimistic Nets fans (and there are a lot of them) will tell you that it won’t.  They will say things like “When have the Nets ever signed a big time free agent?” Or “Why would LeBron or anyone want to come to the Nets if they are still in NJ?”

Maybe I am just an optimist, but I think all that is a load of bull.  Yes, I know the Nets haven’t signed a big time free agent in recent memory, but when have they been in position too?  For as long as I can remember, the Nets have had a solid core of playmakers (Kidd, Martin, RJ, and Vince Carter have all been a part of the Nets at some point), and haven’t really had a need to go get a big-time free agent.  They were always adding veterans who were supposed to be (excuse me for using a now tired theme after this draft) pieces to a puzzles, and it worked for the most part.  The Nets were always in the playoff hunt, and while they were never seriously considered championship contenders, they were always competitive.

Despite this competitiveness, Thorn wanted a title team, so he decided to re-tool and start a youth movement.  Brook Lopez, CDR, Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, and Terrence Williams are all under 25, and they are going to be big parts of the team this year.  Despite the fact that we might be terrible next year as these young guys learn how to play, the future looks bright.  Real bright.  When looking at this young core (we also get 2 first round picks next year), a big-time free agent might see themselves as the guy who put them over the top.  Take into account that most of the big free agents in 2010 are buddy-buddy, once one signs we might be able to snag another.  Just imagine Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh joining up with Devin Harris and Brook Lopez.  What free agent wouldn’t want to be a part of that team?

As for the whole Brooklyn/NJ thing.  Brooklyn is going to happen, whether it be for 2 years from now or 3, it is going to happen.  Now if Thorn can guarantee these potential free agents at least 1 year in Brooklyn (by this, I mean that we would need to at least break ground before next offseason), then in my opinion this won’t even be a factor.

One final thing I wanted to touch on that negative fans choose to ignore all of the time is our part owner.  Yup, I am talking about Jay-Z.  In our era, Jay-Z is an icon, a legend.  A lot of these players would love to be able to say that they are playing for Jay-Z and having him watching all of their games.  It is already common knowledge that Jay-Z and LeBron are BFF, and I am sure that Hova would be willing to use his “charm” to try to convince players to come over and play for the Nets.

When you combine all of these factors then add in all of the money,  I think there is a very good chance that we land a top tier free agent in 2010.  If not two.