Nets Can't Stop Losing Streak Against Bucks

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Nets vs. Bucks Post Game Recap 12/9

The Brooklyn Nets woes continued on Sunday at the Barclays Center losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 97-88, as the Nets are now on a four game losing streak, and have lost four out of five games without Brook Lopez.

The Nets star backcourt of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson were outplayed by their counterparts on the Bucks in Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis who combined for 50 points to just the 24 that Williams and Johnson were able to score.

The best player for the Nets in the starting lineup was by far Gerald Wallace who had a monster double-double scoring 16 points on six for 12 shooting to go along with a season-high 16 rebounds.

The starting lineup saw a shakeup at the power forward position from Avery Johnson, as Kris Humphries was moved to the bench, and Reggie Evans moved into the starting five. The move didn’t make much of a difference for the Nets however, as Humphries had four points and seven rebounds, and Evans had five points with nine rebounds, and four steals.

MarShon Brooks was finally given some minutes in this game, and was one of the main reasons for the Nets comeback attempt after being down by 29 points Brooks led the Nets off the bench scoring 14 points on four for five shooting, and was perfect at the free throw line going five for five.

The Nets will have a tough task on Tuesday trying to snap their losing streak at home against the New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony in the second round of the East River Rivalry.

What to Watch For: New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets November 26

Monday, November 26, 2012

Pre-Game News and Notes

New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets

After blowing out the Pistons Sunday afternoon, the matchup that everyone has been waiting for in the tri-state area has finally arrived.  The Knicks and Nets will face off for the first time tonight, making up the opening night game that was canceled because of the storms earlier in the month.  This matchup will be determined by which team plays more defense, as both teams have offensive fire power.  Here are some things to watch for:

-Control the Paint

The Nets sport one of the best offensive big men in the NBA in Brook Lopez, who is averaging a team high 19.0 points per game.  Andray Blatche comes off the bench and offers some punch as well, scoring 9.0 points per game.

The Nets also sport two guards in Deron Williams and Joe Johnson that are above-average at getting into the lane and attacking the rim.  Emphasis will be on Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and J.R. Smith to slow these guys down.

Kris Humphries is also super active in the middle, which can cause a problem for the undersized Carmelo Anthony.  Look for Mike Woodson to learn from his mistakes in Houston and give some more run to Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas.  The bulk of the big man minutes will be given to Tyson Chandler and Rasheed Wallace, but pairing them together with another big would be beneficial against a team like the Nets.

-Bench Play

The Nets bench, which was a question mark coming into the season, has been a spark plug thus far this season led by Blatche, MarShon Brooks and C.J. Watson.  The second quarter, when the Nets subs play the most, the Nets sport a +5.0 scoring differential, compared to a -0.9 for the Knicks, their only negative quarter.

The Knicks defense needs to be consistent from the starting lineup to the second unit.  The second unit has seen lapses at times on the defensive end and struggle scoring at times, two things that cannot happen against a team playing as well as the Nets.

The Knicks bench is no slouch, led by J.R. Smith and Steve Novak.  Smith offers a legit scoring threat while Novak has deadly long range shooting.  If Novak can bring his shooting from Sunday afternoon to this game, the Knicks have a deadly weapon for their offense and a huge momentum changer; every time Novak touches the ball and releases a shot, the crowd goes into a buzz.

-Will Defense Show Up?

The Knicks have struggled on the defensive side of the ball the last three games against lower tiered teams and if that happens tonight the Knicks will be hard pressed for a win.  The Knicks have surrendered over 100 points in their last three games and cannot afford to do it a fourth straight time if they want the victory tonight. 

The Knicks have to get their rotations right, as the combination of poor defense against the three point shot and a team that shoots a healthy amount of three pointers is a deadly combination.  The Knicks give up the second highest percentage of three point shooting; at 39.9 percent while the Nets shoot 20.3 three pointers per game and 32.5 percent on the season.

Nets Lose Final Game on West Coast Trip

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Nets vs. Warriors Post Game Recap 11/21

The Nets finished up their three game west coast trip losing to the Golden State Warriors 102-93, as the Nets finished the west coast trip only winning one out of the three games.

The Nets got off to a hot start shooting 73 percent in the first quarter, and a 30-18 lead heading into the second quarter, but went cold after that. The third quarter once again was a killer for the Nets, as they continue to be the worst third quarter team in the NBA by getting outscored 33-20.

Offensively the Nets were lead by their young center Brook Lopez who shot the ball very well from the field, as he scored a team high 22 points on 10 for 16 shooting, but Lopez didn’t contribute much on the boards only grabbing three.

The backcourt match-up of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson vs. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson went in the favor of the young Golden State back court in a big way.

Deron Williams who is battling an elbow injury only scored nine points, and shot four for 12 from the field, and couldn’t stop the Warriors point guard Curry who scored a game-high 25 points on seven for 13 shooting.

The Johnson vs. Thompson match-up was just as bad for the Nets, as the point guard match-up was. Johnson continued his poor play thus far this season, as he scored 13 points on five for 13 shooting, and let the young Thompson score 23 points on 10 for 19 shooting.

Gerald Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse both sat out this game to rest for the upcoming home-stand, as without Wallace the Nets are a noticeably worse team on the defensive end of the court.

On the second game of the back to back Avery Johnson used eight guys off the bench, and got good minutes from Andray Blatche who scored 11 points with seven rebounds, and four assists. MarShon Brooks also played good off the bench scoring nine points on four for eight shooting, and added two steals.

The Nets will be heading back home to the Barclays Center where they have played good this season, as they will be facing the Clippers which means the Chris Paul Deron Williams match-up will be in the spotlight.

Bench Leads Nets Past Kings

Brooklyn Nets vs. Sacramento Kings Post Game Recap 11/18

The Brooklyn Nets were able to start their three game west coast trip with a win against the Kings beating them 99-90 despite the Nets starting five playing pretty poorly for the most part.

Deron Williams even though being banged up was one of the starters who actually played well against the Kings, as Deron filled out a nice stat sheet with 14 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds, but didn’t shoot it well from the field only going 4 for 12.

The other part of Brooklyn’s backcourt Joe Johnson had his worst game of the season thus far going a horrendous 1 for 10 from the field only scoring 10 points.

In the match-up of two young centers Brook Lopez was outplayed by DeMarcus Cousins, as Lopez only had 13 points on 5 for 14 shooting with five rebounds compared to Cousins who had 29 points on 12 for 21 shooting with seven rebounds.

Gerald Wallace made his return to the lineup after missing six games with a sprained ankle, but didn’t do much in his return only getting four points to go along with his four turnovers.

The Nets bench left its mark on this game with three great games from Andray Blatche, MarShon Brooks, and C.J. Watson. Blatche lead the Nets in scoring having a remarkable game scoring 22 points on 11 for 12 shooting. The backcourt combo of Brooks, and Watson both also scored very well scoring a combined 27 points on 9 for 15 shooting, as the bench unit was the real difference in the game.

The Nets next game will be against the Lakers in the Staples Center, as they will be facing the man that they most coveted in the off-season Dwight Howard.

Nets Win Shootout Against Cavs

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Nets vs. Cavaliers Post Game Recap 11/13

The Nets were able to win their third straight game in a high scoring game against the young Cleveland Cavaliers 114-101, as the Nets improve to (4-2) on the season.

A much anticipated match-up between Nets star point guard Deron Williams, and one of the best young players in the league Kyrie Irving lived up to the hype with both players putting up eye popping stats. Deron Williams had his best game of the season thus far notching a double-double with 26 points on 10 for 20 shooting, and added 10 assists. Even though Deron had a nice game he was outplayed by Kyrie Irving who had 34 points on 9 for 19 shooting, and eight assists.

The center match-up of Brook Lopez and Anderson Varejao also turned out to be a great one in this game. Lopez played well scoring 23 points on 10 for 14 shooting with seven rebounds, and four blocks. As well as Lopez played it was seemed like nothing compared to Varejao who very well may have had the best game of his career on Tuesday scoring 35 points on 16 for 21 shooting, and grabbed 18 rebounds in the monster double-double.

The difference maker in the game was Joe Johnson who hasn’t played well heading into Tuesday, but got it going for the Nets. Johnson scored 25 points on 9 for 16 shooting with six assists, and five rebounds. Johnson had an amazing fourth quarter scoring 16 points with three straight three-pointers.

The Nets bench played well against a poor Cavaliers second unit, as Andray Blatche lead the Nets bench with a very good game scoring 13 points on 4 for 7 shooting, and added five rebounds with three blocks.

Gerald Wallace and MarShon Brooks both did not play again with their sprained ankles, as it was Wallace’s fifth straight game out, and the third straight for Brooks.

The Nets will look to continue their winning ways at home on Thursday, as the Boston Celtics will be coming to the Barclays Center.