Feb
28
“It felt like a pickup game.” – Joe Johnson
11
The Nuggets didn’t reach double-digits until 2:13 into the second quarter. It also took two offensive rebounds just to score that lowly layup. Times are tough in Denver.
No Commentary Needed
The Return of Reserves
Through three quarters of play, the Nets bench outscored all Denver reserves 40-4. Read that sentence again.
Defense…?
Next: Saturday @ Milwaukee
Feb
27
Brooklyn Nets (26-29, 10-18 on the road)
@
Denver Nuggets (25-31, 14-14 at home)
Tip-Off: 10:30 ET
TV: TNT
Line: DEN -1
Offensive Rating: Brooklyn – 102.6 (17th), Denver – 102.9 (16th)
Defensive Rating: Brooklyn – 105.1 (21st), Denver – 104.7 (19th)
PACE (POSS Per 48 MIN): Brooklyn – 93.9 (26th), Denver – 99.5 (4th)
3 Things of Note
Oddly Enough…
Denver is currently scoring 102.9 points per 100 possessions, yet is ranked fourth in the league when it comes to possessions per 48 minutes (99.5.) It’s probably just a testament to their style of play, but it’s also noticeably worrisome (for the Nuggets, that is) that the lineup of Aaron Brooks-Fournier-Vesely-Chandler-Mozgov is a thing that exists.
Hickson Alert
J.J. Hickson is coming off of a 25-rebound performance in which he also scored 16 points. If you care to do so, you can see all the carnage here. But this helps brings up my next point: Collins, early and often?
Responding
Seriously, you just lost by 40. Everything that could have gone wrong did and now you’re forced to trot out an answer of some sort into the altitude. What happens next?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep-xgd_eETE
Feb
27
“Those of you lucky enough to have your lives, take them with you. However, leave the limbs you’ve lost. They belong to me now.” – The Bride, probably speaking as a representative of Portland
The Bad, the Worse and the Ugly
First, the bad. Nets starters combined for 35 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five turnovers. Kevin Love basically mocked that effort only a night prior, finishing with 33 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists. By himself. And, if you’d like to continue adding injury to insult, the Blazers starting-five finished with 56 points, 25 rebounds, 15 assists and six turnovers.
But that’s simply the bad. The worst is clearly worse as the Portland bench totaled 68 points on the evening. This, of course, was matched by the 45-point “effort” from the Brooklyn bench. Oh, and did I mention the Blazers fell only three points shy of matching Brooklyn’s bench total in the fourth quarter alone? Fun times.
Bevy of Botches
Since the Lopez injury, Brooklyn has defended with gambles and chances as opposed to using a tightly woven system. For instance, with no true big man at their dispense, the Nets have chosen to overplay the opposing pick-and-roll, banking on either an ill-timed pass, an open shooter stranded in a low percentage location or, simply put, a bad shot.
Of course, even if they play it right (which they did), it fails to matter if someone like Lillard seizes the opportunity to fire it from beyond the set pick. Needless to say, this happened a lot. Not to take away from the many (and I mean many) times they didn’t play it correctly.
Andray Bleh
Three points, 16 FG% and benched at the half. Any questions?
The Continuing Resurgence of Deron
Below is only one instance, but know his off-ball play has continued to be tremendous.
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
The Nets +/- totals…
IS THIS GOOD?
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to our newest game show: IS…THIS…GOOD!!?? For those that don’t know the rules, we simply present an image or video without commentary and ask one question: IS THIS GOOD? We have two entries this evening, so let’s get to it!
First up, we have a photo that occurred late in the third quarter.
And finally, a video displaying Marquis Teague’s decision-making process.
Thanks for tuning in! Be here next time when we ask…IS…THIS…GOOD!!??
Next: Thursday @ Denver
Feb
26
Brooklyn Nets (26-28, 16-11 at home)
@
Portland Trailblazers (39-18, 21-7 at home)
TV: YES Network
Tip-off: 10:00 ET
Line: PORT -2.5
Offensive Rating: Brooklyn - 103 (16th), Portland - 104.6 (3rd)
Defensive Rating: Brooklyn - 108.6 (18th), Portland - 105.3 (21st)
3 Things of Note
The Pending Debut of Thornton
If you ever see this, turn and run.
Of course, that “succulent” plate of lobster mac n’ cheese fails to answer the questions pertaining to Thornton’s possible minutes. If/When he plays, who does he inevitably steal time from? After all, it’s not like Terry was logging consistent court minutes.
Also, it’s probably best to start mentally preparing for a Blatche-Thornton-Anderson three-man lineup. No pick-and-rolls. No slashing to the paint. Just Lil’ Jon and his obvious foretelling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNtTEibFvlQ
Collins – Scene II
With the return of KG on slate for tonight, I’m assuming Plumlee is sent back to the bench in favor of Collins. Either way, it’s not too hard of a matchup near the rim. As great of a defender Robin Lopez has become, he still rivals Erick Dampier’s offensive game as opposed to his own brother’s (and no, not Contract Year Dampier.)
Rated-PG
Since the break, Williams has averaged 23 PPG, 6.7 AST, 2.7 STL, 48 FG%, 122 OffRtg and 52.1 eFG%. Portland is the third-worst team in the league against the point guard…/drops mic.
Feb
24
101-93
Sure, a comeback would’ve been tough, but with just over a minute remaining anything was possible. Until, of course, a likely hero answered the call yet again.
The best part? Let’s say you’re faced with the hypothetical of setting up the last shot (no, you don’t have to grow a beard, unbutton your shirt and carry around a water bottle.) Isn’t a drive-and-kick to the highest percentage shot location on the floor - to a shooter whose CLUTCH numbers don’t ever seem to die, mind you - the most obvious answer? Of course it is. But that didn’t seem to matter. And while we’re here, let’s not forget about the play that started this whole thing.
10:28
Quite frankly, it was two months, 13 minutes and 32 seconds too late, but dammit, Collins had finally arrived. He checked in, immediately started screening for mismatches (Farmar nods) and made incredible defensive strides in only 11 minutes of play (sure, he was defending Kaman, but don’t worry about that part.) Five fouls and two rebounds later, he exited to worthy applaud. And the thing is, that’s why he was brought in.
With both his stature and role, the high foul totals are likely to continue. Fortunately, he’s a proven big against proven bigs and those guys are hard to come by in the East. My only worry is a seamless transition. It’s clear he can fit, but how will his minutes unfold with a healthy Garnett in play? I mean, he could slip into Evans’s former spot in the rotation, I’m just not sure what that is. A nine-rebound night every other week?
Math
Pierce: 25 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 52 FG%
+
Kirilenko: 10 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST, 50 FG%
=
29th Defense Against Forwards: Lakers
Small-Samples Rejoice
As you already know, Williams has been either injured or a punchline (or, in some cases, both) for a majority of the 2013-14 season. Once he finally shook off his recently hampered ankles, he made the decision to come off the bench rather than take the place of either Anderson or Livingston in the starting lineup. As the season continued, he slowly found his niche and entered the All-Star break on fire. Now, only two games into the second half of the season, Williams appears good as new.
Take for instance his shot selection. Going 8-12 within five feet of the basket since the break, Williams has changed his approach completely. He drives much more often rather than hoisting it from afar. Even when coming off screens, he has chosen to dribble towards the paint at a higher rate. There’s a lot of basketball left to play, but so far so good for the $100M star.
Blatche Assist I HAVE PROOF
NEXT: Tuesday @ Portland
