Nets cut down by healthy Bulls

The Brooklyn Nets lost to a superior Chicago Bulls squad 102-84 Sunday afternoon. The Nets record now stands at 6-9 on the year.It was a poor effort from top to bottom. Lionel Hollins squad was missing on offense and not guarding well enough on defense.

The loss means that the Nets still don’t have a win over a good team. The Bulls took control of the game in the third quarter behind a balanced attack that included heavy doses of Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler. The stout Bulls defense stalled the Nets offense, which is not hard, and took over the game.

Things are bleak for Nets fans right now so I tried to find things to be happy about.

Things to smile about:

Jerome Jordan may have a pulse! - The Nets don’t have a rim protector and it’s hurting them at times. I don’t think Brook Lopez doesn’t have the athleticism or defensive ability that the Nets need and Kevin Garnett is old. Both foul too much to make an impact. Jerome Jordan has made an impact in the small amount of minutes that he has been given and that continued today. His 4 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds were all impressive. He showed ability to make plays in the pick and roll and that he can have a defensive presence, even if it’s a small one.

Bojan likes Brooklyn - At least Bojan Bogdanovic likes playing at home. He continued his good performances at home with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Eventually he will be able to translate these good performances to the road. I think that he will start becoming more comfortable as the season progresses.

The Nets get to play the Knicks next - A win is on the horizon! The Knicks are struggling much like the Nets so I think the Nets should handle business on the road. It may be the only one the Nets get for a while with a brutal four game stretch after the Knicks game.

Vs. Atlanta

Vs. San Antonio

Vs. Cleveland

@ Chicago

The Nets aren’t looking at a sure win until December 12th vs. the 76ers and they almost lost to them in their last game.

It’s not fun times for the Nets so obviously there are reasons to be worried. This wasn’t how this season was supposed to go. I think the Nets should be a .500 team so there are reasons to be worried.

Reasons to be worried:

Mirza regressed and regressed hard - I think that everyone knew that Mirza Teletovic couldn’t keep up his hot start to the season. I didn’t expect it to be this bad. He has plummeted back to earth to the tune of 13-53 from three point range in his last 10 games. That’s not ideal for someone who started the season like he did. I think Mirza will bounce back from this slump and the Nets need his three point shooting going forward.

Lopez is a foul magnet - Lopez’s foul troubles are getting worse and worse. In 22 minutes against the Bulls he had 5 fouls. The second game in a row in which he had five fouls. His defense has been a constant point of concern for Lionel Hollins. The two have had visible disagreements several times and Hollins has even benched the veteran center. The Nets need Lopez to stay on the court, especially against a good team like the Bulls, but he seems unable to.

KG did this… for some reason - 

(Via Ananth Pandian)

KG could be in trouble. I don’t know if their was intent behind this or if he was just messing around, but you can’t do that. If had actually bitten Joakim Noah instead of missing his hand I think Noah may have killed him. I know that KG has always used tricks to try get into his opponents head, but Noah wasn’t even looking at him. I don’t know the protocol for attempted biting, but I’m sure we all will get to hear about it soon.