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Deron Williams Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week

Following a great week for the Brooklyn Nets, point guard Deron Williams has been named Eastern Conference Player of the Week by the NBA. Williams shot 57% from the field, averaging almost 21 points per game while leading the Nets to victories over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, and New York rivals, the Knicks.

More importantly, Deron Williams has been dropping dimes all over the court, averaging 7 assists per game this past week. He has been aggressive, quick, and has seemingly managed to clear his court vision. If Williams manages to keep this up Brooklyn can look forward to a very good season.

 

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RECAP: Nets 104 Magic 96

Orlando Magic 96

Final

Recap | Box Score

104 Brooklyn Nets
Kevin Garnett, PF 28 MIN | 3-9 FG | 2-2 FT | 8 REB | 7 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | +15

Garnett was unimpressive in shooting 3-9 from the floor including an ugly air ball in the first quarter, but other than his shooting Garnett played a great game. KG posted a team best +/- of +15 largely because of his impressive passing and defense. Whether he was acting as the roll man or popping out of the pick and roll Garnett consistently found cutters, three point shooters, and lurking big men around the hoop for his season high 7 assists. On the defensive end Garnett did a good job sticking to Channing Frye on pick and rolls, and also did a good job neutralizing Nikola Vucevic in the fourth. Despite the lackluster shooting performance, Garnett was one of the best Nets today.

Joe Johnson, SF 32 MIN | 5-14 FG | 2-3 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 13 PTS | +14

“Iso Joe” finally cooled down a bit as he struggled into a 5-14 shooting performance from the field. Playing against Orlando’s unusually big and long combination of wings in Aaron Gordon, Tobias Harris, and Maurice Harkless prevented Johnson from using his strength and post up game like he normally does. However, Johnson still came up with a key isolation floater down the stretch over Harris, and generally did a good job on whichever wing he was matched up against on the defensive side of things.

Brook Lopez, C 26 MIN | 4-9 FG | 4-4 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 3 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | +7

In this week’s second matchup with a big and physical Nikola (Pekovic earlier, Vucevic today) Lopez struggled yet again. Brook usually uses his strength and length to get good shots for himself on the block, but against Vucevic’s girth was unable to get anything going. On defense Lopez looked good rotating over as a help defender and ended with 3 blocks along with many other disrupted shots. It was not all positive though as Vucevic repeatedly drained jumpers over Brook and finished through him rolling to the basket which led to Lopez riding the pine in the fourth.

Deron Williams, PG 41 MIN | 7-12 FG | 4-4 FT | 4 REB | 7 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 18 PTS | +6

Deron continued his recent stretch of good performances shooting well from midrange, getting to the hoop, and distributing the ball well. Deron wasn’t quite as spry and bouncy getting to the hoop as he was in his 29 point effort Friday, but he consistently made smart decisions on the pick and roll and helped get the whole Nets offense moving with his passing. On defense Deron did a great job as really the only Nets defender who reliably contained penetration against Elfrid Payton, Luke Ridnour, and Evan Fournier. Deron has quietly been putting together a very strong start to his 2014 season.

Bojan Bogdanovic, SG 32 MIN | 9-12 FG | 2-2 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 22 PTS | +13

In what was a breakout game for Bojan offensively he shot an extremely efficient 9-12 from the field and 2-3 from three in route to his 22 point NBA career high. Bojan did a great job both cutting off the ball and spotting up on the perimeter to get his buckets, and showed a little off the bounce midrange game he hasn’t really used yet this year. Despite Bojan’s great instincts cutting off the ball on offense, he greatly struggles with this on defense as Fournier back-doored him multiple times during the game. Bogdanovic generally looks like a weak defensive player as he continued to struggle with containing penetration off closeouts, and navigating his way around screens. Nonetheless, this was a promising performance from Bojan.

Mirza Teletovic, PF 20 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 7 PTS | -7

Mirza finally cooled off as he shot a frigid 1-6 from three, but they were largely good looks and it is by no means concerning for the future. On defense Mirza struggled a bit as he was either matched up with the much taller Frye or the far quicker Gordon most of the time. Even with his struggles, Mirza did a good job moving the ball on offense and always helps space the floor whenever he’s on the court.

Mason Plumlee, C 16 MIN | 4-8 FG | 4-6 FT | 10 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 12 PTS | -7

Did you see that dunk on Aaron Gordon? If no then go watch that and come back. Other than welcoming Gordon to the league Plumlee was his usual mixed bag as he did a good job rebounding and providing energy, but his defensive rotations were typically inconsistent and he doesn’t exactly scare defenses with his offensive skill.

Jarrett Jack, PG 23 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | -5

Jarrett Jack was pretty much classic Jarrett Jack in this game and that is not a good thing. On offense Jack over dribbled and only finished with one assist in 22 minutes and on defense Jack got torched by Luke Ridnour as Jack repeatedly lost track of him on pick and rolls. Luke Ridnour!

Alan Anderson, SG 22 MIN | 2-5 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | +4

Anderson was largely irrelevant and unnoticeable for most of the game until he surprisingly stayed in throughout the fourth quarter as a small ball forward. Anderson did a great job considering he was matched up against the bigger Gordon and Harris on D, and even though his offense was uninspiring it was positive performance from Anderson.

Lionel Hollins
Hollins largely coached a chalk game up until the fourth quarter when he went with the unique and never before seen Deron, Bojan, Joe, Alan, and KG lineup down the stretch. Normally a super small lineup like that would be thought of as really good on Offense and weak on D, but it was actually pretty average on O while not allowing a single field goal in the last 6 minutes of game time. While this was partially due to cold shooting from the Magic, it was smart of Hollins to go a lineup like this against the Magic’s weird combination of hybrid forwards who didn’t have enough size to hurt the Nets.

Three Things We Saw

  1. Brook Lopez played almost all of both the first and third quarters, but almost none of the second and fourth. By doing this Lopez was only in when Vucevic was also in, and Lopez never got to go up against Frye at the 5. It would be good if Coach Hollins gave Brook more of a chance to work against backup or smaller centers, as that is when his post up game will be its strongest.
  2. The Nets pulled away down the stretch with their unique small ball lineup, but it was a generally uninspiring performance by the Nets against a weak Magic team. If the Nets hope to make any sort of waves in the playoffs they should not be letting teams like the Magic stick around when the Nets are at home and rested. It wasn’t an awful performance by the Nets, but it wasn’t particularly encouraging either.
  3. Twice in the second quarter the Nets ran a snug pick and roll with Deron and Mason, and a couple other times during the game ran pick and roll for Deron from the elbow and in. These plays all worked well as Deron was able to make good decisions and get in the lane. With Deron’s strength and size he can consistently get himself into the 15 feet and in area, and the Nets should look to utilize these snug picks more often.

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A Geek’s Guide to the NBA: Is Brook Lopez a Hufflepuff?

Following Friday night’s victory over the Knicks, Brook Lopez made an admission that you rarely hear from athletes: that he considers himself a Hufflepuff.

The first reason something like that is often unheard is because that is a reference to the uber-popular Harry Potter series of books and movies, not something many athletes will admit to liking. Of course, we all knew already that Brook Lopez considers himself a geek (much like your author today), so maybe that isn’t surprising in this case.

The truly shocking, world-changing part of this short interview is the house chosen by Lopez at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I won’t go into too much Potter background because if you have no idea what I’m talking about you probably stopped reading already, but here’s a little bit of info to get you started.

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Brooklyn’s Finest Mailbag: Lionel’s whipping boy

It’s time for Brooklyn’s Finest Mailbag, a weekly column in which I respond to your questions on the Nets. This here’s the debut and I am super pumped. Send your Nets questions for next week’s mailbag to bknmailbag[at]gmail[dot]com or tweet them to @BKsFinestTHN.

On to the questions! Read More

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RECAP: Nets 110, the other team 99

New York Knicks 99 Final

Recap | Box Score

110 Brooklyn Nets
Kevin Garnett, PF 13 MIN | 2-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | +6

Early foul trouble hindered Garnett early, limiting him to just 13 minutes total on the night. In that time, he didn’t have a great deal of trouble with the Knicks, who, you know, sucked.

Joe Johnson, SF 32 MIN | 6-13 FG | 2-2 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 18 PTS | +16

Johnson set the tone early on with some knockdown three-point shooting, but this quickly turned into negligent iso-Joe’ing all over the place for some truly bad shot attempts. Still had a great game though, remaining efficient throughout and playing some superb defense against that Carmelo Anthony guy.

Brook Lopez, C 31 MIN | 6-10 FG | 8-10 FT | 9 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 20 PTS | +10

20 points on 10 shots along with 9 boards, eh? Yeah, Brook’s still very much a bully in the post, only if he’s playing an interior defense as weak as New York’s, he won’t just take lunch money, he’ll give them a wedgie, swirlie and stuff them in their locker.

Deron Williams, PG 33 MIN | 10-15 FG | 7-10 FT | 1 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 29 PTS | +19

Call it a #FlashbackFriday for D-Will tonight, taking it back to his Utah Jazz days with this eruption. I mean, he made mincemeat of the Knicks defense, despite their putting Iman Shumpert on him from the get-go!

Bojan Bogdanovic, SG 32 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 8 PTS | +10

Good news: he made a couple of threes out of the gates and his confidence seemed all there for the rest of the night. Bad news? Four turnovers. As a whole, looks like Bojan is coming along nicely as the season progresses.

Mirza Teletovic, PF 27 MIN | 6-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 18 PTS | +3

THIS MIRZA’S ON FIIIIIIIIIIIIIRE.
HE’S WALKING ON FIIIIIIIIIIIRE.

Mason Plumlee, C 21 MIN | 0-4 FG | 1-2 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 3 BLK | 0 TO | 1 PTS | +13

Can I blame Plumlee for shooting poorly when Lionel Hollins is putting him in the post? He’s not a post player. Not yet, anyway. Defensively, Plumlee was as active as usual but was getting burned in one-on-one post situations.

Jarrett Jack, PG 19 MIN | 2-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 5 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | -3

My favorite thing about Jack this year is that it seems he’s almost non-existent in wins. He played 20 minutes tonight and I can’t seem to pinpoint anything he did that stuck out to me on the court. It’s pretty great this way, because that means he’s sticking to defending and distributing and doing it well.

Alan Anderson, SG 22 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | -1

I like it when Alan shoots the shots and they go in. It’s great.

Sergey Karasev, SG 6 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -8

-8 in six minutes. Well, hey, why not let the young guy develop in that practice scrimmage the Nets played?

Lionel Hollins
Only thing that struck me as odd was Hollins playing Plumlee and Lopez together for six minutes tonight. Apparently, this is the second game it’s happened this season. And I’m sick and tired of it. I mean, it kills spacing, neither Lopez or Plumlee can guard smaller fours, why do it? Oh. It was +7 tonight? Pfft. Just one game. What about in general this season? A NetRTG of 31.5 huh… Damn it.

Three Things We Saw

  1. Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here. It was a solid win for the Nets, but they were playing a hurt and outmatched Knicks team that isn’t very good, really. This was a game the Nets should have won. And they did, in blowout fashion, which should be a confidence booster heading into their next game against the Magic on Sunday. This too should be a win, considering the Magic nearly lost to Philadelphia, which would have left them without a win this season.
  2. 14-24 from downtown for the Nets. FOURTEEN OF TWENTY FOUR. Now that’s some shooting. Teletovic is leading the team in threes made this season, so please, give him more minutes, please. His confidence is through the roof. #LetMirzaShoot.
  3. Was anyone else hoping for a Jerome Jordan revenge game tonight? It was a blowout for the Nets and poor Jerome only got two minutes of action! And he was facing his former team! Boooo!

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Trending in Brooklyn: Mirza Teletovic is a man on fire

Do you enjoy having fun with small sample sizes?

If so, then Trending in Brooklyn has you covered. This is the first of a bi-weekly column that’s going to take a look at recent hot and cold streaks, bizarre trends and team-wide anomalies throughout the season. Here’s a few observations from the Nets’ 2-2 start to keep an eye on: Read More

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Brooklyn’s Finecast - Episode 1

PodLogov1

Hey guys, we have a new weekly podcast! You’ll obviously hear us discuss the Brooklyn Nets, but in true Finest fashion, we’ll also be playing “Who’s that Brooklyn Net?” and “Who said it - Mikhail Prokhorov or Donald Trump?” On this week is our host Josh Koebert, editor-in-chief David Vertsberger, staff writers Paul Mitchell and Brian McNichols.

 

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RECAP: Nets 91, Timberwolves 98

Minnesota Timberwolves 98

Final

Recap | Box Score

91 Brooklyn Nets
Kevin Garnett, PF 25 MIN | 1-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 11 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -21
KG missed his share of pick-and-pop jumpers, shooting just 1-7 from the floor, but grabbed 11 rebounds and held his opponent, Timberwolves power forward Thaddeus Young, to 10 points on 13 shots. His -21 in 25 minutes wasn’t even the worst mark on the team, thanks to Brook Lopez, and the team responded to swapping his defense for the perimeter scoring of Teletovic in the first quarter. He had an offensive rebound in his fourth quarter appearance but was generally content to be a screener and rebounder after missing his first few catch-and-shoot attempts.

Joe Johnson, SF 31 MIN | 9-17 FG | 3-4 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 22 PTS | -7

Joe Johnson was really good again tonight and took over late in the fourth quarter of a close loss, often clearing out and going at his defender in isolations down the stretch. His ball-swings and shot-making abilities helped the Nets take the lead late in the game, and he seemed to get whatever shot he wanted from Andrew Wiggins by using his stutter and hesitation jabs to get by him and throw up his floater from the mid-paint area. Wiggins took it to him early by getting to the basket and using his athleticism to finish around the rim, but Johnson made the rookie play his pace down the stretch and bodied him up in the post. The late-game turnover was Johnson’s fourth of the night and was probably the biggest play of the game, as the Nets almost immediately surrendered a three-point play to Nikola Pekovic on the next possession.

Brook Lopez, C 34 MIN | 5-14 FG | 0-1 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 2 BLK | 4 TO | 10 PTS | -27

Brook Lopez showed more rust in the first quarter tonight than he did in his return against the Thunder, shooting 3-10 in the quarter and 5-14 overall. He was aggressive in the opening quarter and got some good looks, but only drew one free throw on the night and had trouble adjusting to Nikola Pekovic’s speed on defense. Pek attempted seven foul shots and finished with 16 points (on 12 shots) and 11 rebounds, and took it to Brook late in the game. Four turnovers and four personal fouls, particularly the illegal screen in the last minute, added to Lopez’s tough night and factored into the Brooklyn loss.

Deron Williams, PG 39 MIN | 8-16 FG | 0-1 FT | 2 REB | 6 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 19 PTS | -18

You can usually tell if Deron Williams has it going on a particular night if he has that hop in his crossover, and if he’s able to take his man off the dribble to get his free throw-line jumper. Outside of only a single free throw attempt and a lack of shots in the paint or in the post, Deron was aggressive tonight and trying to push the pace to get easy buckets, even spotting up from three on some secondary fast breaks after an early advancement of the ball. On defense he mostly kept Rubio out of the paint and in front of him, conceding open jumpers and going below screens, but Rubio’s aggressiveness in the fourth quarter got him a couple of easy buckets off the dribble or by cutting off of a Pek post-up. His four turnovers were endemic to the team tonight but he was one of the few Nets who were able to shoot the ball and create offense.

Bojan Bogdanovic, SG 23 MIN | 3-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 9 PTS | -8

Bogdanovic again struggled with his jumper and seemed tentative at times on the offensive end. He showed glimpses of his all-around abilities by hitting a three-pointer, crashing the offensive board for a put-back, and drawing a couple of free throws in his 23 minutes, but gave a lot of it back on the defensive end by losing Kevin Martin on back-cuts and by over-helping on Pekovic post-ups. He couldn’t get back in the game after subbing out in the third quarter, as head coach Lionel Hollins went with a Jarrett Jack/Alan Anderson two-guard platoon to finish the game.

Mirza Teletovic, PF 21 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 9 PTS | +16

Teletovic was the first sub off the bench for Lionel Hollins and only took one shot from inside the three-point arc as the small-ball power forward. His three threes and six boards were a main component to the second units’ success and helped to energize the home crowd after a tough start to the game. His +16 was second on the team behind Mason Plumlee, but his defensive limitations allowed Thaddeus Young to up-fake and get to the basket on the shot that put Minnesota up five in the closing minute.

Andrei Kirilenko, SF 5 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | 0

Kirilenko entered the game for a five-minute stretch in the third quarter, replacing Teletovic at the power forward, and grabbed a rebound and had his shot blocked by Gorgui Dieng. He provided Hollins with a more mobile option to throw at the Minnesota big men, but can’t be happy with playing under five minutes in back to back contests.

Jerome Jordan, C 1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +3

Jordan also came in for a brief stretch in the third quarter, subbing in for Brook Lopez and out for Mason Plumlee barely a minute later. He rebounded a Thaddeus Young jumper and set a screen or two, but didn’t have a chance to make an impact tonight.

Mason Plumlee, C 13 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-2 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +17

Plumlee played well in his limited time on the court, leading the team in plus/minus at +17. He missed both free throws, scored only two points on two shots, and totaled just 13 minutes, yet his mobility from the center spot was sorely needed against the quicker Minnesota front-line, especially given Lopez’s struggles. Plumlee ran the court well and showed some burst as the dive man off the pick-and-roll, and was quick enough to stay with Pekovic and Gorgui Dieng on the other end.

Jarrett Jack, PG 24 MIN | 5-8 FG | 4-4 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 14 PTS | +5

Jarrett Jack had his best all-around game with the Nets against the Timberwolves, and his battles with Mo Williams in the second half were fun in an “older vets shooting long jumpers” kind of way. He did a little bit of everything, by getting to the free throw line, setting up teammates, and grabbing rebounds, and established his presence with the second unit by pulling up for jumpers in transition or when coming off of screens. Jack played most of the fourth quarter, outside of some offense/defense substitutions with Alan Anderson, and took Bogdanovic’s two-guard minutes with the starting unit.

Alan Anderson, SG 25 MIN | 1-1 FG | 2-3 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | +5

Anderson had a pretty subdued stat-line in his 25 minutes, but mostly provided solid perimeter defense off the bench and stretched the floor even if he didn’t get many shot attempts. Kevin Martin’s veteran tricks were far more effective against the rookie Bogdanovic than against Anderson and the second unit, as Anderson was able to close out on the Minnesota wing shooters without over-pursuing or fouling. The threat of his jump shot was enough to keep defenses honest, and he drew a Rubio foul on a three-point attempt, converting two.

Lionel Hollins

Hollins had a chance to win this game late in the fourth quarter, after letting Joe Johnson isolate and go to work against the Timberwolves, but the teams’ 18 turnovers ultimately proved insurmountable. He made some interesting moves, by leaving the rookie Bogdanovic on the bench for much of the second half and closing the game with his two (point) guard lineup of Deron and Jack (or Alan Anderson). Brook Lopez was mostly ineffective, offensively and defensively, in his second game back from injury, and in hindsight it might have been nice to see the quicker Plumlee get more minutes defending Rubio/Pekovic pick-and-rolls. Hollins went with his veterans down the stretch but also substituted Teletovic in at the power forward position pretty liberally, and again trusted Joe Johnson to create offense in close-and-late moments. His interview on the YES broadcast about being funny around the team was a bit awkward, but otherwise Hollins mostly put the Nets in position to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves and couldn’t control his teams’ turnover issues tonight.

Five Things We Saw

    1. Unlike in Monday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Nets started off the game ice cold, shooting 1-11 as a team and quickly falling behind 17-2 to the Timberwolves. Mirza’s substitution for KG sparked a 16-7 run that left the Nets down only 3 after the first quarter. The bench largely kept Brooklyn in the game, as they outscored their Minnesota-counterparts 29-15, and while no Nets starter posted a positive plus/minus on the night, neither of the six bench players finished in the negatives.
    2. Turnovers decided this one, however. 18 total turnovers led to 23 Timberwolf points, and Brooklyn lost despite shooting almost three points better from the floor, at 43.9%. Minnesota attempted eight more field goals and five more free throws, but their 13 turnovers only yielded 12 points. Big turnovers down the stretch cost the Nets the victory; as Thaddeus Young’s strip of Joe Johnson with just over a minute remaining in a tied game led to Pekovic’s and-one post score on the other end, and Brook’s offensive foul on an inbounds play with 48.6 seconds left was followed by a Thaddeus floater to put the Wolves up five with under 30 seconds remaining.
    3. The athleticism and mobility of the younger Timberwolves team was a concern entering this game and proved to be a match-up problem throughout. Ricky Rubio set the tone early by using Brooklyn’s turnover issues to create transition opportunities for his teammates and finished two rebounds shy of a triple double. He found pick-and-roll partner Pekovic early on rolls to the rim or quick post-ups, and Pek used his speed advantage to up-fake Brook Lopez and maneuver around him in the post for good looks, including on the eventual-game-winner. Brooklyn was out-rebounded for the second consecutive game, as Minnesota collected nine more rebounds, six on the offensive boards, and featured four starters with seven or more.
    4. Even with those aforementioned turnovers, the Nets still led by two with under a minute and a half left. Joe Johnson again went to work in the 4th quarter, much as he did in Detroit, and entered “Iso Joe Mode” to bully a young wing defender in a close-and-late situation. Andrew Wiggins gave him trouble early in the evening with his athleticism and quickness but Johnson took him into the post, got him off-balance in the paint for floaters, and even unleashed a Dirk Nowitzki-ish one-legged fade-away late in the game. He dropped nine points on 4/6 shooting in the quarter until his turnover to Young with 1:04 left, but he would miss a three and then a floater while down five that put the game to free throws. Deron Williams finished with 19 points, but added only three in the fourth quarter on 1-6 shooting before the game got out of hand, while Jarrett Jack contributed eight points in the final quarter on three shot attempts (and two free throws).
    5. In what could be our Block or Fast Break of the Night, Mike Fratello really wanted to avoid KG’s powder toss prior to tip-off. Ian Eagle sat there and took the baby powder shower, but made it a point to replay Fratello’s fleeing a few minutes later in the YES broadcast. Coach did eventually offer his partner a doughnut to make amends for abandoning him but the situation will be worth monitoring going forward.

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Breakdown: How the Nets Broke Down the Thunder

As I mentioned in last night’s recap, the Brooklyn Nets were better in every facet of the game. They were active on defense and offense and created open shot after open shot. Well, they say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and who am I to argue with them, so here are some notable plays from last night’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

As pointed out by Chris Thomson after the Celtics game, the Nets are not good at pick and roll defense. Luckily, the Thunder don’t pick or roll very often. In fact, OKC has one of the least complicated offenses in the NBA, especially without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. This first one is a good defensive play showing how the Nets can lock non-motion offenses down as long as they put in the effort.

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Three Man Weave: Week Two Edition

(Note: This column was submitted for editing Monday evening, during the Nets’ home opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder.)

The theme of the first two games of the Brooklyn Nets’ season has thus far revolved around Brook Lopez’s injury and the foot pain that’s kept him out of the starting lineup; complete with the frustrations from head coach Lionel Hollins and the trickle-down effect on the big man rotation. Lopez’s return will hopefully stabilize the starting lineup and give Hollins his full complement of options to institute his offensive and defensive systems, but the threat of Brook’s foot injury will linger throughout the season and will force others to step up in his absence. Our three experts will focus on Brook’s possible return to the team in this weeks’ edition of the Three Man Weave, as well as Brooklyn’s bounce-back performance against the Detroit Pistons. As always, your responses, disagreements, or feedback are welcome in the comments. Read More