Three Lessons: Nets Find Inventive Ways To Lose in Golden State

There is a phrase that applies here that is the norm for NBA teams…

Good teams find a way to win basketball games.

Bad teams find a way to lose basketball games.

Then we have the Brooklyn Nets. They find ways to lose games that is funnier than Def Comedy Jam. I mean it’s so comical, it had me on the floor laughing.

The Brooklyn Nets, under normal NBA circumstances, were primed and ready to upset the NBA World Champion Golden State Warriors on their home floor, which easily would have been the biggest upset of the year.

(Well, that is until Ronda Rousey lost her bout Saturday night…)

Despite the Warriors playing without Splash Brother, Klay Thompson. Despite Stephen Curry having an off night (FOR HIM, PEOPLE!). Despite Thaddeus Young and Jarrett Jack having good games…

The Brooklyn Nets lost in overtime, 107-99.

For the total recap, please check out Sam Yip’s breakdown on Brooklyn’s Finest. As always it is an informative read. Believe it or not, I knew that this game was not going to be a blowout. I have no idea why and I would totally understand if you thought I was lying through my teeth. I thought the Nets would lose by about 15 but would keep it close. I just didn’t think it would be as close as it got.

This team has serious issues in the last minutes of games. Let’s jump to the last 40 seconds of regulation, for our three takeaways from Saturday’s loss in Golden State.

1.)  Jarrett Jack can’t let the ball go in eight seconds to cross half court to beat the count.

Brooklyn Nets fans, this is why I can’t stand watching Jarrett Jack run the point in a Brooklyn uniform. Point guards have to have a certain feel to the game that this man just does not have.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

Jarrett Jack had 28 points and nine assists and played pretty good defense against Stephen Curry. But here’s where things got hairy. With 40 seconds left in the game, the Nets were down one. The Warriors grabbed the rebound but Thaddeus Young stole the ball and got it to Jack. Jack was fouled and knocked down two free throws.

Everything’s good, right? Keep reading…

Stephen Curry comes down the next offensive play and misses the lay up. The ball ends up in Jarrett Jack’s hands. Jack dribbles the ball around in the backcourt and eventually bails out the Warriors with an eight second count. If the ball gets across half court, the game is over.

Look, it will be said that the referees missed Lionel Hollins basically run on the court to call time out, but it should have never mattered in that situation. Jarrett Jack is a veteran in this league and the point guard. There is absolutely no reason that the ball shouldn’t have passed half court in that situation. You may expect that from Shane Larkin (wait a minute… no you wouldn’t) but not from someone who is supposed to have the keys to the Brooklyn Nets offense. Awful.

Granted, Jarrett Jack did cause a Curry turnover that led to free throws that increased the lead to three with nine seconds left.

Perfect segue into the second lesson the Brooklyn Nets need to learn…

2.) If you are up three points… FOUL, MAN…. JUST FOUL!!!!!

This is under normal circumstances. The Nets had a chance to foul Andre Iguodala. People have a better chance of spelling the man’s last name right before this guy can hit two free throws. I know with all the money NBA players have, they gotta have cable and watched the NBA Finals last year. Iguodala was terrible. I did some research on the rules and checked to see if fouling was a good idea.

A free throw is worth one point.

Iguodala gets two of them. If he hits both, that’s two points. Again that is a HUGE if.

Meaning the Nets would still be up by a point.

Well, Thaddeus Young ignored that logic and took a polaroid of Iguodala while he rose up, knocking down a three-point shot to tie the game.

After the game Lionel Hollins stated that he wanted a foul in that situation. Either Thaddeus Young missed that part of the meeting OR just ignored it. Either way, this is another example of how the Brooklyn Nets are blowing executions at the end of games.

Okay, how long has Thaddeus Young been in the league?

3.) But the Brooklyn Nets STILL had a chance to win it in regulation. But $20 million dollars don’t carry much weight in Brooklyn.

After Jarrett Jack missed a jumper, the Nets had the ball out of bounds with .5 seconds left. Brook Lopez won the local lottery and was blessed with a perfect pass at the front of the rim for the win. Lopez is seven feet tall. The referees missed the push off Lopez had on Andrew Bogut, but Brook Lopez can’t convert the shot off the back iron and the teams go to overtime.

In overtime, the Warriors became the team that can score in their sleep, dropping ten straight points while the Nets just went to sleep, only scoring two. They scored that bucket after the game was effectively over.

During this west coast trip, it’s getting plain to see that the Brooklyn Nets may have overpaid Brook Lopez. For the second night in a row Lopez allowed the opposing center to go nuts. Andrew Bogut, who is not an offensive threat, scored 10 points but had 18 rebounds; five of them offensive. If this guy commands max contracts, the Nets need more than what Lopez has given them for the first 10 games.

The Brooklyn Nets take their 1-9 record home to play the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.