Dallas' Demoralizing Defeat

It’s not often I get to write about the worst team in NBA history. The New Jersey Nets’ futile 0-18 start to 2009 has given me the chance. Before tipoff, there was talk of an historical night at the Izod Center. The Nets are the epitome of professional basketball futility after passing the record for the worst start in NBA history. New Jersey 117-101 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday nipped the record previously held by the 1988-89 Miami Heat and 1999 LA Clippers. Four Mavericks scored in double digits as Dallas pounded Kiki Vandeweghe’s hapless Nets. Former New Jersey assist accumulator, Jason Kidd, had his way with Vandeweghe’s new crew. The old Nets’ captain had 10 assists in his second trip back to New Jersey. The Nets defense may as well have been doing pushups on the sidelines. That’s how effective they were in countering an 80% first half Dallas shooting effort. Kidd finished with 16 points and Dirk Nowitzki terrorized New Jersey by dishing out 24 for Dallas. The Mavs took a 77-50 lead in the East Rutherford locker room at halftime. Dallas dashingly dominated by as much as 31 points in the third quarter. The Nets trimmed the lead to 16 in the losing effort. New Jersey actually out-shot the Mavs in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late to salvage the record-breaking fate of defeat.
The former Memphis Tiger standout, Chris Douglas-Roberts amassed 24 points in 40 minutes of floor time for the Nets. Stanford product, Brook Lopez, grabbed six rebounds and totaled 16 points, and Wisconsin’s own, Devin Harris, had 17 points. The 26 year old former Badger, who was acquired for Kidd, hit one of five three points. Those numbers weren’t much worse than the team’s 6-of-18 stats from the arc last night. The Nets appeared to stop fighting even before the half. Dallas hit the home team with a 49 point second quarter outburst, hitting their final nine shots and making all ten free throws. The Mavericks built their budding 27 point second quarter lead following a mediocre first in which the Nets tied the game at 28-28. New Jersey hung around and converted six Dallas turnovers into eleven points. Rick Carlisle’s Mavericks were a model of consistency and physicality all night. Jason Terry didn’t miss a shot in the first half. Tim Thomas was for 4-for-4 shooting. The team had 24 second quarter possessions and hit a bucket on all but two. The 77 first half points were the most scored by Dallas all year. The Mavs were routinely great on offense, as no player missed more than one shot before halftime. Dallas sternly steered and shot with skilled surety while stomping and scorching the sorry Nets.
The Nets are a rebuilding project. Vandeweghe was ironically part of the Mark Cuban-managed Mavericks when they were retooling. The Dallas franchise succeeded in turning the team around. Del Harris was a part of the Mavericks organization back then. Today he fosters the same leadership in New Jersey as Vandewegh’s assistant. The outlook is bleak without a legitimate head coach. The Nets are a young team composed of overworked and injured players. New Jersey made a coaching change by firing Lawrence Frank and bringing in Harris. It seems as if the Nets are only going from bad to worse. The defense is slow to react, allowing opponents to slip in uncontested layups. They look flat and slow in defending and rebounding. Wednesday, the Nets allowed the Mavs to shoot unattended jumpers and crowd the basket with dunks. The parade of layups and amount of turnovers proves New Jersey’s perimeter defense is barely adequate and transition defense is nonexistent, respectively. The Nets are staggering when trying to stop the fast break. Players aren’t sure their responsibilities or simply just don’t have the talent to execute them. Boxing out seems an entirely novel concept to these Nets. Passing is also a problem for the Nets. New Jersey’s interior game exhibits nothing but poor rotations and befuddled blocking. The team is consistent in recording turnovers, nothing to gloat about in any game. It’s no wonder the team hasn’t won a game this season. The Nets problems can’t be fixed overnight or with the changing of the guard. In fact, don’t be surprised if New Jersey’s losing streak extends well beyond 18. It’s hard to believe these are professional athletes sometimes. These Nets just can’t find the basket. Sometimes, they’d be lucky to find the ball.

Parting Points: Tonight’s Civil War between the Ducks and Beavers will decide Ohio State’s Rose Bowl opponent. I am pulling for Oregon State but think the Ducks are favored to win.