Winning basketball games is usually a mere laborious task for the New Jersey Nets. The fourteen win ballclub who calls Newark’s Prudential Center home has become a blip on many an NBA opponent’s schedule. But last night the Nets had little trouble against a Carmelo Anthony-led visiting Nuggets squad. New Jersey dropped Denver 115-90 to pick up their 15th win of another losing season. The Nets scored the most first half points they have all year, connecting on 25-of-40 in a vehement victory at home. The Melo sweepstakes may have ended, and the Nets proved last night why they just might not need Anthony’s services after all. New Jersey stopped a two game skid while the Nuggets suffered their 20th loss this season.
Anthony scored a game high 37 points in 40 minutes but his Denver teammates were virtual no-shows on the hardwood. The Nuggets made just 35% of their 3-pointers and found themselves in a 19-7 hole halfway through the first stanza. Denver ripped off nine consecutive points but New Jersey rushed ahead to a ten point advantage on Travis Outlaw’s 13 point first quarter. Devon Harris was an assist assailant, compiling an aggressive career high 18 in the New Jersey win. The Nets sailed ahead by as many as 18 points for a 63-50 advantage at the intermission. Anthony kept the visitors in the game with 23 first half points and nine of ten from the charity stripe. Brook Lopez led New Jersey with 27 points. The center from Stanford made 11-of-18 from the field and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the line. Despite Anthony’s offensive dominance, the hosts were ferocious in forcing 16 turnovers and outrebounding the Nuggets by 11.
The Nets hit 9-of-15 from downtown and were led by Kris Humphries’ big second half off the bench. Chauncey Billups supplied 19 points (16 in the second half) and Brazilian, Nene Hilario, sunk 16 for Denver, who mounted a slight comeback after the break. J.R. Smith drained a pair of foul shots to trim the Nuggets’ deficit to just four with less than a minute on the clock. The Nets continued their clutch shooting and never allowed Denver to take the lead. New Jersey outscored the Nuggets 30-21 in the final quarter to finish over the 100 point mark. Monday was the 15th straight road game Denver has allowed an opponent 100-or-more points. Anthony Morrow poured in 18 in the win, including four 3-pointers.
Parting Points: Snowy Tuesday tune- “Quit Playing Games With My Heart” by Backstreet Boys
Georgetown knocked off Louisville last night as the Big East seeding continue to shuffle.
Showing posts with label New Jersey Nets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Jersey Nets. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday Take-Twos (500th post!)
The reward for downing number one Kansas and reaching the Sweet 16? A $450,000annual salary and ten year contract. That’s what Northern Iowa head coach, Ben Jacobson, will collect starting next season. Jacobson’s Panthers stunned the top seeded Jayhawks in the second round of the NCAA tournament. While nobody expects Northern Iowa to reach the Final Four, the Panthers have opened the eyes of many after reaching the Midwest regional semifinals. The school’s athletic director awarded the 39 year old men’s hoops coach a substantial raise as the Panthers prepare to play 2009 national runner-up, Michigan State. Tom Izzo’s Spartans will be without leading man, Kalin Lucas. Jacobson’s fattened check runs through 2020 but his Cinderella squad will need more than dough to shrug off the star-less Spartans in St. Louis.
The 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets haven’t exactly stockpiled wins. The team with seven wins to 63 hapless losses managed to add another victory last night at the IZOD Center. The Nets are trying to avoid the stigma of being crowned the worst team in NBA history. Wednesday’s 93-79 triumph over the Sacramento Kings was a step in the right direction. New Jersey snapped an eight game losing streak and fourteen game home slide behind Brook Lopez’ 26 points. Nets’ point guard, Devin Harris added 24 for the league’s bottom feeders. New Jersey needs to win two of their final 11 games to avoid the distinction of fewest victories in a season. The ’72-73 hold that claim, a record nobody wants. The 24-48 visiting Kings presented a winnable game for Kiki Vandeweghe’s Nets, and they grabbed the rare opportunity to ring up the W.
Out for the Orange against Butler today is Syracuse center, Arinze Onuaku. The 6’9” Onuaku injured his quadriceps in the Big East tournament win over Georgetown and has missed the Big Dance so far. It didn’t matter for Jim Boeheim’s Orange, who dominated Vermont and Gonzaga without their fourth leading scorer on the court. Syracuse’s size advantage should be enough to compete with fifth seeded Butler in the Sweet 16 matchup today in Salt Lake. Boeheim still boasts a fairly tall lineup. The Bulldogs played the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament as the higher seed. Now they assume the more familiar role of the lower seeded underdog in the West Regional semifinals. Perennial mid-major, Butler trailed at halftime during both victories but pulled themselves together with strong second halves. The Bulldogs are 9-3 after trailing at the break. The Orange are a team known for getting behind in games, so this game presents an interesting matchup. The Bulldogs don’t turn the ball over very often and are excellent in robbing opponents inside the zone. Syracuse should focus their commitment on defense and taunting and forcing the Butler players to shoot from outside. They must not allow the Bulldogs an opportunity to attack the zone. The Orange held Vermont and Gonzaga to a combined 18% shooting from beyond the arc, while they themselves hit 46.8% from downtown. Balanced scoring is another Butler strength the Orange need to nullify in order to book tickets to the Elite Eight.
Michigan State and Syracuse aren’t the only Sweet 16 teams bitten by the injury bug. West Virginia lost guard Darryl Bryant for the remainder of the tournament. The sophomore, affectionately nicknamed “Truck”, broke his right foot during the Mountaineers’ Tuesday practice. Junior Joe Mazzulla will likely occupy Bryant’s slot in Bob Huggins’ lineup when WVU plays Washington tonight at the Carrier Dome.
Parting Points: The Yankees hand the fifth starter job to Phil Hughes.
“No matter how far life pushes you down, no matter how much you hurt, you can always bounce back.”- Birthday girl, Sheryl Swoopes
The 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets haven’t exactly stockpiled wins. The team with seven wins to 63 hapless losses managed to add another victory last night at the IZOD Center. The Nets are trying to avoid the stigma of being crowned the worst team in NBA history. Wednesday’s 93-79 triumph over the Sacramento Kings was a step in the right direction. New Jersey snapped an eight game losing streak and fourteen game home slide behind Brook Lopez’ 26 points. Nets’ point guard, Devin Harris added 24 for the league’s bottom feeders. New Jersey needs to win two of their final 11 games to avoid the distinction of fewest victories in a season. The ’72-73 hold that claim, a record nobody wants. The 24-48 visiting Kings presented a winnable game for Kiki Vandeweghe’s Nets, and they grabbed the rare opportunity to ring up the W.
Out for the Orange against Butler today is Syracuse center, Arinze Onuaku. The 6’9” Onuaku injured his quadriceps in the Big East tournament win over Georgetown and has missed the Big Dance so far. It didn’t matter for Jim Boeheim’s Orange, who dominated Vermont and Gonzaga without their fourth leading scorer on the court. Syracuse’s size advantage should be enough to compete with fifth seeded Butler in the Sweet 16 matchup today in Salt Lake. Boeheim still boasts a fairly tall lineup. The Bulldogs played the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament as the higher seed. Now they assume the more familiar role of the lower seeded underdog in the West Regional semifinals. Perennial mid-major, Butler trailed at halftime during both victories but pulled themselves together with strong second halves. The Bulldogs are 9-3 after trailing at the break. The Orange are a team known for getting behind in games, so this game presents an interesting matchup. The Bulldogs don’t turn the ball over very often and are excellent in robbing opponents inside the zone. Syracuse should focus their commitment on defense and taunting and forcing the Butler players to shoot from outside. They must not allow the Bulldogs an opportunity to attack the zone. The Orange held Vermont and Gonzaga to a combined 18% shooting from beyond the arc, while they themselves hit 46.8% from downtown. Balanced scoring is another Butler strength the Orange need to nullify in order to book tickets to the Elite Eight.
Michigan State and Syracuse aren’t the only Sweet 16 teams bitten by the injury bug. West Virginia lost guard Darryl Bryant for the remainder of the tournament. The sophomore, affectionately nicknamed “Truck”, broke his right foot during the Mountaineers’ Tuesday practice. Junior Joe Mazzulla will likely occupy Bryant’s slot in Bob Huggins’ lineup when WVU plays Washington tonight at the Carrier Dome.
Parting Points: The Yankees hand the fifth starter job to Phil Hughes.
“No matter how far life pushes you down, no matter how much you hurt, you can always bounce back.”- Birthday girl, Sheryl Swoopes
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
