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Brook made this face a lot tonight, as did the other Nets |
The Nets blew their homecourt advantage in their 1st-round series on the same night they shot just 35 percent from the field, 19 percent from three, and scored just 82 points. Not a coincidence. At a packed Barclays Center on Monday night, Brooklyn laid the proverbial playoff egg, getting down early to a hungry Bulls team rejuvenated by a Willis Reed-like performance from the ailing Joakim Noah and staying down basically the entire way through.
Sure, the Nets were able to cut the sometimes-double-digit Chicago advantage to five points or under, but were never able to go further than that, being just a Joe Johnson three, Andray Blatche smart shot, D-Will jumper, Bogans or Stackhouse corner trey, or even just a Gerald Wallace layup away EVERY SINGLE TIME.
Although the Bulls' lead at halftime was just 47-46, it ballooned to 12 points after another nightmare 3rd quarter for the Nets, one in which they were doubled in points by their opponent. But give Brooklyn credit, down 14 after a Marco Belinelli layup to start the 4th, they came back with an 11-2 spurt to be within just five points of a tie. Then, with a chance to be down three, Andray Blatche missed a layup, allowing Joakim Noah to get a dunk and then Nate Robinson to hit a three to magically augment the lead back up to 10.
The same thing happened a few minutes later when another Nets run put them down just four, when an open Joe Johnson three clanked off the rim, leading to a pair of Kirk Hinrich free throws and later a Luol Deng jumper to seal Brooklyn's fate. They were given tons of chances to win, but threw each and every one of them right into the trash, which they later burned and dumped the remains of into a landfill. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Frustrating, frustrating, frustrating.
Some other observations I had from the game: #ReggieEvansPlayoffReboundWatch: Just 8. Only played 23 minutes for some reason beyond my comprehension……Gerald Wallace was his usual awful self, missing six of his seven shots in 19 horrendously unimpactful minutes. He also had the lowest +/- in the game (-16). Classic Nets Gerald Wallace, not Portland or Charlotte Gerald Wallace……Brook Lopez scored his usual 21 points on 7-14 shooting but just played a little over six minutes in the 4th quarter, when the Nets were already down 10. PJ has done this a lot with Brook, make him sit out crucial moments of tight, important games in which he was playing well in. I don't understand it either…..In fact, PJ's playing time distribution was terrible in all tonight, even disregarding how he handled Brook. Jerry Stackhouse and Keith Bogans combined for 19 minutes off the bench, but were just 1-5 from the field and 0-4 from beyond the arc. Add that time to Gerald's 19 minutes of nothing, and you get basically 38 minutes of wasted playing time that PJ could have given to Kris Humphries (18 minutes, eight points, five boards), Reggie (23 minutes), or even Andray Blatche (20 minutes, eight points, seven rebounds), who were all playing good basketball. If your best-performing players aren't in the game, especially during the playoffs, how can any team expect to win…..PJ did make a move that I happened to agree with, and that was given MarShon Brooks some run in the 4th. Although he just subbed in for a quick two minutes, the team got a nice boost from his presence, and he ended up with a +6. Brooks has been the odd man out recently, and introducing him back into the rotation couldn't hurt, especially with his long frame (for defense) and knack for scoring in bunches…….D-Will has a pretty weird game. On one hand, his passing was spectacular, as he was able to compile 10 assists (mainly to a hot Brook Lopez, who drained a bunch of top-of-the-key jumpers) with only two turnovers. On the other, he couldn't shoot a ball into the ocean, making just one of nine field goal attempts and missing all five threes he took. If he makes just two of the open threes he missed, this recap (and series) would be looking a lot different right now.
Looking Ahead
The series picks back up again on Thursday night in Chicago, with the Bulls in the driver's seat.
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