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| The Nets–supposed-to-be division champion Brooklyn Nets–let Evan Turner score 29 points tonight! On just 22 shots! |
Friday night, against a Philadelphia 76ers team that had lost 17 of its previous 20 games, your Brooklyn Nets–missing Joe Johnson (personal), Kevin Garnett (rest, I guess Thursday's off day wasn't enough), Jason Terry (some injury, it's been so long I forgot), and Andrei Kirilenko (visiting Prokhorov in Russia?)–made yours truly watch one of their worst defensive efforts in recent memory (which is saying something) for nearly THREE hours. Oh, and they went to overtime, allowed 121 points, and let Turner hit a layup at the buzzer in OT for a Philly win.
I didn't know this was possible, but the 76ers actually took 100 shots on the button in this evening's game, hitting 51 of them. The Nets, on the other hand, took only 85 in 55 minutes of play. Reasons for this shocking disparity which clearly made a big difference in the result: Brooklyn took 30 free throws, missing nine of them and Philly won the rebounding battle by 13. It would be nice for some guys on Brooklyn (Brook, maybe) to rebound decently for their size, but I guess that's too much to ask Jason Kidd's hardworking and underpaid stars!
Some other observations I had from the game: I really can't say much more about this one, or else I'm going to projectile vomit, so this will be short…..Paul Pierce played great yet again. He went 7-for-9 from the field, hit four threes (including one that gave the Nets a lead late in overtime, which was only squandered by Evan Turner's game-winner), and scored 24 points in addition to grabbing 10 rebounds (!). Paul looks like his former, high-scoring self. It's about time…..Mirza and Alan Anderson (both starting) combined to score 44 points, knocking down 11 threes. Unfortunately, Alan airballed a key long-ball attempt in OT which crimped the Nets chances of extending a lead…..Brook Lopez scored 22 and grabbed seven rebounds, but allowed loads of offensive and defensive boards alike to Philly, in addition to getting destroyed by points in the paint. He played soft, really soft…..D-Will was good, as per usual, and put together a solid double-double. However, he (and Paul) each committed six turnovers, an unacceptable number for two of Brooklyn's biggest scorers…..The Nets were crushed in terms of rebounding and effort, yet Mason Plumlee played just nine minutes and Reggie Evans didn't even play? Terrible roster management by Jason Kidd in this one. He fell prey to the trap of leaving five scorers on the floor at a time and forgetting that there is just one basketball. He's a rookie coach, but that's inexcusable for someone who has been in the NBA for as long as he has……Kevin Garnett really has to rest after the Nets' last game, which was on Wednesday? Having Thursday off wasn't enough for Kevin to be rested enough to play the game he's paid to play? That's ludicrous.
Looking Ahead
Thankfully, the Nets don't play until Monday, but it's at home against the Pacers, who got Danny Granger back tonight. Brooklyn is staring 9-18 right in the face.
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