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Gerald didn't have it again tonight. He missed about seven layups (according to the unofficial counts of several Nets beat-writers). And those missed layups might have been the difference in this tough loss for the Nets |
It really is a mystery why, so many times this season, a decent overall effort from the Nets has been completely neutralized by one awful quarter, few minutes, or even just a set of plays. Tonight, in Brooklyn against Atlanta with a chance to move atop the Atlantic Division standings, the Nets fell off the proverbial cliff, yet again against an above-.500 team, in the fourth quarter, watching a two-point lead after the third quarter evaporate away in the final period as the Hawks scored 34 points in the frame to the Nets' mere 20.
Not having played since last Tuesday, in a win over the Hornets, the Nets looked justifiably rusty to start off this evening, but brought their play back into gear by the end of the first, helped out by a shocking couples of minutes in which Reggie Evans hit multiple hook shots/layups. No, i'm not lying and/or dreaming; that actually happened. Continuing the solid team play they utilized in that win against New Orleans, the Nets passed the ball around great in the first, finding the open way consistently, allowing for open threes and other shots to be taken by the boys from Brooklyn.
The second and third quarters kind of negated each other as the second saw Atlanta's bench, led by John Jenkins and noted ankle-injurer Dahntay Jones, out-play a Brooklyn one that was ice-cold from the field and bailed out by a few isolated threes from Joe Johnson and Mirza, who's performance took a step back tonight. The next quarter would see a resurgence from Brooklyn in which Brook Lopez was finally made the focus of the offensive attack, a role he embraces and one that, when Brook is allowed to play, helps the Nets climb back into many a game.
After a Andray Blatche jumper in the fourth tied up the game at 75 following a pair of buckets by Jones and Jenkins, it was clear that Atlanta wanted this one badly and wasn't going to leave the Big Apple without a W. Al Horford, finishing with an All-Star-like line of 22 points, 11 boards, and four steals (without any turnovers), took over, enforcing his will on a Nets defense that allowed nine layups in the quarter. However, Horford didn't just dominate Brooklyn on offense, as he and front-court mate Josh Smith helped to limit the Nets to just 6-19 shooting in the frame, highlighted by a 2-10 mark on in-the-paint shots. A perfect mix of Nets' ineptitude and Hawks' defensive prowess late in this one helped the margin between these teams from nothing to double-digit points in Atlanta's favor. One to forget, certainly.
Some other observations I had from this game: Two minutes for MarShon Brooks. After one of his best outings of the year on Tuesday, scoring 14 points on 5-6 shooting in Joe Johnson's absence, Brooks was barely used by P.J. Carlesimo this evening, seeing his first action in the fourth after the game had already been decided. Since Keith Bogans and C.J. Watson were both clearly off their games since the beginning of the contest, why wasn't the hot sophomore given some second quarter playing time to make something happen for the Nets? I have no clue either. Makes no sense for MarShon to never play if he's someone that Billy King really didn't want to trade in a possible deal for Dwight Howard……Wonderful game from Reggie Evans, who somehow scored 14 points (on 6-7 shooting) and collected 22 rebounds (with only committing one turnover!). Had the good stuff from tip and was a main reason as to why the Nets were so close throughout……Brook Lopez had 17 on 7-19 shooting, an uncharacteristically inefficient night for the big man. Was dreadful near the basket, missing 8 of 13 attempts when within nine feet of the hoop (and just 2-6 when further than that). Just missed shots against athletic big-men in Horford and Josh Smith. Nothing you can do…..D-Will and Joe each scored 18, with Deron getting his points on 7-14 shooting and Joe on 7-16 shooting. However, D-Will only took one shot in the fourth (which he made). How does the best player of a team take just one shot in the last quarter with his team trying to make a comeback? Additionally, Joe took just three. Unacceptable. Get the better players the ball when losing. That shouldn't have to be said in the NBA…..The bench was terrible, hitting 8 of 22 shots for 22 points. Brooklyn simply needs more production from guys like Bogans (1-4, three points), Watson (1-6, two points), and Mirza (2-5, six points) if they are to win games like these. Also, those three guys missed countless open threes tonight, threes that if they had fallen, would probably have changed the outcome of this game. Hard to win games when open shots don't fall.
Looking Ahead
The Nets are back at it tomorrow, heading to Detroit to take on the lowly Pistons.
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