Nothing But 15 Nets

Nets (115) - Nuggets (70)

2009-02-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

The best game of the year for this team. By far. The Nuggets are a top team in the west, with one of the NBA's top offenses and the Nets held them to 70 points, and 35% shooting. That is not a mistype, the Nets were rolling on all cylinders tonight to their largest victory in franchise history. I went to the game and it was something to watch, it is not every day that the Nuggets get beat at their own game. The Nets were running the ball at will, led by lightning quick Devin Harris who had 28 points. Tonight was one of those nights when Harris is 4 steps quicker than his opponent. He drove when he wanted, outclassed Chauncey Billups, and stopped at the foul line 17 times. He set the pace for the Nets tonight and his teammates were more than happy to follow. Anderson and Lopez continued their hot streaks as Anderson recorded his 1st career double-double (13 points, 12 boards) and Lopez just missed another one finishing with 15 points and 9 boards. The Nuggets could not find their shot all night as the Net d hampered them from all spots. This was another step for Lopez as well, in the fact that he held the athletically gifted Nene in check. This was a great game for the team and there isn't really much to elaborate on, the score says it all, this was all Nets all the time.

Nets (115) - Wizards (88)

2009-02-18T10:19:00.000-08:00

The Nets followed up a nice win over the Bucks with a blow out win over the Wizards. This score is indicative of how the game should've turned out considering the Wizards are the worst team in the NBA and they were playing with only 8 healthy bodies, and one of the many injured was Caron Butler. While the score indicates a blow out, and it certainly was one in the second half, the Nets struggled throughout the first half and with just a few minutes left were down by 7 points to the Wiz, but then Devin Harris took over. He ignited a Nets run that put them up by 5 at the half and they never looked back from there. The Nets outscored the Wiz 35 to 18 in the 3rd quarter, effectively ending the game. The Nets got another solid team performance tonight after one last night versus the Bucks. Ryan Anderson continued his hot shooting, he really seems to be growing comfortable in the starting role, and finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Brook Lopez kept things going for the rookies recording his 3rd straight double-double with 12 points and 12 boards. The Big 2 led the way yet again however as Harris and Carter finished with 26 and 20 points respectively. Also, tonight saw the return of Sean Williams to the court for the Nets, and he made a statement immediately, coming into the game and throwing down a powerful left handed jam. On the Washington side, a player people should watch out for is Nick Young, the 2nd year guard out of USC. He has a great ability to create his own shot, and make tough shots as well. He is developing into an instant offense type of guy for the Wizards and should be an Eddie House type player in this league. Overall, this victory was a must win for the Nets and they won it convincingly, as they should have.

Nets (99) - Bucks (85)

2009-02-04T10:26:00.000-08:00

Despite pleas from my recuperating (from shoulder surgery) father, and mother nature's best attempt to clog the roads, I made it to yesterday's game which marked the return of former Net stalwart Richard Jefferson. RJ got a warm reception during player introductions and deservedly so he was a key part of the greatest stretch of basketball in Nets history, and he was always a fan favorite because of his athleticism and his funny, opinionated personality. RJ played well in his return home tonight scoring 27 points but he was the only bright spot on a Bucks team playing with out its two top players, Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut. The Nets put a damper on RJ's return with the ultimate team effort as they had five players score in double figures. Brook Lopez followed up his 24 point, 17 rebound performance on saturday with a 22 point, 12 rebound performance tonight. He is quickly becoming a go to guy on the Nets offense. He gets to the rim and finishes with authority and is great running pick and rolls with VC or Devin. He also is starting to really attack on the boards, and is becoming a solid double double guy for this team. Another rookie wasn't far behind Lopez last night as Ryan Anderson had one of his better games of the year shooting 7 for 9 and scoring 19 points while pulling down 7 boards. It was good to see him shooting the ball from long range well because he has been struggling the last month or so and having him play well especially with Eduardo Najera now out indefinately is something the Nets need to happen. In addition, to the rookies playing well they got a solid all around performance from VC who recorded his frist triple double of the season and while he was off on his shot he impacted the game in other ways, particularly with his ability to drive and suck in the defense. While those 3 guys all contributed to the Net victory, Keyon Dooling was probably most essential for them, he hit 5 three pointers off the bench and scored 18 points, often hitting shots in huge spots. The Nets had been up by 15 then had their lead trimmed to 4 before Doolling converted a rare 4 point play to extend the lead to 8 and effecitvely end any Bucks hope for a comeback. The Nets played solid team defense holding the Bucks to 36% shooting in addition to their well rounded offensive showing. This night was supposed to be about one individual: Richard Jefferson , but it wasn't as it was about the team, and not RJ's team but his former team who used multiple contributions to pick up a big win in a game with playoff implications.

Nets (85)-Sixers(83)

2009-01-31T19:10:00.000-08:00

I only caught the end of the 3rd quarter and the entire fourth quarter of this game, but I'm sure glad I did. I turned it down with the Nets down 14 and the camera showing Vince grimacing in pain along the Nets bench because of a sprained right ankle... my thoughts at the time "oh god, another bad Net loss, why do I root for this team?" But the last 15 minutes of game time, made me forget that pessimistic thinking, as the Nets made their back without VC for a big road win. The Nets had cut the lead down to 10 at the end of 3, a manageable but not ideal deficit. With VC out the Nets were playing 2 guys that hadn't been seeing much court time: CDR and Trenton Hassell. One of them, Hassell, made a huge difference. The Nets were a stout defensive team in the 4th quarter, holding the Sixers to 2 for 20 shooting in the 4th quarter, which is an incredible accomplishment for this defensively challenged team. Hassell played tough defense for the nets including making a few blocks and steals down the stretch. With such defensive struggles the past few weeks, a strong defensive player like Hassell should be playing and he showed why tonight. The Nets also got strong contributions from Keyon Dooling, Devin Harris, and Brook Lopez, who contributed to the victory. The Nets won despite an offensive rebounding barrage from the Sixers and free throw deficiency from Devin Harris, and they won with defense. Yes, you read that right, defense. The Nets won and they played defense, a coincidence? I think not.

Apology

2009-01-31T19:06:00.000-08:00

Loyal readers i want to apologize for my lack of posts over the past few weeks. I have been very busy with midterms and other things, but have tried my best to watch as many net games as possible but haven't found the time to blog about them. So i am going to resume blogging, starting with tonight's game versus the 76ers.

Nets-Heat

2009-01-21T13:41:00.000-08:00

The Nets can't beat the Heat. This isn't just me sharing my opinion about the fact that the Heat have been and are better than the Nets, this is fact. The Nets played their 3rd down to the wire game with the Heat this season and lost for the 3rd time. I will point out that they were without Devin Harris for this game and the first meeting but still they need to beat this team especially considering the fact that they are so close in the standings. I was switching back and forth between this and the football games but I was there to see D-Wade dominate us yet again down the stretch. He hit some big free throws and tough jumpers in overtime to all but seal a Heat victory. The Nets were down 6 with 35 seconds left and actually made a valiant comeback to get it to 3 with just under 10 to go but Vince fresh off his game winner yesterday, forced up a bad 3 despite Keyon Dooling being wide open and there being 7 seconds to go. Just another chapter in the growing frustration that is playing the Miami Heat.

Nets-Hawks

2009-01-15T06:40:00.001-08:00

What an exhilarating game. I went to the game with a friend and it was awesome (well the second half was). The Nets played an absolutely awful first half, they couldn't score to save the life of them. They had only 16 points about midway through the 2nd quarter and only 29 at the half. They were down 20 at the half but I think they were lucky they were only down 20 because the Hawks should have run away with this game, and 20 points may seem like a lot but the Hawks could've been up by 30. The game was so atrocious though that Coach Frank got himself ejected because he had clearly seen enough of their offensive ineptitude, and Brian Hill was left in charge of the sqaud. The boos were coming down from around the building during the first half, particularly at the end of it as it ended on quite a poor note. The Nets had a little over 4 seconds left with the ball and they throw it into Brook Lopez who loses it, and Mario West, a 12th man for the Hawks buries a half court jumper, this epitomized the first half... nothing went right.

The second half was a different story though, as the Nets went to a semi-trap defense and the Hawks suddenly couldn't find the basket while the Nets were pushing the tempo and burying their 3s. The charge was led by Devin Harris (26 points, 11 assists) who pushed the ball up the floor alot and created for teammates, setting up a lot of wide open threes. They would be cutting the lead and the Hawks would push it up, and the Nets could never really get over the hump. Had the Hawks made their free throws I don't know if the Nets would have had it in them to comeback but in the late 3rd quarter and early 4th Zaza Pachulia and Josh Smith both missed a couple of free throws and the Nets hung around. VC had a terrible first half then he heated up at the end of the 3rd quarter but when Harris was taken out, Vince went into trying to take over all by himself mode and started forcing shots. Brian Hill made a good coaching decision though to take him out when he started doing this. The Nets got some great help from the role players tonight as well as Simmons and Hayes both played very well and buried some big 3s, Dooling also gave the Nets a spark, and so did Josh Boone. On his 1st sequence in the game Boone grabbed 3 offensive rebounds on 1 possesion before being fouled, he played with a lot of grit. The Nets finally got over the hump at 69-68, then an interesting coaching decision was made as brian Hill had Ryan Anderson in the game even though Frank had recently taken him out of the rotation. Anderson buried a huge 3 to give the Nets a 74-71 lead, and the game went back and forth the rest of the fourth with the Nets going with a small lineup of Harris, VC, Hayes, Dooling, and Lopez. Harris tweaked his hamstring with about 5 minutes to go in the 4th and he wasn't the same after that, turning the ball over and shooting poorly.

The Nets were in control of overtime, continuing their great shooting, and they had the ball up one with 20 seconds to go and the Hawks didn't foul and Harris turned it over, leading to a Hawks score. The Nets then had the ball with 12 to go and there was a foul with 4 seconds left. A bad inbounds throw went into the back court and was retrieved by Carter who took a few dribbles and from 31 feet buried the game winner, and the crowd which had been cheering the Nets on the entire 2nd half, erupted.

What a game.

Nets-Bobcats (2), Nets-Bulls, Nets-Pistons

2009-01-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

I was way for all of these games so I can't comment insighfully on them, but I'll just make some borad observations. Even though Charlotte has been playing well since acquiring Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, they still aren't a very good team (they are the lowest scoring team in the league in fact), and the Nets should've won both games of the home-and-home. While on the topic of the Bobcats though I must say how happy I am they passed on Brook Lopez in June, it turned out great for us.

The Bulls had lost 7 straight road games coming into their game with the nets, and given the Nets recent struggles at home they of course snapped their streak at the Meadowlands.

The Detroit game I think should serve as a deterrent to anyone that wishes to criticize Vince Carter for not caring enough. I've never bought into the fact that VC doesn't really care about the game, he's just not an incredibly emotional guy, but neither is Eli Manning and he won a SuperBowl. It was also nice to see the Nets make a run in the second half, even without their best player, a good sign for the team.

Nets-Pacers

2009-01-02T22:07:00.000-08:00

This is one of those games the Nets should feel lucky to win. They never really played great the entire game, they hung around mainly because the Pacers aren't very good, and they have a terrible defense. I watched the game while packing for Florida and while it was close it was never really exciting enough to warrant my full attention. I thought the Nets lead was secured when they were up 7 with a little under 3 minutes to go, but they blew the lead and the Pacers were going to extend the lead after taking it bt Danny Granger one of the best foul shooters in the NBA missed some big free throws down the stretch and the Nets hung in there, down 1 on their final possession. The play they called on this possession was questionable, they had Vince just holding the ball near the sideline then he passed to Devin and he didn't have much time to do anything with it and he took a jumper from about 18 feet straight away and wouldn't you know it went in for Harris' 1st career game winner. An exciting ending to an otherwise mediocre game. The Big 2 for the Nets stepped up again as Harris, in addition to the game winner, contributed 29 points and 11 assists, while Vince had 38 points and 8 boards. These 2 are the key to any success the Nets have this year, and they stepped up again.

Nets-Rockets

2009-01-02T21:59:00.000-08:00

This game was hyped up beyond belief: Yi vs Yao, the battle of the faces of Chinese basketball. Well the game didn't live up to the hype, as it was an absolutely terrible game. This game was never close, as the Nets trailed big early on (they trailed by 16 after the first quarter) and despite scoring a few buckets here and a few there, they were never able to make a true dent in the Rockets lead. The Rockets were in control throughout and when the Nets tried their trap defense in the 3rd quarter to come back the Rockets would consistently beat it, and their lead hovered around 20. The only reason I stayed till the 4th quarter of the game was because of the T-Shirt toss, the possibility of winning a T-Shirt was much more exciting than the actual game. Yes, that's how bad the Nets played. And for those of you wondering who won the matchup between the two Chinese big men: the answer is as embarassing as the result of the game, Yao was great, Yi was well he was symbolic of the Nets performance. Yao had 24 points and 16 rebounds on 8 of 13 shooting while his counterpart (Yi) had 10 points and 7 boards on 4 of 13 shooting. Not a good night for the Nets, or Yi.

Nets-Heat

2009-01-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

This was a typical Nets-Heat game of recent years. The game was a hard fought battle right till the end with lots of back and forth play, and ultimately the Nets demise coming at the hands of perennial Net killers Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem. I only caught the second half but it was very exciting. The game was relatively fast paced, and the defense was poor on both sides but that's what made it exciting. The Nets defense had no good answer for Dwyane Wade as he was just unconscious. Trenton Hassell, probably their strongest perimeter defender played pretty good defense on Wade but Wade just hit tough shot after tough shot and many possesions there was really nothing the Nets could do. Wade finished with 43 points on the night, and he was the reason the Nets could never really get over the hump in the second half they'd cut the lead down to 3 or to 1 but Wade would always answer. The Nets finally did get over the hump though with a little over 2 minutes left but that lead wouldn't hold, especially since Wade got his usual treatment from the refs and was given a bailout foul call with under 5 seconds left on the shot clock when the clock ticked under 2 minutes. Wade's partner in crime, Udonis Haslem, delivered the dagger nailing a corner jumper with under 15 seconds to play and the shot clock at 2 to give the Heat a 5 point cushion that the Nets couldn't overcome.

Nets-Mavs

2009-01-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

O how I wish I could've been there. I would've gone to this game had there not been a blizzard and I'm very disapointed I missed this. Devin Harris put on a clinic in front of Mark Cuban dropping 41 points and dishing out 13 assists, demonstrating to his former teammates and former boss who got the better of last February's trade. My favorite part of the night though wasn't Harris' utter domination it was YES Network repeatedly showing a stunned and baffled Mark Cuban behind the Dallas bench, and the "Thank You Cuban" chant at the game's end. The Nets were an offensive juggernaut led by thier lightning quick leader who had help from VC who dropped 34 points of his own and grabbed 10 rebounds along with 6 assists, and also got some solid shooting from the bench as Jarvis Hayes went 5 for 8 from the field and scored 14. This game was never really close in the second half, as the Nets led by 20 early in the 3rd quarter, everything after that was just icing on the cake for the Nets against the former face of their franchise. This was not only a great win because of the opponent but also because of the Nets recent struggles both at home and in the 3rd quarter and tonight they proved they can play well in the 3rd and win in their own building. A very satisfying victory.

Nets-Jazz

2009-01-02T21:24:00.000-08:00

A very disheartening defeat. I only caught the 4th quarter of the game but obviously any time you have a 22 point lead and blow it, you can't be happy. The nets played pretty competitively throughout the first half of the fourth quarter and they were up 80-77 with about 5 and a half minutes to go, that's where the Jazz just started to systematically pull away from them. The Jazz went to a zone defense that the Nets could not break for the life of themselves, and went on an 11-0 spurt to all but seal the game. The Nets just really could not get anything going against the zone, they were really stifled by it, and their frustration at the offensive end started to get to them at the defensive end as well. Devin and Vince both played well, as did Brook Lopez but the Nets couldn't keep the momentum from their fast start and that cost them.

Nets-Raptors

2008-12-19T21:40:00.001-08:00

This game was much better than when these two teams met on Friday, especially for VC, he only shot 33% but had 20 points, 10 boards, and 5 assists. After another poor showing in the 3rd quarter and being down 11 early in the 4th the nets appeared done, but Harris led them roaring back. They were down 73-62 and harris had a 3 point play then a jumper and lay up to lead the Nets back, and he had VC on the bench. The nets ended up taking a 14 point lead 88 to 74 which was cut to 8 after 2 Raptor 3s. A series of made baskets by Toronto and missed foul shots by the Nets had them within 5 with under a minute to go but the Nets held on. The really didn't play great the first 3 quarters, especially harris, who didn't turn it on till the 4th but his 4th made up for his 1st 3. I loved the resiliency shown by the Nets to come back and win the game, and loved Ryan Anderson's 21 point, 9 rebound performance off the bench (he should be starting as Yi was ineffective yet again). He really does a lot more overall then Yi does in terms of defense, scoring, rebounding, and hustle. Despite the road victory, there's a warning sign flashing about missed free throws and the Nets inability to put teams away. The Raptors should've been done after being down 14 but the Nets let them hang around and almost come back. They can't do that and expect to compete for the playoffs, but overall they won a game they probably shouldn't have so you have to be pleased.

Nets-Bulls

2008-12-19T21:24:00.000-08:00

Only caught the 4th quarter of this game cause I went to see "Milk", it was a pretty interesting movie, I'd recommend it. Anway I heard the Nets were up double digits in the begginning of the 2nd half but they blew the lead. They were up 3 when I got home. The 4th quarter was competitive until the last few minutes when the Nets went cold on both sides of the floor and blew the game despite leading late. The Nets can't be blowing double digit leads and they also need to finish every game like the way they finished in Sacramento and Philly, playing tough defense and hitting big shots especially when the shot clock is low. They didn't do that tonight and the result was a disapointing loss.

Nets-Raptors

2008-12-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

Was going to go to this game but couldn't and thankfully I didn't. The Nets stayed competitive in the first half despite shooting horribly as they were only down 6. The nets then proceeded to have another horrific 3rd quarter peformance and were down 18 going into the fourth. I've tried to erase this game from my memory so I don't have much to comment about it. Really there's not too much too look into here, when you shoot under 30% before garbage time and finish shooting 32% and 26% from 3 point range you aren't going to win, especially when your best player goes a whopping 0 for 13 (I'm referring to VC in case you were wondering. He's still their go to guy despite Harris' spectacular play recently). He finished with a whopping 3 points and was just so off all night, his shots weren't even close, and his game was just really representative of the way the Nets played as a whole. Just a bad game. A bad, bad game.

Nets-Knicks

2008-12-19T20:50:00.000-08:00

Went to this game, and it was exciting at first before turning infuriating. The Nets were awesome in the first quarter as Devin scored 14 points (finished with 32) in the first 4 and a half minutes and they had a double digit lead about halfway through the quarter. Thye were playing into the Knicks hands though pushing the tempo and taking a lot of outside jumpers instead of trying to slow the game down and take advantage of the size advantage they had with Lopez at the 5 versus David Lee (who is only 6 foot 9). Since they didn't slow it down Lopez was totally ineffective and even detrimental because he couldn't keep up with the game's fast pace and was not good in the up-tempo offense. Yi started well hiting a 3 in the first and playing very agressive as he had an alley oop from Harris and slammed home a putback dunk but then he like the Nets went down hill and he was a big reason for that. The Nets were up by 16 points at one point in the first half but were only up 6 at halftime. The 3rd quarter was awful as Al Harrington (39 points, 13 rebounds) took Yi to school, beating him off the dribble then when Yi stepped off Harrington would knock down the outside shot. My dad always use to tell me to stay square on defense and not turn my feet, and he would say that so many times he was like a broken record... well Yi could surely use my dad in his ear right now. When playing defense as soon as someone puts the ball on the floor Yi turns his feet allowing them to blow by him. Frank was too slow to take Yi out and when he did it was too late. L-Frank refuses to play matchups, Sean Williams would have been well suited to guard Harrington or his counterparts (Wilson Chandler who had 24 points and 11 boards, and Tim Thomas who had 26 points off the bench) because of his length, quickness, and athleticism, but he didn't play till late and the Nets suffered. The Nets cut the Knicks double digit second half lead to 6 with 5 minutes to play before Wilson Chandler hit a 3 and got fouled forcing me and my dad to the exits.

Nets-Sixers

2008-12-19T20:27:00.001-08:00

Good performance a night after an easy win over the T-Wolves. The Nets had to work harder in this one against a Sixer team without Elton Brand, but that wasn't necessarily bad for them as he has yet to mesh with the run and gun young talent that led the Sixers to the playoffs last year and they played pretty decently without him. Another well rounded effort from the Nets as they got solid contributions from Simmons (11 pts) and Yi (12 pts and 7 boards) in addition to the usual performances from VC who narrowly missed a triple dobuel (14 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists) and Harris (27 points and 8 assists). Also nice contributions from Anderson and Swift off the bench. The Nets led most of the way but they let the Sixers hang around for longer than you would like, but they won so that's really all you can ask for. Another observation I made is that Keyon Dooling is quickly becoming a go to guy in the clutch, he hit some big 3s against Sacramento in their OT victory, and he hit another big 3 late in the game tonight to put it in the bag for the Nets despite only shooting 2 for 9 overall. That kind of mental toughness kind of embodies the toughness the Nets have shown late in games lately which is something you didn't see at all last year.

Nets-Wolves

2008-12-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile bloggers, but I've been very busy. Now I'll do make up postings. This game was a great bounceback to the dud they threw up against the Wiz before this. It was an easy game, the T-Wolves didn't play too well cause frankly they aren't that good. This was also a very well rounded effort for the Nets as they had 7 players score in double figures, and got contributions from the entire team. The entire starting 5 scored in double digits (Simmons, Yi, Harris, VC, Lopez) and Hayes and Dooling did as well, Carter led the charge with 18 points. Stromile Swift and Ryan Anderson also gave good minutes off the bench, and Lopez finished with 10 boards for a double-double, continuing his stellar play. Nice break for Devin and Vince as well as they only played 32 and 34 minutes respectively. Overall, the Nets "made the next team pay" as Vince said they had too after the Washington debacle. Another side note, tonight marked the return of Jason Collins to the Meadowlands. he got a mixed reaction from the fans. I always liked Collins, he was undervalued both by the fans and media I thought. He was truly an outstanding interior defender and was great at doing the intangible: setting screens, boxing out, etc. He did exactly what the Nets asked of him every night and was the ultimate team player, just an overall class act. I did a basketball camp of his once and he was very engaging and really took a lot of time with the kids. It was nice to see him back in the place where he did a lot of good things for a long time.

Nets-Wizards

2008-12-07T20:10:00.000-08:00

What a dud. I unfortunately went to the game and witnessed their performance in person and it was painful at times. My thoughts: 1) I've noticed with Bobby Simmons that he seems to have a solid 1st quarter, hitting a 3, playing good defense, then when he comes out, usually for a long stretch, he never seems to regain his rhythm. This was on full display tonight as he played well at first but in the 3rd quarter when presented with 3-4 open looks in the first few minutes he couldn't buy a bucket. Ditto for Yi who was horrible in the 2nd half. 2) I'll give the Nets a pass for this game, they always struggle in their 1st game back from a west coast trip, losing to the Wiz this year and the Grizzlies last year. I'll cut them some slack since they came back after this game and won 2 straight. 3)The nets don't close out on 3 point shooters, the Wiz buried them with 3 after 3 in the 3rd quarter. The nets play too loose on the perimeter, they have some quick defenders like Harris, Simmons, and Carter, Dooling also, and there's no reason they shouldn't be able to handle playing tight on the perimeter. Their perimeter d is too soft for the time being. 4) Good to see CDR back, he didn't play till garbage time but he showed flashes. Got to the paint a few times and knocked down a shot or two, nothing spectacular but another positive sign for the Nets.

Nets-Suns

2008-12-07T20:05:00.000-08:00

This team is really starting to come together after the win over Phoenix. Unlike the season opening game vs the Warriors when they were down double digits throughout the 4th but couldn't come through, this game they showed the resiliency and mental toughness they lacked all of last year and the begginning of this season. Obviously when discussing this victory you have to start and finish with Devin Harris, dropping 47 points on the defenseless Suns. Really he has been the difference for them early on, he opens up so many things for the team, watching him play is just so much fun. He seems to have developed a signature move, the stepback jumper, he loves to take that shot and hes made it quite a few times. Didn't see much of the game besides last 2 minutes so can't really comment otherwise, but obviously an awesome performance.

Nets-Jazz

2008-11-29T21:11:00.000-08:00

Over .500, what an accomplishment. Nobody, not even myself, the biggest optimist for the nets there is could have envisioned this. I am ecstatic over this victory, you had Vince showing he's healthy and back after leaving the Kings game with a hamstring injury, and you had Devin continuing his meteoric ascent to the level of elite NBA point guards like his counterpart, Deron Williams. Despite missing Carlos Boozer and having Andrei Kirlenko sidelined after getting injured, the Jazz are still a quality team led by Williams and their arena is known as one of the most hostile environments for visiting teams in the NBA. For the Nets to come in to utah and win by 17 is a big accomplishment. Also glad to see Stro Swift return, i dont know how much of an immediate impact he will have but it's always good to have flexibility and the more bodies that are healthy the more flexiblility the coach has with his team.

Nets-Kings

2008-11-29T20:54:00.001-08:00

What a game, this game was made exciting when it shouldn't have been made that way. The Nets were up 17 midway through the 3rd and the Kings had nothing going then the Nets managed to blow the lead and were forced to come from 6 down with 34 seconds left, but they ended up winning so that's all you can ask for I suppose. My thoughts:

1) Devin Harris displayed his mental toughness tonight. He struggled shooting all game but when Bobby Jackson gave him space with 7 seconds left for a game tying 3 he had no hesitation to take the shot. He still had the confidence in himself to take such a big shot even after having an off night, which is a big leap foward for him. Harris also made what proved to be the winning shot in overtime on what seems to be becoming his signature: a drive to the lane, a jump stop, then pop. Great way to pull through in the end when his team needed him to.

2) Obviously seeing Vince cringe after his hamstring cramped up was not pretty, but thankfully it was just cramps and he won't miss any time. 3) Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson impressed in front of some hometown fans. Lopez is quickly proving to be a force on the low block, and someone the Nets can trust to score or draw a foul when they throw the ball to him. He finished with 20 points and 8 boards something that doesn't seem shocking any more. Anderson played well with 13 and 8 in justy 18 minutes due to foul trouble. I don't like that L-Frank stuck with yi down the stretch even though he was struggling, Anderson was shooting better than yi and also contributes in ways Yi doesn't, so Anderson should have been playing with under 2 to go in regulation and OT. 4) Keyon Dooling is thriving off the bench. Playing where he belongs as the 1st guard off the bench, Dooling continues to provide energy minutes giving the Nets some perimeter scoring and solid defense. Tonight he had 2 clutch overtime 3s for the nets just as it seemed the game would get out of reach, he nailed his shots. Overall, a somewhat impressive performance. Obviously you like the resiliency the team showed, but it never should have gotten to the point where the Nets were depending on John Salmons' missed free throws in order to win.

Nets-Lakers

2008-11-29T20:48:00.001-08:00

Nets stayed competetive in the 1st half of this one, holding Kobe Bryant down and forcing the role players to beat them (the Lakers have the best role players in the game though). The 3rd quarter everything fell apart for them, they couldn't score, and the Lakers were just slicing through their defense. I shut it off 2 minutes into the 4th cause I couldn't watch them play listlessly any longer. Even though they were blown out, the 1st half is definately a positive of this game as they showed they can hang around with the NBA's best even if just for 1 half. The Lakers are really good also, I mean they have 3 all-star palyers in their lineup with Kobe, Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol, then Derek Fisher also who is just one of those solid basketball player, never spectacular but he always does what he needs to do. Also Lamar Odom is their 6th man, he would be a starter anywhere else but on the Lakers they have enough scoring and talent to bring him off the bench. Also guys like Jordan Farmar and Trevor Ariza are really developing nicely, making the Lakers a tough team to play.

Nets-Clippers

2008-11-23T20:44:00.000-08:00

Went to last night's game and loved the performance. My observations: 1) Bobby Simmons had his best game as a Net thus far. He got the Nets going in the first quarter hitting 3 threes, and playing good defense. he also shot consistently throughout the game and played solid d on Al Thornton and Ricky Davis. If he can shoot well and provide good d like last night regularly that would be a huge plus for the Nets, huge. 2) Yi broke out of his slump and did something he really hadn't done since opening night. He played well from start to finish, and did more then just shoot. While his shooting was on Yi also played good defense including a big rejection in the 3rd quarter, and showed flashes of contributing in more way than with just his shooting ability. Playing well through the course of a whole game is something Yi has struggled with so to see him do that, was a big positive. 3) All starters scored in double figures, showing the nets had a real team effort to win the game, and showing that they have the talent to produce from 3 to 15 at a level nobody would have expected before the season. 4) Brook Lopez is a very good player, finishing with another double dobule, the rookie from Stanford is quickly making a push to remain the starting center, even after Josh Boone returns. I like this move cause I think boone would do really well as an energy guy off the bench kind of like Keyon Dooling is, cause he provides strong rebounding, and solid d which can only help the 2nd unit. 5) Marcus Camby and Baron Davis are clearly frustrated on this Clipper team, you could just see it on their faces late in the game and when they came to the bench. This season can't possibly be going the way they envisioned.