Brooklyn Nets: Jason Kidd's Lackluster Crew Crowned By Sacramento Kings

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

 

Nets Put The FLAT in Flatbush

BROOKLYN NETS: The Coach Has Spoken.

Next - It's Always Worth While Watching A Team Respond.

For this assemblage of players, that was a pathetic showing.  Sometimes, there's not much you can do about cold shooting.  But on this night, it seemed as if the Nets defensive effort missed the flight to California.  They allowed Sacramento to score 13-points better than their season average, while losing by 21 points to a team which entered the night losers of 5 in a row.

I couldn't have worded Wednesday night's game any better than did Coach Kidd:

• "It's unacceptable - We don't score, we hang our heads and then they score on the other end."

There you go.  The Brooklyn Nets proceeded to hang their heads all night while winding down an embarrassing Left Coast opening 107-86 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

Neither team dominated the other on the boards.  Both posted near equal efforts on the offensive and defensive ends.  But 15 Brooklyn turnovers led to Sacramento outscoring Brooklyn 82-62 from the floor.  Overall, the Nets shot poorly, 37.8% versus 43.6% for the Kings.  Sacramento additionally outscored Brooklyn from beyond the three, by a 24-15 margin.

The Nets were undone by a game high 24-points by Marcus Thornton, and 19-points by Isaiah Thomas, both off the bench.  Jason Thompson led all players with 11 rebounds, followed by Patrick Peterson with 10 boards.

Brook Lopez was 50% from the floor and led the Nets with 16 points, and tied with Paul Pierce for the team lead with 9 rebounds.  Paul Pierce scored 12 points.  Joe Johnson led the Nets with 36 minutes played, but was only 3/10 from the field and finished with 10 points.  Deron Williams ended with 35 minutes, scored 13 points on 5/13 shooting, and issued 7 assists.

Kevin Garnett was limited to 15 minutes, but pulled down eight defensive rebounds and blocked a shot, to go along with 6 points.  Mason Plumlee was the beneficiary of extended playing time.  He clocked in 18 minutes, scored 3 points and pulled down 5 rebounds.  Meanwhile, Shaun Livingston continues to provide quality play off the bench, scoring 13 points in 15 minutes.

The Nets and Sacramento Kings ended the night with identical 2-5 records.  The Knicks winning Wednesday evening over Atlanta meant Brooklyn would have to stew in last place until getting back on the floor Friday night against a better opponent in the Phoenix Suns.

Brooklyn has yet to play within the Atlantic Division, but now drop to 1-4 record within the Eastern Conference.  The Nets are now additionally in the midst of a 3-game losing streak, and still in search of their first road victory of the season.




Mike.BTB