Brooklyn Nets Get Tenderized On Boards; Hit Another Wall In Loss To Wizards

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

 

WEDNESDAY FINAL:

Wizards   113

NETS       107

BROOKLYN NETS: Washington Conducts Board Meeting In Barclays Center.  John Wall Wraps Up His Business In NYC.

Look what John Wall did to you..., again.

Were the Washington Wizards supposed to be a better team than Brooklyn this season?  Or, in Vegas speak, a five point prohibitive favorite?  In two meetings this season, the Wizards have outdone the Nets by a combined 225-215 score.  The first meeting went into overtime, while this most recent game wreaked of garbage time.

No, really.  The Nets got outrebounded by a woeful 32-5 margin on the offensive boards.  At the other end, the Nets pulled down 26 defensive rebounds, but allowed Washington 19 offensive rebounds.  As a result, the Wizards took 14 more shots from the field than Brooklyn, and had seven players score in double digits.  The Nets were outrebounded 51-31 in all.

Otherwise, each team inflicted relative equal damage from behind the arch and from the free throw line.  The Nets even shot 52.7% from the field, and still lost.  Deron Williams notched another double-double with 13 assists and 15 points, in 42 minutes.  Joe Johnson scored 20, and Brook Lopez, back after missing a pair of games, dropped in 22 points.  Paul Pierce even led all scorers with 27 points in 35 minutes off the bench.  But when Joe Johnson of all people, leads the Nets with 7 rebounds, you know they did something wrong.  Rebounding was supposed to be this team's forte - just not against the Wizards.

The guys charged with cleaning up on the boards, totaled ten rebounds - Brook Lopez had 5, Kevin Garnett had 4, and Andray Blatche had one!  Pierce and Johnson combined on 13 boards.

John Wall concluded his feast on New York City teams.  He scored 21 points to lead the Wizards, while center Marcin Gortat led all players with 10 rebounds.  Trevor Booker tied Deron Williams with 13 assists.  In the first encounter of the season, John Wall dished a game high 14 assists, and scored 17 points.  Marcin Gortat pulled down 12 rebounds and scored 15 points.  That's a trend folks.  And on Monday night, Wall dropped 20 points and 8 assists against the Knicks at the Garden.

The Nets dropped to 9-16 on the season, but are still 4-2 in the last six.  Next, Brooklyn will visit Philadelphia on Friday night.



Mike.BTB