Brooklyn Nets: Kings County Lacks Midas Touch in Game Three

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
PLAYOFFS: ROUND TWO

Nets lead Bucks; 2-1

I - BKN 115; MIL 107

II - BKN 125; MIL 86

III - MIL 86; BKN 83

Cold To The Touch

The only thing unfamiliar about Thursday's game was the outcome.  

Many times during the regular season, we saw the Nets get off to poor starts in the first quarter, only to surge and overcome throughout the second and third quarters.  Then spar back and forth in the fourth quarter, and even get outscored from time to time, yet still come away with a victory, not every time, but most of the time.  We saw it again in game one against the Celtics.  

Game three at Milwaukee was no different.  They got blown out in the first, regrouped, and trailed by just two points after three quarters only to get outscored in the fourth.  Brooklyn came up three points short.  Look no further than the first quarter in which they tallied just eleven points and trailed by twenty.  The Nets fought back and, at one point, even led by three but simply couldn't sustain.  

Poor shooting is partly to blame.  Both teams suffered through their worst percentages from the field.  After shooting 46.9% in game one, and 52.1% from the field in game two, Flatbush shot just 36.2% in game three.  Milwaukee was 44.6% in game one and 44.0% in game two, then shot 37.8% on Thursday.

I maintain a rule of thumb: once is an event; twice is a coincidence; three times is a trend.  Flatbush was held to their fewest point total of the regular season and playoffs.  For the moment, that makes Thursday's 83 point effort an aberration unless the next few games prove otherwise.  Despite this season-low output, the Nets are still averaging 107.6 points through three games.  That's the Brooklyn trend.  

Milwaukee, on the other hand, has now been held under 90 points in consecutive games.  For the moment, that still qualifies as a coincidence.  However, they are trending just 92 points per game.  The Nets' defensive effort is speaking for itself, as the Bucks during the regular season averaged 120.1 points per game, third-best in the Association.  On Thursday, Khris Middleton became just the second Buck to exceed 20 points.  In fact, he scored a game-high 35 points.  Otherwise, the only other player to breach 20 points has been Giannis Antetokounmpo, with 34 points in game one and 33 points on Thursday.

The Bucks, despite shooting 63.2%, were plus-five from the free-throw line and plus-six in rebounds.

Flatbush was plus-three in assists (without James Harden).  Brooklyn's minus-six in the paint is less than I anticipated heading to Milwaukee.

Both coaches employed a tight eight-man rotation.  Brooklyn's bench outscored that of Milwaukee by a (gasp..) 7-6 margin.

Kevin Durant, in theory, should not be leading the Nets in assists.  The ponderous thing is that he and Jrue Holiday tied for a game-high with five.  No one else on the Nets had more than three.  It was that kind of game, and herein lies my first point of contention.

Kyrie Irving was 9/22 (40.9%) from the field, including 2/8 from behind the arc.  He scored 22 points but finished with just one assist and only two attempts from the line.  Kyrie Irving the daredevil and sniper, and when he wants to be, there is facilitator Kyrie Irving.  In the absence of James Harden, perhaps a bit more help with distribution is in order.  Otherwise, I'm not quite sure who was wearing his jersey Thursday night. 

But there's another big reason why Kyrie only registered one assist ...

Joe Harris was 1/11, including 1/7 from behind the arc for three points and a team-low minus-eleven in 37 minutes.  I've stated my opinion numerous times regarding this very matter.  If you follow my Trolley, then you know where I stand.  Harris was 7/11 for 19 points in game one and 5/12 for 13 points in game two, both in the comfort of Barclays Center.  This is one bad game or a textbook downward spiral.

Onward to game four!