Battle of the Boroughs: Knicks Complete Season Sweep Over Nets

From the desks of: 

THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH  and  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

Battle of the Boroughs

Knicks win series 4-0

I - NYK 107; BKN 86

II - NYK 111; BKN 104

III  NYK 119;BKN 104

IV - NYK 111; BKN 95

New York Knicks: Tweet This!  Enes Kanter's Double-Double Buries Brooklyn.

That's a wrap. 

The New York Knicks win this year's season series four games to none.  It's their first sweep of the Nets in seven years.  In fact, the games weren't even close.  The Knicks won each contest by an average margin of 16-points.

Kristaps Porzingis led all players with 28-points Tuesday night at the Garden.  He was 9/19 (47%) from the floor, and a perfect 4/4 from the line, but inflicted most of his damage from beyond the arch, connecting on six of nine attempts.

Enes Kanter, however, wins the coveted employee of the night award.  Double-Zero scored 20-points and dominated the boards with 15 defensive rebounds and 20 overall, with all but five rebounds coming at the defensive end.  It was his 21st double-double of the season in 48 games played.  For the moment, he is averaging double-digit rebounds for only the second time in his career, and is also averaging a career high .607% from the floor (fourth best in the league). 

Did I also mention he tied with a team-high five assists as well?

None of this bodes well for the disgruntled Joakim Noah - nor should it.  Simply put, Kanter, the third overall pick of the 2011 draft, is winning the day.

Now, if only KP and Kanter had a point guard.

About that ...

In 20-minutes, Jarrett Jack had four assists and just two points off four attempts.  Meanwhile, rookie Frank Ntilikina scored eight points with five assists in 26-minutes off the bench.


Brooklyn Nets: Wet Paint ... Do Not Touch.

At this point, why waste oxygen decrying the defense?  It's an issue ... a huge issue ... one that Enes Kanter put on full display Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Nets are allowing an average of 108.8 points per game this season - seventh most in the league.  However, they were particularly generous against their cross-river rivals, as the Knicks averaged 112-points in four games against the Nets.

For a team that doesn't necessarily have a problem scoring, per se, the Nets only averaged 97-points per game against the Knicks which is eight points shy of their 105 points per game average.

Jahlil Okafor's 25-minutes were his most since coming to the Nets.  He accounted for 13 rebounds, but was only 2/7 from the floor with five points off the bench.

Brooklyn Nets: The Reintroduction of D'Angelo Russell

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

SUNDAY

NETS

vs.

Pistons

FROM

Detroit Rock City

Brooklyn Nets: Hello Again .. D'Angelo Russell Returns After Missing 32 Games.

D'Angelo Russell made his return to the line-up against the Miami Heat Friday at Barclays.  Nets fans anticipation of a better future with him, rather than without him, clearly remains strong.  After the Borough's promising young point guard missed 32 games while recovering from knee surgery, Brooklyn welcomed him back with a standing ovation.

However, there's still a very small measure of doubt lurking in the back of every one's minds.

Last season with the Lakers, he missed games in November and December due to a left knee injury.  In a Jan. 7, 2017 game against Sacramento, he rolled his ankle.  Then. right around this time last season (Jan. 20), he hurt his right knee in a game against Indiana.  His series of missteps didn't end there, as he rolled his ankle yet again in a March, 25 game against Denver.

In 2015-2016, he averaged 13.2 points and 3.2 assists through 80 games games as a rookie.  Despite injuries last season, he improved to 15.6 points and 4.8 assists, in 63 games played.  He was averaging 19.4 and 5.4 assists through his first 12 games of the season until going down after a Nov 11 game against Utah in which he scored 26-points in 32:38 minutes.

FRIDAY

HEAT   95

Nets     105

FINAL

Although it was nice seeing him on the floor again, his game is obviously still a few days away.  Nowhere near game speed, he went 0 for 5 from the field against Miami, with just a point from the charity line, and two assists during 14-minutes of floor time.

But one of the other knocks previously levied against D'Angelo is his defense.  The Nets have shown when they hold opponents under 100-points, they usually win.  In fact, scoring has really been their problem.  The Nets are still averaging 105.8 points.  However, they're still allowing their opponents a prohibitive 108.8 points per game.

One of the questions I have is how long before we see Russell and Jahlil Okafor together playing consistent complimentary basketball?  Akafor has been averaging near 11-minutes a game since Coach Atkinson started incorporating him into the line-up after New Year's day.

With the exception of Jeremy Lin, Coach Atkinson has a full compliment of players again.  I wouldn't mind seeing Okafor taking away minutes from Tyler Zeller.  However, Spencer Dinwiddie has made quite a name for himself in D'Angelo Russell's absence - as have Caris LeVert and Allen Crabbe.

Hopefully Coach Atkinson can start straightening out some of his rotations, which have seemed ponderous at times.  But I'm not complaining.  Injuries can do that.

Dare I say the near future is looking up ... again.

Knicks Crash Nets Holiday Party at Barclays

From the desks of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH  and  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

EAST RIVER SHOWDOWN - III

Knicks lead series 3-0

I - NYK 107; BKN 86

II - NYK 111; BKN 104

III - NYK 119; BKN 104

IV - January 30

MLK DAY

Knicks   119

Nets       104

FINAL

New York Knicks: Michael Beasley Finishes What The Unicorn Started.

I guess those fans anticipating an MLK Day battle in the paint between Enes Kanter and Jahlil Okafor no doubt left Barclays Center disappointed.  For those graduates of old-school in attendance for Monday's holiday game in Brooklyn, a neo-clash of NBA centers never materialized.

After his acquisition on Dec. 7, and for purposes of conditioning, Jahlil Okafor only played one game through New Year's Day.  On Jan. 3, he finally began a string of five games where he averaged 12.6 minutes.  On Friday, he scored 17-points in 12-minutes at Atlanta.  But he only played eight minutes against Washington, and was limited again to just seven minutes Monday against the Knicks.

Enes Kanter likewise only saw nine minutes of floor time.  But he was coming off 36-minutes and 18points against New Orleans yesterday at the Garden.

Kristaps Porzingis led all scorers with 26-points.  But after the Nets pulled within 81-83 with a 39-point third quarter, it was Michael Beasley who sparked the Knicks 4th quarter charge.  He scored 23-points off the bench and secured a game-high 10 rebounds.

Frank Ntilikina also contributed a double-double off the bench with ten points and ten assists.


Brooklyn Nets: Brick!

Brooklyn's ball distribution was clearly lacking.  Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with five assists, but they only managed 16 as a team.  The Knicks had 27 team assists to go along with 51.2% accuracy from the field.  The Nets meanwhile converted on just 36.8% of their attempts, and were a dismal 14 of 44 (22.5%) in the first half.

DeMarre Carroll led the Nets with 22-points in 30-minutes.  Caris LeVert likewise logged 30-minutes, while adding 20-points.

The Nets unfortunately lost their bearing in the fourth quarter, getting outscored 23-36, en route to a 119-104 defeat at Barclays.


Prior to Monday's game, there were 13 NBA team yet to achieve 20 victories this season.  The New York Knicks are no longer one of them.  The Knicks improve to 20-24 on the season, while the Nets fall to a 16-28 record.

Brooklyn Nets: Jahlil Okafor Gets New Start With Flatbush

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Nets Acquire Jahlil Okafor From Philadelphia

Brooklyn Nets: Ticket Out of Philadelphia is Happy Birthday Present for Jahlil Okafor.

General manager Sean Marks traded (30-year old/eight year veteran) forward Trevor Booker this past Thursday to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for center Jahlil Okafor, shooting guard Nik Stauskas, and a much appreciated 2019 second round draft pick.

Philadelphia selected Okafor with the third overall pick of the 2015 draft.  He weighs in at 6'11", 275lbs., and turns 22-years old on Dec. 15.

He averaged thirty minutes, 17.5 points, and seven rebounds, in 53 games as a 20-year old rookie, but had his minutes shaved last season with the arrival of Joel Embiid, whom this season for the Sixers is averaging a double-double, with 23.5 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

Okafor averaged 22.7 minutes, 11.8 points, and 4.8 rebounds, through 50 games playing in Embiid's shadow last season.  Hashtags such as Did Not Play; Did Not Dress; Not With Team; further marred the back of his baseball card.  He has been glued to the bench ever since, making a mere two appearances this season through 25 games.

Although Coach Atkinson runs an up-tempo offense, Okafor should fit into the line-up no differently than did Brook Lopez (or the present cast of characters, for that matter).  Timofey Mozgov and others have proved somewhat inconsequential at center.  While Lopez is a superior outside shooter, it is hoped that Okafor will provide an effective low post presence.  I'm sure Atkinson will coach to his abilities by integrating some isolation because his potential for points is there.  However, his defense is said to be a completely different issue.  He should fit right in, then.  As the Nets are among the NBA leaders in scoring, but rank dead last in points allowed.

I digress...

This is a savvy acquisition by Sean Marks.  Be it coincidence or by design, he has now acquired the second and third overall selections of the 2015 NBA draft.  The Los Angeles Lakers selected Russell, now 21-years old, with the second overall pick ahead of Okafor.  The Nets acquire another young player with high upside, who fits in perfectly with this rebuild - not to mention a second round pick perhaps being the sweetest aspect of this latest deal.

Coach Atkinson and Flatbush fans must first play the waiting game before seeing them share the same floor.  Okafor is no doubt rusty, and will require time before regaining real game conditioning.  Meanwhile, there is still no timetable on D'Angelo Russell's return as he continues recovering from mid-November knee surgery.