Brooklyn Nets: Someone Failed To Seize The Moment

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Sloppy Start Ends With Sloppy Finish

FRIDAY

Nets          110

Grizzlies   115

I'm sure you recall when Memphis got the best of Flatbush back on Dec. 28, at Barclays Center.  To their credit, the Nets after getting pummeled in the paint that night mounted a comeback that sent the contest into overtime.  However, the Grizzlies eventually came away with a five-point margin of victory.

After Thursday's victory over the Sixers at Flatbush, the Nets arrived in Memphis for the second night of back-to-back games on Friday.  The Grizzlies appeared to pick up where they left off, jumping out to a 40-28 first-quarter lead, and a commanding 62-47 lead by the half.  However, the suddenly gamely Nets cut their deficit to six by end of the third.  Caris LeVert led the charge with 19 points and five three-pointers in the quarter.

Making his second straight start, Caris LeVert led all players with 36 minutes and 43 points.  Caris shot 15/23 (75%) from the field including 7/9 from afar and a perfect 6/6 from the line.

By 5:44 of the fourth quarter, Landry Shamet's three-pointer gave the Nets their first lead of the night.  A second consecutive three from Shamet at 4:36 gave the Nets yet another two-point lead.  Although, by then matters had already started going awry.  What we have is an instance where I feel Coach Nash failed to seize the moment.  DeAndre Jordan was kept on the floor down the stretch.  Insofar as the telecast, Ian Eagle and Sarah Kustok appeared equally puzzled as any fan viewing at home while Jarrett Allan remained idle on the bench.  In the meantime, the Nets went scoreless for over three minutes, and the issue of Nash's aversion to calling time outs reared its head again.  All the while, the Grizzlies pulled away with a 9-0 run.

all that effort for not, last five minutes completely mismanaged ... if Nash insists on keeping Jordan on the floor, he must throw his body around a little more, expend fouls instead of watching cats streak by

— B'klynTrolleyBlogger (@BTB_MikeII) January 9, 2021

five games in eight days and a back-to-back; not gonna knock Nash too much for his distribution of minutes, but the last few of this game is on him. #Nets

— B'klynTrolleyBlogger (@BTB_MikeII) January 9, 2021

ICYMI: Joe Harris Reintroduces Himself To Sixers

Brooklyn Nets: Flatbush Jazzes Up The Place

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

JAZZ     96

NETS   130

FINAL

After two straight losses against the Hawks and Wizards, Flatbush gets back in the win column with Tuesday's commanding victory over the visiting Utah Jazz.  

The Nets led by eleven after the first quarter and took a nineteen point lead into the break.  Kyrie Irving, who last year played in only twenty games, took charge of this game with haste, scoring 22 of his team-high 29 points in the first half.  He was 12/19 (63%) from the field for the game, including 5/7 from the arc and no trips to the line.  Overall, the Brooks did a much better job of ball distribution (31-17) and outrebounded the Jazz by a 43-32 margin.  In the end, Flatbush came away with an overwhelming 34-point margin of victory, all minus the services of Kevin Durant, who is quarantining per COVID protocol. 

In the absence of both Durant and Spencer Dinwiddie, Coach Nash's starting five took on quite a different look.  Jeff Green, Taurean Prince, and Bruce Brown all started for the Nets.  Playing in only his fourth game and making his first start as a Nets member, newcomer Bruce Brown scored six points with five assists and six rebounds in 23 minutes.  The Taurean Prince doldrums continue; he mustered eight points, two assists, and no rebounds while playing a season-high twenty minutes.

Jarrett Allan also made his first start of the season (and it's about time).  His new role coming off the bench is a contention point for some fans (me).  However, he is getting more minutes than DeAndre Jordan, and more importantly, is finishing games.  After receiving a season-high 32 minutes, Allan rewarded his coach with 19 points, a game-high 18 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.  The game marks the first time Allan has breached thirty minutes this season.  

Meanwhile, ask, and ye shall receive!  It was after the second Hawks game when I said:

"Lastly, if you're going to let DeAndre Jordan start over Jarrett Allen, who is getting more minutes and finishing games, then encourage Jordan to throw around his body more."

DeAndre Jordan against the Jazz was limited to a season-low nine minutes.  In fact, it's the first time this season Jordan has been held under fifteen minutes.  Perhaps that's because he drew five personal fouls!  I like it, and I want more of it.

On a night Caris LeVert appeared likely to start, Coach Nash kept him on the bench.  Yet, he and Kyrie Irving were the only two Nets with double-digit shot attempts.  LeVert scored 24 points with five assists in just 21 minutes.  Joe Harris scored ten points in 23 minutes also off the bench.  

The night's true beneficiary was Tyler Johnson, who played more minutes on Tuesday than he had in three previous appearances.  Entering the game, having grossed only twelve minutes of floor time, Coach Nash directed eighteen minutes his way, in which Johnson scored six points and distributed a game-high seven assists.

NEXT: Philly comes to Brooklyn.  This will be a test case in Coach Nash's in-game adjustments, as if to say going off-script.  Memphis and Atlanta, in their contests against the Nets, completely painted their interior wall to wall.  We all know Philly means physicality.  How will the Nets handle this coming off last season's playoff experience against the Sixers and this season's two recent instances wherein teams trampled through Brooklyn's inner turf?

Brooklyn Nets: Lack of Physical Graffiti in Flatbush

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Hawks  114

Nets        96

FINAL

Grizzlies and Hawks Paint Nets Interior

This was not the happiest way to ring in the New Year as the Duds of Flatbush trailed by nine at the half and lost by eighteen points to the Atlanta Hawks, who on Friday gained a series split with the Nets at Barclays Center.

Brooklyn's defense clearly took the holidays off, allowing the Hawks 255 points over the course of two games.  Last week's loss against the Memphis Grizzlies initially brought into question the Nets' lack of physicality and interior defense.  On Friday, the Hawks, as if by invitation, ball-handled through the lane for easy bucket after easy bucket.  

With three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Coach Nash emptied the entire bench.  Of the five players to play the last three minutes of the game, only Chris Chiozza walked off with a personal foul.  My point is the Nets committed only fifteen other fouls all game.  Obviously, no one wants Durant and Kyrie Irving playing in foul trouble.  But only Joe Harris earned as many as four fouls - one-quarter of all Nets whistles.  Said another way, they had better start bumping bodies and better protect the paint.  Because this just isn't about the Hawks; this has everything to do with the way the Nets were manhandled two playoffs ago by Philadelphia.  I'm not asking them to clothesline Kurt Rambis.  But sometimes, a team effort involves starters and the bench having three, four, or even five players with upwards of four personals.  If you're crafty about it, it's well worth the effort.  When you deploy fifteen bodies and seven of them walk off the court with no personal fouls in a game wherein the Nets couldn't prevent a mailbox from driving the lane, well ... you know what mean,

... or not.

Flatbush from long-range shot a mere 7/37 (18.9%) and was outscored 48-21 from the arc.  That more than accounts for Brooklyn's eighteen point margin of defeat.  The bench was largely ineffective as well.

However, shooting touch comes and goes, whereas defensive intensity must come every night.  Things really fell apart in the third quarter against Atlanta's subs.  Moreover, this is only Brooklyn's third loss of the season, but they've already revealed so much.

Lastly, if you're going to let DeAndre Jordan start over Jarrett Allen, who is getting more minutes and finishing games, then encourage Jordan to throw around his body more.

The "Centers of Attention" were effectively outplayed by Atlanta's Clint Capela, who finished 6/10 from the floor for twelve points and tied for a game-high eleven rebounds in thirty minutes.  Kyrie Irving led the Nets with eleven rebounds.  Allan and Jordan joined for thirteen points and nine rebounds (with four total fouls) in a combined forty minutes.  Atlanta outrebounded the Nets by a margin of three and did a better job of distribution and creating turnovers.

Aside from Coach Nash switching everyone out during the last minutes, five other bench regulars only scored 25 points in 88 total minutes.

But when it rains, it pours.  Getting starts, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot shot just 1/7 and 0/5 from the arc.  Meanwhile, Caris LeVert was 4/10 from the field and 0/3 from afar with three assists in 27 minutes off the bench.

• NEXT: Wizards at Barclays on Sunday

Brooklyn Nets: Kevin Durant Continues to Have Something to Say

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Hawks   141

Nets      145

FINAL

Flatbush Snaps Two-Game Skid With Fourth Quarter Surge

Kevin Durant & Jarrett Allan Register Double-Double

I have a saying: Once is an event; twice is a coincidence, and three times is a trend.

After the season opener against Golden State, I wrote the following:

"As a new leader of the Nets, the television camera in the first quarter caught Kevin Durant (admonishing?) encouraging Joe Harris to take a shot from the left corner, who instead elected to pass off.  That may not seem like much and will likely go unspoken.  However, I think playing alongside KD will be hugely beneficial towards Joe's continued career advancement..."

On Wednesday evening against the Atlanta Hawks, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, after sitting out Monday's game, return to action.  This time Coach Nash staggers their minutes, unlike during their previous three starts together.  

That set up a curious moment early in the fourth quarter when Kyrie Irving engages in a dispute with the refs, which for a split second gives the impression matters might escalate.  But they didn't; Irving quickly subdues himself, but not before Kevin Durant is again seen admonishing Kyrie from the sidelines, perhaps about maintaining his composure.  

On the one hand, what was said is between friends, and I guess we'll never know because this will, like with Joe Harris, remain unspoken about.  On the other hand, this marks instance number two within the team's first five games in which Durant was caught by home viewers playing team (captain) police. Regardless of what was said, stern best describes the expression on Durant's face. 

🏀

Brooklyn trailed the Hawks through the first three quarters until finally overcoming the Hawks with a 43-37 effort in the fourth.  The Nets are out-rebounded but are an effective 19/41 (46.3%) from the arc.  Kevin Durant is the big man on campus with a game-high 33 points, eleven boards, and a team-high eight assists in a season-high (four starts) 35 minutes.  Irving recovers from a sloppy start and finishes with a strong fourth quarter in leading the Nets down the stretch to a four-point margin of victory.  He finishes with 25 points and six assists.  Meanwhile, Joe Harris registers his best game to date, shooting 8/11 from the field and 6/8 from the arc en route to an early season-high 23 points.

But it's the bench that truly propels the Nets to victory.  Taurean Prince shakes off a bad start to his season with a perfect 5/5 from the floor and 2/2 from the arc for twelve points.  Caris Levert tied for a team-high eight assists with ten points, and Landry Shamet does what Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot does not.  Shamet, like Prince, goes a perfect 5/5 from the field, 2/2 from the arc, and 2/2 from the line for 14 points with team-high plus-eleven in 17 minutes.  Getting the start, Luwawu-Cabbarot scores three points with three assists in 26 minutes.

The politics of playing minutes at center continue.  Jarrett Allan off the bench is a plus-eight with fifteen points and a game-high 13 rebounds in 24 minutes.  DeAndre Jordan contributes five points, one rebound, and one block in 15 minutes as the starter.

• NEXT: Atlanta Hawks back at Barclays on Friday

Brooklyn Nets: Adversity Makes Early Visit to Flatbush

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

Grizzlies  116

Nets        111

FINAL/OT

Hello, adversity, it's been a while ...

Flatbush is faced with its first dilemma of the 2020-2021 season.  Sunday's two-point loss at Charlotte somewhat exposed their general lack of physicality on the interior.  Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving both registered 36 minutes each, and there are calls to begin staggering their minutes.  I say you plan accordingly while keeping the competition in mind, although I agree their deployment needs some reconsideration.   

The loss is secondary to the disheartening news regarding Spencer Dinwiddie, who in Sunday's game suffered a partially torn ACL of the right knee and will undergo surgery.

With Dinwiddie out, Irving and KD likewise did not play against the Grizzlies on Monday night at Barclays.  It was the second game of back-to-back nights and their third game in four days.

Memphis, who last season clinched a play-in berth, jumped out to a 32-23 lead against the short-handed and unsettled Nets in the first quarter.  But the Brooks regrouped and turned the tables with a 32-22 second-quarter effort for a one-point advantage at the half.  Caris Levert negated Dillon Brooks' three-pointer with the last possession floater for the lead.  

With 1:44 left in the fourth quarter, LeVert's shot from three gives Brooklyn a 106-104 lead.  But LeVert, in the closing seconds, would miss his final two attempts.

Into over time, they go ...

Memphis doubled-up on Flatbush in the extra session for the win, 10 to 5.

In the final minutes of the fourth, Coach Nash kept DeAndre Jordan on the floor; he blocked a shot and committed a turnover.  He had four blocks and four turnovers for the game, scoring four points and securing nine rebounds in 30 minutes.  Jarrett Allan, after playing a season-high 25 minutes against Charlotte, was back down to 22 minutes.  He still managed a game-high fifteen rebounds and eight points.

Caris LeVert tied for a game-high 28 points in 38 minutes.  He was 12/29 from the floor but just 2/9 from the arc.  Getting the start, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot was second on the team with 21 points in 40 minutes.  Joe Harris played a game-high 42 minutes, with fourteen points and 2/4 from the arc.

Chris Chiozza (welcome back) led the bench effort with four assists and fourteen points but posted a minus-9 in 27 minutes.  Landry Shamet, who will also be seeing more minutes, had three steals and five points in 24 minutes.  

There's no hiding a bad start by Taurean Prince.  He scored nine with five rebounds in 19 minutes.  After starting the first three games 1/11 from the field, he was 2/8 against Memphis, making him 3/19 (15.7%) through four games.

• Next: home-and-home vs. Atlanta Hawks.

Brooklyn Nets: For Jarrett Allen, Time is of the Essence

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

"Center of Attention"

In Sean Marks, we trust, right?

Jarrett Allen is my favorite player.  Let's get that out of the way.  I was not pleased to hear his name mentioned in off-season trade rumors and would have been downright irate had he been included in a rumored deal for James Harden.  But I digress ...

Allan's contract status is the matter at hand.  Brooklyn's center of attention and the Nets recently failed to reach an agreement on an extension by the required deadline.  Thus, he becomes a restricted free agent at season's end.  This is just capitalism at work.  I have no compunction letting the market set Allen's price, so long as I know the Nets are committed to matching any potential offers.  And there's the rub.  Jarrett is effectively playing out the rest of the season to establish his future worth.  If all goes according to plan, Jarrett's annual value is due to spike from its present level of just under $4 million towards much higher and more cap and tax problematic sums.

Lest we forget, Caris LeVert last season signed an extension that was well celebrated by fans.  At this stage, I would also argue Spencer Dinwiddie is more expendable than Jarrett Allen.  

But the real phantom menace at play here is veteran DeAndre Jordan, who came loosely linked together with KD and Kyrie Irving.  He is taking up time and space that formerly belonged to Jarrett Allen.  In four games to date (two exhibitions, two regular-season), DeAndre Jordan started each time with Allen coming off the bench.  Jordan in the pre-season played 17 minutes and 19 minutes, respectively; Allen punched in 15 minutes and 17 minutes.  Through four games, Coach Nash has so far kept his starting lineup intact.  But whereas Jordan's playing time has remained consistent at 17 minutes against Golden State, then 19 minutes at Boston, Jarrett Allen's minutes were bumped up to 20 against the Warriors, and 21 minutes against the Celtics.  

Regular Season:

• Jordan vs. G.S. - 17 minutes, 11 rebounds, 4 points, 1 block.
• Allan vs. G.S. - 20 minutes, 7 rebounds, 8 points, 2 blocks.

• Jordan vs. BOS - 19 minutes, 7 rebounds, 4 points, 2 blocks.
• Allan vs. BOS - 21 minutes, 11 rebounds, 9 points, 4 blocks.

Albeit a small sample size, the numbers both collectively and individually speak for themselves.  No team in their right mind turns away 38.5 minutes, 18 rebounds, 12.5 points, and 4.5 blocks per game at center.  For the moment, it's a good problem for the Nets to have, but for how long?  Jarrett is averaging just 20.5 minutes a game.  He hasn't averaged as little as 20 minutes a game since his rookie season.  This, after spending the last two seasons as a prominent performer on an emerging playoff contender, punching the clock for 26.3 minutes per game.  Said another way, Allen, a starter for most other league teams, is theoretically deprived of a half-dozen minutes per game.  What Coach Nash has planned for Jordan and Allan moving forward remains to be seen.  Allen won't be 23-years old till next Spring.  Jordan, although very likable, is ten years Allen's elder.  Injuries can come into play for all we know.  But as they say: time is money.  In Allan's case, minutes are now his primary unit of value.  

So, what's a restricted free agent to do in the meantime?  

I guess learn from Jordan and Amare Stoudemire and prove himself an indispensable component of the Nets.

Circling back to Sean Marks, he continually reiterates the merits of being a disciplined organization, one that sticks with the plan, all the while prioritizing team and organizational culture.  Well, Jarrett Allen has been no less instrumental in establishing said culture than any player to don a Brooklyn Nets uniform.