Brooklyn Nets: Loss To Philly Is Another Failure To Seize The Moment

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN NETS - Just A Brutal Loss To Philadelphia... 
A Win Over Sixers Would Have Closed The Atlantic Division Gap To Two Games.  Meanwhile, Out In Oakland...

........the Knicks Were Getting Hammered By The Warriors.  J.R. Smith got ejected from the game after committing a Flagrant-Two.  And Carmelo Anthony was clearly hobbling about the court with a bum knee.  To open the fourth quarter, the Knicks were down by twenty.  With ten minutes to go, they were still down by twenty.  A Nets win combined with a Knicks loss would have brought Brooklyn within 1 1/2 games of first place.

Ponderous.  I'll Update After Knicks Go Final.

FINAL
Knicks      63
Warriors  92

 

*

Deron Williams is playing his best ball since being acquired by the Nets.  For the moment, whatever treatment he recently received for his ailing ankles seems to be working wonders.  Aside from his collective game, there was his record setting nine first half three-pointers (eleven total) against the  Wizards, and 42-points for the game.  Deron followed that up with the 10,000th point of his NBA career on Monday.  Against the Sixers, Williams posted another double-double, scoring twenty-seven points and distributing thirteen assists.


But what a brutal loss!  Just brutal.  Monday night's 106-97 loss was the epitome of a let down.  Coming off three consecutive wins, and playing a bad, and worsening Philadelphia 76ers team, the expectation was to extend the win streak to four.  The New York Knicks, on consecutive days lost Carmelo Anthony for a few games to a sore knee, and Amare Stoudemire was lost till maybe May requiring knee surgery.  Oklahoma City cut the Nets some slack when they defeated the Knicks last Thursday.  As such, the Nets were within 2 1/2 games of the Atlantic Division leaders entering Monday's game.  A win over the Sixers would have brought the Brooks a half game closer before the Knicks took the floor against Golden State.  Back on February 22nd, the Nets could have pulled within a game of the Knicks, but instead bowed to Houston, then followed that game with a putrid 72-point performance at Barclays against Memphis while holding them to just 76-points.  That loss gave the Nets a 33-24 record.  It just seems when the Nets pull within two games of the Knicks, they break out in a rash.  The Nets record now stands at 37-27; fourth seed in the conference.  In the Atlantic Division, they are five back of the Knicks in the loss column, pending New York's outcome against the Warriors.


Someone explain to me how Philly managed six players scoring double-digits!  I guess we can start with Philly center Spencer Hawes, who dominated Brook Lopez down low.  He scored a Sixers' high twenty-four points and pulled down ten rebounds.  He even issued seven assists and blocked two shots.  That's a good night's work.  Brook Lopez finished with a much more quiet nineteen points and six boards.  In fifteen minutes, Andray Blatch scored nine points.


Try this.  Compared to Brooklyn, Philly's small forwards played like giants.  In twenty-six minutes, Gerald Wallace was a complete non factor.  He was 2/8 shooting, with four points and just one rebound.  He was the only Nets starter not to make it to the foul line.  Off the bench, Mirza Teletovic and Keith Bogans totalled forty-three minutes, and combined to add an equally inconsequential seven points and seven rebounds.  The fact Reggie Evans even scored nine points was a plus.  Makes me wonder if Kris Humphries has the spaldings to ask P.J. back into the rotation?  By comparison, Philly wingers Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner combined to score thirty-two points (sixteen each), and teamed up for seventeen rebounds.  Then for good measure, Dorell Wright scored another fifteen off the bench.


For the game, the Sixers shot 52% from the field.  Brooklyn shot 49%, which is good for them.  You can say the Nets lost due to spotty defense, or a poor offensive second quarter.  There is a weak case that the Sixers shot 53% on 8/15 from behind the arch, and the Nets shot 31%, on 6/19 shooting.  But we're talking a net gain of six points there.  Instead, Philadelphia hammered Brooklyn at the foul line - not that either team shot well.  Philly had eleven more attempts than Brooklyn.  The Sixers were 18/27 - 66% from the stripe, while the Nets trailed with 11/16 for 69% shooting.


The Nets have a quick turn-around.  They host New Orleans at Barclays Center Tuesday evening.




Mike.BTB

B'klyn Nets: Flatbush Fails To Claim Share Of Atlantic Division Lead

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN NETS - Houston's James Harden Provided The Insanity At Barclays Center.  Jeremy Lin Did Little.

Nets Fail To Capitalize On Knicks Loss To Toronto Raptors.

Remain One Game Out Of First Place.

 

 

FINAL

Rockets  96

NETS     86

The Nets roster remained in tact, and will move forward as they were.  Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks are still on the team which means Billy King couldn't acquire anyone at the trade deadline to help alleviate Deron Williams' burden, or pain.  The team's overall poor outside shooting went unaddressed as well.  Moving forward, P.J. said Deron Williams will be hobbled by ankle problems the rest of the season.  On Friday night, Joe Johnson was scratched due to an injured heel.


Without Joe Jo on the floor, the Nets shot 49% from the floor in the first half against LINsanity and the visiting Houston Rockets.  After two quarters, Brook Lopez was 7 of 12 with fifteen points.  Deron was 4 of 8, with ten points and four assists.  Only problem, the Rockets shot 58.1% from the field in the first half.  Jeremy Lin had five assists and Chandler Parsons led the Rockets with ten points.  Houston took an eight point, 61-53 lead into the half.


Seven and a half minutes into the third quarter, the Nets tied Houston 64-64.  At 5:38, Brook Lopez tied the game again at 68-68 with a floater in the lane.  With 3:37 left in the third quarter, P.J. called a time out with his team down by a 73-68 margin.  A turnover by Lopez was converted at the other end for a 75-71 Houston lead.  But Lopez came back and dropped a deuce to make it a 75-73 game with 2:00 left.  After Deron Williams lofted a brick, James Harden made it a five point game.  Then Deron heaved another brick, and Harden hit again, making it an 83-75 game.  It was only natural then, James Harden appropriately closed out the quarter hitting one of two shots from the line.  The buzzer sounded with the Rockets holding an 84-75 lead.


A minute into the fourth quarter, the Rockets were up by twelve.  At 10:25, Houston buried their fourteenth three-pointer of the game to cap a 15-0 run.  Houston was 58% from three point land at that point, and shooting 54.7% from within the arch.  Brooklyn's FG% was dropping, and lay at a 43.7% mark.  By 8:10, the Nets had closed within ten points.  Andray Blatche stormed the lane and dunked at 7:54 to make it an eight point game.  He then put up an air ball and came up with a steal.  Brooklyn went on a 9-0 run and closed within 92-87 with 5:00 to go.  At the other end, James Harden pushed the ball hard on Bogans, got a friendly rim, and the foul, to make it a 95-87 game.  Mirza Teletovic nailed a trey from the left corner to get the Nets within three points with 3:37 left.  Teletovic then turned on the ultra-hustle, diving and fighting for a loose ball - and got kicked in the head to boot.  In fact, he was having a fine quarter pulling down defensive rebounds and giving the Nets possessions.  Keith Bogans missed a three point attempt with 2:10 left.  But Houston's Carlos Delfino would knock one down to make it a six point game.  Then Carlos Delfino did it again with another two.  At 0:39, James Harden pushed the stake through Brooklyn's heart.  He buried a three point shot, and got the foul, putting Houston ahead by a 105-96 score.  After he made his free throw, this game ended in a 96-86 final.  The Nets lost by ten.


In the  end, it was James Harden who provided the insanity for Houston; not Jeremy Lin.  Harden finished with twenty two points; fourteen in the second half; and none bigger than his points in the closing two minutes.  Jeremy Lin was limited to nine points, and handed out a team high six assists.  Houston shot 53.2% from the field, and 52.3% from beyond the arch.  They hit 16/30 three pointers.  The Nets only hit 10/30 three point shots for 33.3%, and ended 44% from the field.


Brook Lopez finished with twenty seven points and six rebounds.  Hobbled by both ankles, Deron Williams scored fifteen points and led all players with thirteen assists.  Reggie Evans led all players with thirteen rebounds.  Mirza Teletovic had a nice night off the bench with twelve points and five important rebounds in the fourth quarter.


Friday night offered Brooklyn an opportunity to tie the Knicks for first place in the Atlantic Division.  Up in Toronto, the Knicks had their troubles.  They lost 100-98 to the Raptors.  Instead, the Nets will end the night the way they started, with no new faces on the roster, and one game behind the Knicks for first place in the Atlantic standings.



Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: Need Bigger Hook Than Humphries To Catch Josh Smith

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN NETS - May Not Have Enough To Get A Deal Done....With Anybody.

NBA TRADE DEADLINE - 3pm THURSDAY


Nets Sweep Home and Home Versus Milwaukee:
Tuesday Final - The Shots Heard 'Round The Borough
Wednesday Final - Nets Pull Within One Game Of First Place

Let us not kick Billy King on this one.  Last summer, Kris Humphries needed to be signed at the time.  Coming off last season, Humph was looking like a good fit on the Nets.  Problem was, prior to this season, he was a good enough player on a very bad team.  With minutes coming his way and Deron Williams feeding him the ball, he put together an enticing season in Brook Lopez' absence.  As a new free agent, Billy King rewarded him with a two year $24 million dollar contract, mostly out of necessity.  Presently, Kris Humphries is struggling this season to carve out a niche for himself with options such as Andray Blatche and Reggie Evans on the Nets bench.  Now, the GM is trying everything possible to move him, and his contract, before today's 3pm trade deadline.


The Nets need someone who can hit the outside shot with consistency.  Billy King is trying to package Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, and perhaps a number one draft pick to anyone who will listen.  That's the best the Brooks can do without disrupting the greater team.  The biggest rumor surrounds Atlanta's Josh Smith.  Apparently, the Hawks are motivated to part with Smith.  Problem is, the Hawk's GM is said to want nothing to do with Kris Humphries.  Both players are in the last year of their respective deals, and make similar money.  They both play the forward position.  But the Hawks perhaps seem to be looking for someone they can retain, and not Humph, with phantom numbers and his expiring contract.  In his ninth season, Josh Smith averages a career 15.2 points per game.  In his last seven seasons, he is averaging 16.7 ppg.  He is a career 46% shooter as well, which is precisely what the Nets need.  Smith will not turn twenty-eight years old until December.


Kris Humphries just turned twenty-eight years old this month.  Prior to signing his current deal, he averaged a double-double in two previous seasons.  In 2011-2012, he averaged 13.8 ppg, and eleven rebounds.  Kris is mentioned in a second trade rumor involving Boston's Paul Pierce.  Similarly, Boston is interested in Atlanta's Josh Smith with Paul Pierce as the hook.


Unless any team is willing to accept Kris Humphries as part of a trade, and barring anything relatively minor, it appears as if the Nets will be standing pat this afternoon.  The Dwight Howard to Brooklyn rumors seems all but dead now.  However, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith continues to say the deal could still go down.



Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: Dwight Howard Visits Mr. Lopez' Neighborhood

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

 

TONIGHT

 

Los Angeles Lakers

vs.

BROOKLYN NETS

FROM
BARCLAYS CENTER

Flatbush Avenue, Kings County

BROOKLYN NETS - May Dwight Howard's Visit To Flatbush Avenue Be a Fleeting One.  Brooklyn Already Has An All-Star Center.  His Name Is Brook Lopez.

"We're happy with Brook, and the team we have now..." - Deron Williams

The Nets and Lakers last met just prior to Thanksgiving.  The Nets under former coach Avery Johnson visited Los Angeles while in the midst a five game winning streak and beginning the season with a 6-2 record.  But Kobe Bryant dropped twenty five points on the visiting Brooks, and Dwight Howard dominated the boards with fifteen rebounds en route to a 95-90 Lakers victory. Dwight Howard also scored twenty three points and blocked four shots in forty one minutes.


By comparison, Brook Lopez played thirty seven minutes that game.  He also scored twenty three points, which led the Nets, but only pulled down seven rebounds, and blocked no shots.  In that game, Pau Gasol pulled down eleven boards, and combined with Howard to account for twenty six of the Lakers forty three rebounds.  Metta World Peace was next in for L.A. with eight rebounds.  As mentioned, Lopez had seven boards for the Nets.  Then Reggie Evans pulled down a team high eleven boards, and Kris Humphries had another ten.  The Nets out-rebounded the Lakers for the game by a 46-43 margin.  It can be argued that perhaps the Lakers were at their optimal rebounding capabilities that night.  They have roster and D'Antoni(!) issues (among others), and certainly lack another body coming off the bench who would give them another ten board night.  Earl Clark?  Jordan Hill?  While the Nets, it can be argued, still had Andray Blatch in reserve.  Andray saw limited minutes in L.A.  So on a night when Dwight Howard was at his best and Gasol ended in double digits as well, the Nets still had that covered.


Now, the Lakers (22-26) must come to Brooklyn as a sub .500 team, and play in Barclays Center for the first time, where the Nets (28-19) are 18-8 at home.  Dwight Howard in all likelihood will not play.  He missed the last two games compromised by his ailing right shoulder.  Despite this recent setback, he has actually played in three more games than Lopez this season.  But in his first season  after back surgery, although playing relatively well, Dwight is not playing up to his accustomed standards.  He is averaging 16.5 points per game.  That marks his lowest average as a center, and his lowest average since his second season in the league when he played power forward.  His current 11.9 rebounds per game are similarly his lowest mark as an NBA center, in addition to being his lowest mark since he averaged 10.0 boards per game playing power forward as a rookie.


Today, the Nets play for P.J. Carlesimo.  And in his fifth season in the league, Brook Lopez is headed to his first All-Star game; as is Dwight Howard.  At current, Lopez is the league's highest scoring center.  His 18.7 points per game top DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Bosh, Al Jefferson, and in fifth place, Dwight Howard.  Brook has maintained his seven rebounds per game average, and is also averaging 2.2 blocks per game.  After playing just five games last season and suffering a minor setback earlier this season, his overall minutes are down.  If Lopez was playing his usual thirty three +/- minutes per game, as he averaged over his first three years (Howard is averaging almost thirty five minutes per game), he in all likelihood would be averaging over twenty points this season.  In the Nets last four games, Lopez scored twenty or more points against Chicago, Miami, and Houston.  And of course, it never hurts to mention Dwight Howard is a 49% free throw shooter.  At least Brook Lopez is 73% from the line.


Dwight Howard had his chance at facilitating a trade to Brooklyn and playing with Deron Williams.  But not only did he blow it, that time is also passed.  The book on Dwight Howard, in my view, is closed.  Let him come to Flatbush and either participate on the Barclays Center hearing-bone court, or let him sit nicely dressed on the sideline spectating.  In either scenario, when the game is done let him leave, and take the never ending scuttlebutt of Dwight Howard to Brooklyn with him.  We have no need for him here.  Last time I checked, Brook Lopez was doing just fine.  It's just like Deron Williams said......., and Brooklyn is happy with him too.





Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: Half Way Through Borough's Inaugural NBA Season

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN NETS - First Half Report:

Forty One Games Of Sizzle, Sputter, Streaks and Struggles

Game Summary: Flatbush Knots Season Series Against Knicks

That's it.  That's all you get.  The 2012-2013 intra-city rivalry against the Knicks is over.  Let's hear it for the schedule makers.  If the deities of basketball will it, perhaps the Nets and Knicks will meet up in the playoffs.


Year one in the Battle of the Boroughs goes to.....  It's a tie.  Not only was the first ever meeting between Brooklyn and Manhattan supposed to take place on November 1st, their game was also  supposed to open up the 2012-2013 regular season.  But Hurricane Sandy had other ideas.  The first showdown would have to wait.  Eventually they did meet, on November 26th at Barclays Center.  In the first meeting between the two, Brooklyn came out victorious in a 96-89 overtime thriller.  When they met again on December 11th for the second time at Barclays, it was the Knicks who came away winning on a last second shot in a 100-97 chiller.  Just eight days later, in Brooklyn's first game at Madison Square Garden, Manhattan flexed.  The establishment came down on the Nets with a heavy hand during a lop-sided 100-86 lesson.  Then on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Nets evened the series by defeating the Knicks 88-85, in their second visit to the Garden.


The Nets are now half way into their inaugural season in the Borough of Kings.  Forty one games have been played.  They own a 25-16 record, good for second place and just one game behind the first place Knicks in the Atlantic Division standings.  The Nets also have a division best 9-3 record against their Atlantic foes.  They are one of five Eastern Conference teams playing above a .600 win percentage.  The Brooks currently rank fourth in the conference.  They are tied with the Bulls for most conference wins.  In twenty three games at Barclays Center, the Nets own a 16-7 mark.  They are playing .500 on the road, with a 9-9 record.


Brooklyn's inaugural season in the NBA commenced with an 11-4 record in November.  The month was highlighted by two wins over the Celtics, a win over the Clippers, and Brooklyn's first victory in the Battle of the Boroughs over the Knicks.


But that didn't translate into good times in December.  An injury to Brook Lopez, an overall lack of cohesion, bowing down to stiffer competition, and a pink slip for Avery Johnson marred the month, and even soured the mood around downtown Brooklyn.  In a reversal of fortunes, the Nets struggled to a 5-11 record in December.  Speculation started running rampant accusing the Nets of not being able to beat teams with winning records.  The numbers were starting to bear that out.  Through two full months, the Nets only compiled a 4-13 record versus teams playing above the .500 level.  Meanwhile, twelve of their sixteen wins to this point came against sub .500 teams.  The list of good teams to defeat the Nets grew by the day - Heat, Thunder, Warriors, Bucks, Knicks, Bulls, Jazz, Celtics, and Spurs.


On Christmas Day, the Nets put forth four brutal quarters in their third encounter versus Boston.  The Celtics handed Brooklyn a most embarrassing defeat - one that inspired changes.  When the Nets followed up the Celtics loss with yet another pitiful effort against the Milwaukee Bucks, those changes came post haste.  Because November's start became a distant memory, and the loss against the Bucks dropped the Nets to 14-14, the Nets owner felt compelled to make a change himself.  After twenty eight games into Brooklyn's inaugural season, Mikhail Prokhorov dismissed Avery Johnson as head coach.  It was reported GM Billy King tried lobbying on Avery Johnson's behalf, but to no avail.  P.J. Carlesimo was promoted from the staff, and named interim coach of the Nets.


Since then, the Brooklyn Nets have been on fire.  The Nets won their first two games under P.J. but dropped game three in San Antonio to end the 2012 calendar year.


So far, it has been a Happy New Year on Flatbush Avenue.  The Nets opened 2013 with a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Then proceeded to win their next six games, marked by additional victories over the Pacers, Hawks, and the New York Knicks.  The Nets have lost once in January, and are now 11-2 under coach P.J. Carlesimo.


With a very noticeable improvement in their overall play under P.J., it has become clear to many the Nets stopped responding to former coach Avery Johnson.  The most notable differences have come from Deron Williams and Kris Humphries.  Coach Johnson's dismissal came uncomfortably soon after Williams expressed his issues with Avery Johnson's system to the media.  However, Deron Williams did not escape some mild criticism, as he was also widely rumored to have been at the root of Jerry Sloan's firing in Utah as well.  Kris Humphries was nursing a sprained ankle in December.  But even more troubling to his performance was his inability to escape Avery Johnson's dog house.  But he is out now.  And against the Knicks Monday afternoon, he flourished.


Overall, the ageless one Jerry Stackhouse, Marshon Brooks, C.J. Watson, and Keith Bogans have been very good off the bench.  But extra mention should be made for Andray Blatch and Reggie Evans.  Despite being questioned involving a hotel incident, Blatch has been making the most of a second chance after being jettisoned by the Wizards.  By the end of the season, he could conceivably play himself into contention for the NBA's 6th Man award.  Reggie Evans has been tremendous on the boards this season.


If you're asking me, this most recent win over the Knicks was Joe Johnson's signature game since joining the Brooklyn Nets.  He is averaging 17.4 points per game, and seems to be just getting started.  He is exerting himself more, as he and Deron Williams continue working together.  If you remember, there was much hype surrounding Billy King's newly formed, Brooklyn Backcourt.  But Deron Williams continues to be a very interesting case study.  He has been streaky, and is not quite playing up to the level he exhibited in Utah with the Jazz.


The biggest difference maker on the Nets has no doubt been a healthy Brook Lopez.  Almost two years of having to deal with Dwight Howard rumors would have broken a lesser man.  But Brook Lopez responded this season by, so far, becoming the NBA's top scoring center.


Every player brings something different to the court.  That's why I left Crash for last.  Gerald Wallace is the backbone of this team.  This guy is indefatigable.  His nickname is well earned.


With regards to the battle for the city, the Knicks have had problems on the court, off the court, and along side the court.  But have the battle lines really been drawn?  Yes, kind of.  But a fierce playoff series between the two should expedite the process.  There's the second half of the season to play first.  Then, who knows?




Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: Flatbush Knots Season Series Against Knicks

From the desks of:

THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH  &  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
SHOWDOWN

 

BATTLE of the BOROUGHS - V

Nets and Knicks End Series 2-2

I - Hurricane Sandy

II - BK 96; NY 89 *

III - NY 100; BK 97

IV - NY 100; BK 86

* overtime

GAME FIVE FINAL
Brooklyn     88
Manhattan  85

GAME SUMMARY - Nineteen Turnovers Prevent Nets From Cruising To An Easier Victory.  Without Ray Felton On Floor, Carmelo Anthony Could Not Beat Brooklyn By Himself.


The Brooklyn Nets made things significantly more difficult for themselves by turning the ball over nineteen times.  Otherwise, this afternoon they rode Deron Williams' ball distribution, Kris Humphries' and Brook Lopez' strong rebounding, and Joe Johnson's clutch buckets to victory over the New York Knicks before a festive Martin Luther King Jr. Day crowd inside Madison Square Garden. The Flatbush Hoops owned a 26-24 lead after the first quarter, and took a 47-41 advantage into the break.


Even though Melo dropped his obligatory eighteen first half points, offensively the Knicks remain a team out of sync.  A compare and contrast will bare that out.  After Pablo Prigioni got wiped out on a pick and left the game, Melo was forced to play the fourth quarter as a point/forward.  But that only compounded the Knicks greater problems without Ray Felton on the floor.


First lets talk points.  After Melo's eighteen, Chris Copeland and Jason Kidd were the Knicks next high scorers with five and six points respectively.  Amare Stoudemire did not factor into the game until the second half.  For the Nets, scoring was more balanced.  Joe Johnson scored thirteen points, Brook Lopez eleven, and Kris Humphries dropped nine first half points.  Lets talk assists now.  Melo was also Knicks high man with three first half assists.  Chris Chandler and Ronnie Brewer had one apiece.  Deron Williams had seven first half assists for the Nets alone.  Now lets talk rebounds.  The Nets really excelled on the glass.  They held a 27-16 advantage after two quarters.  Twenty one of the Nets boards came on the defensive end.  And that has nothing to do with Ray Felton being injured.  Tyson Chandler led the Knicks with six first half boards.  Kris Humphries pulled down eight.  Reggie Evans and Brook Lopez pulled down five apiece.  For the Knicks, all that adds up to a six point deficit at the half.  All didn't go perfectly for Brooklyn however.  The Nets turned the ball over eleven times in the first half versus just two times by the Knicks.


Brook Lopez opened the third quarter with a jumper.  Crash Wallace then gave Brooklyn a nine point lead by nailing a three-pointer, and shortly followed with another layup to make it a 54-45 game.  Midway through the third quarter, Tyson Chandler ripped through the lane for a dunk to get the Knicks within three.  Deron Williams responded with a pair of three's.  But with 3:32 left in the quarter, J.R. Smith helped reduce a 60-55 Brooklyn lead to one point with consecutive buckets.  The Knicks completed a 10-0 run with 2:20 left, and owned a 63-60 lead.  With 0:52 on the clock, Joe Johnson hit two free throws to tie the game at sixty three all.  By this time, the Nets had committed fifteen turnovers and were paying a price for repeated miscues and losing the defensive bearing they adhered to in the first half.  A Melo three-pointer, and Amare Stoudemire's closing dunk gave the Knicks a 68-65 lead after three quarters.


To open the fourth quarter, and to the chagrin of Brooklyn fans, Marshon Brooks and Kris Humphries joined forces to execute and score on a fast break.  The Nets scored exactly zero fast break points in the first half, and only two all game.  Keith Bogans helped Flatbush regain their lead with a trey to make it a 70-68 game.  But Amare's dunk at 10:23 tied the game again at seventy all.


Fresh off two more Brooklyn turnovers (#16 and #17), J.R. Smith nailed a three pointer to give the Knicks a 75-72 lead, then headed back the other way while he mimicked spinning his still smokin' six-shooters back into their holsters.


With 8:09 left in the fourth, C.J. Watson came off Brooklyn's bench and tied the game again at 75-75 with a three.  Then Joe Johnson took over.  A three pointer at 7:20 gave Brooklyn a 78-75 lead.  After a J.R. Smith basket, another Joe Johnson three pointer gave Brooklyn an 81-77 lead.  And yet another Joe Johnson jumper gave the Nets an 83-77 lead, and completed an 11-2 Flatbush run.


The Nets continued turning over the ball until they reached number nineteen halfway through the quarter.  Brooklyn was leading 83-77 with 5:30 left in the game.  And then their scoring stopped.  A series of key blocked shots by Brook Lopez and continued tenacious rebounding kept the Nets going until the clock read 0:52 seconds, with the score reading 83-82 Nets.  After a foul, Melo completed two free throws to complete a 7-0 Knicks run, giving Manhattan an 84-83 lead again.


Later with 22.3 seconds left, Joe Johnson popped from outside again.  At the other end, Brook Lopez pulled down another huge rebound off a Melo miss.  After Deron Williams nailed two free throws, the Nets were up by an 87-84 score with 8.3 seconds to go.  P.J.Carlesimo perhaps made the call of the night in deciding to foul Jason Kidd, putting him at the line with 7.5 seconds.  Kidd hit his first shot, then fouled Deron Williams with 5.7 seconds left after the Nets guard drew the rebound and tried heading the other way off the miss.  Deron hit one of two.  After J.R. Smith's last attempt at a three pointer missed, Brooklyn walked off the MSG floor with an 88-85 victory.


Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with twenty nine points.  Next high man on the Knicks was J.R. Smith with sixteen points off the bench.  Amare Stoudemire scored fifteen mostly second half points.  Jason Kidd kicked in eleven, and Tyson Chandler contributed seven points in the Knicks losing effort.


The Knicks shot 40.5% from the floor.  That's not the Knicks main matter as the Nets shot at a 41.9% clip.  Brooklyn wound up beating the Knicks at their own game, outscoring them 36-18 from three point land.  The Nets shot 50%, hitting twelve of twenty four from behind the three-point line.  The Knicks only shot 28.6% from behind the arch, making only six of twenty one shots.


Joe Johnson was the Nets high man with twenty five points.  Deron Williams and Brook Lopez each dropped fourteen.  Off the bench, Kris Humphries kicked in eleven points, and Keith Bogans added eight.  Deron Williams led all players with twelve assists.  As a team, the Knicks totalled fourteen.  Seven assists came from Melo.


Brooklyn dominated the boards.  Brook Lopez (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Kris Humphries (11 points, 13 rebounds) are the Nets double-doubles.  For the game, Brooklyn out-rebounded Manhattan by a wide 52-37 margin.  Both teams were actually sub-par from the free throw line.


The 2012-2013 inaugural battle for the city ends in a tie.  Both teams won a game apiece.  Unless these teams meet again in the playoffs, they will not play each other again this season.  But with regard to the Atlantic Division standings, the Nets and Knicks now have an equal number of wins.  Brooklyn improved to 25-16, while the team from Manhattan sports a 25-14 record.  With Monday's win, Brooklyn moves to within one game of the first place New York Knicks.  The Nets also improved their road record to a 9-9 mark.  This was the Knicks sixth loss at Madison Square Garden.


This game marked the mid-point in Brooklyn's inaugural season.  Forty one games are in the books.  Forty one more games to go.




Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: Discord In Hollywood Rekindles Trade Talk

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH


BROOKLYN NETS: There Goes That Dwight Howard Trade Talk Again.


Dwight Howard of the Lakers sat out Monday's action with a torn labrum in his right shoulder.  Initial reports suggest he will be out at least a week before being re-evaluated.  Why should we here in Brooklyn care about that?  Because Monday, Stefan Bondy of the N.Y. Daily News reported Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant are not exactly getting along out in La La Land.  The two Lakers stars were reportedly involved in a post-game New Year's Day dispute.  Kobe Bryant took to Twitter to douse the story.  Subsequent media coverage questioned the validity of Bondy's source, whether the altercation did indeed happen, and why such a report came out one week later.  That's not for me to decipher though.  But what the story also did was kick up the Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets talk again.


Is Dwight Howard still a fit in Brooklyn?  He keeps supplying me with reasons which indicate no.  Let me not mince words here.  Dwight Howard was too wishy-washy in Orlando.  He did not conduct his business with any conviction and it cost him an extra season of being a nomad.  So far, his resulting stay in Los Angeles hasn't exactly been a trip to Disney World.  Howard wasn't too complimentary of his team mates or their effort on the floor recently.  Clashing with Kobe will only get you so far.  Criticising team chemistry to the media isn't always advisable either.  It must be remembered that Dwight Howard is coming off back surgery, and is now saddled with an extended injury.  The twenty-seven year old center is averaging 17.4 points this season with twelve boards.  He will be a free agent after this season.  So if he is to become a Nets player, he must be traded for as the Nets are maxed out.  Then a new pact must be struck.


Minus a week long scare after slightly twisting his ankle, Brook Lopez is showing no lingering effects from his foot surgery.  The twenty-four year old is averaging 18.9 points per game, with seven boards.  Not coincidentally, per the CBA and his new contract, Brook Lopez can be made available for a trade again January 15th.  So it seems natural for these  rumors to resurface.  Of course Brook Lopez would have to be traded.  But if the Nets can't move Kris Humphries, I don't think a deal gets done.  Before the season, I argued by keeping points and rebounds separated, Lopez and Humphries would be a good way to hedge against Howard's potential back issues, and avoid having two huge aspects of the Nets game go down with the loss of one body.  Feeling the Nets were sure to get twenty points from Lopez, I was hopeful Kris Humphries would continue progressing into a dominant rebounder.  Scratch that!  Kris Humphries is far far away from what he could be.  Avery Johnson isn't here anymore, so he's out of the proverbial dog house.  Now Humph is nursing a sprained ankle.  And that was the good news.  Truth is, with a completely different cast around him this season, Kris Humphries is a totally different dynamic now.  Throwing pity parties in the VIP of the Lonely Man's Club doesn't exactly endear one to the greater fan base either.  Not after his very brief marital history.  Whether that has hampered him on the court or not, with the exception of maybe two games his ineffectiveness just might warrant a trade for Howard, if...Billy King can push him.  Kris Humphries, while signed for the max still has a favorable, movable short term contract.


The Nets offered the Orlando Magic Brook Lopez, Marshawn Brooks, Kris Humphries, and picks for Dwight Howard.  The Magic didn't bite.  Although a trade is very doubtful, if L.A. will take Humphries off the Nets hands, maybe Billy King should try.  We'll worry how Dwight Howard fits in Brooklyn later.





Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: Team Wins Historic Kings County Opener

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN NETS

 

 

"The Hoops of Flatbush"

 

 

GAME ONE

 

Toronto Raptors

vs.

BROOKLYN NETS

From

BARCLAYS CENTER
Flatbush Avenue, Kings County

 

 

FINAL

Raptors  100

NETS     107

 

 

They're here!  They saw!  They conquered!  Fuhgeddaboudit!

 

 

The Brooklyn Nets have arrived.  Commissioner David Stern made the initial introduction to fans attending Barcalys Center for the first ever Brooklyn Nets basketball game and welcomed the Borough to the National Basketball Association.  Members of the team were welcomed to town by former Bedford Avenue Bums players, Joe Pignatano, Ralph Branca, and a special appearance by Gil Hodges Jr.  Brooklyn Dodgers jerseys and Brooklyn Nets jerseys were exchanged between old heroes and new.  Deron Williams then addressed the home crowd.  Both the Commissioner and Deron Williams made sure to make particular mention of all the area citizens who have undergone great hardships brought on by Hurricane Sandy.

 

 

The home crowd was also introduced to their new mascot, the Brooklyn Knight, defender of the court and all things Nets.  Then after player intro's, it was game time.  As expected, the Nets starting five consisted of Joe Johnson and Deron Williams in the back court.  Brook Lopez, Gerald Wallace, and Kris Humphries were the starting forwards.  The Nets, sporting their home whites for the first time, took to their new hearing-bone patterned court.  And once Brook Lopez won the opening tip, the Hoops of Flatbush had begun.

 

 

Appropriately, Deron Williams scored the first two points of the night.  When Brook Lopez grabbed an early offensive rebound, drew a foul, and scored the bucket, the crowd erupted.  However, the Nets got off to a somewhat slow start in the first quarter.  Toronto jumped out to an early eight point lead.  After a quarter, the Nets were behind by a 35-27 score.

 

 

The Nets evened things up 38-38 on a pair of MarShon Brooks free-throws midway through the second quarter, then pulled away.  C.J. Watson closed out the half by nailing a three-pointer at the buzzer to put Brooklyn ahead by eight points.  Brooklyn led 60-52 at halftime.

 

 

Coach Avery might have been peeved over the initial defensive effort in which they allowed thirty five points.  But the Nets tightened up in the second quarter and limited the Raptors to seventeen points.

 

 

Brook Lopez led the Nets with fourteen first half points.  C.J. Watson scored thirteen off the bench.  Deron Williams led the team with six assists, and scored six points.  Reggie Evans came off the bench and led all players with five rebounds.  Kris Humphries, Lopez, and Joe Johnson pulled down three apiece.  Brooklyn's bench had a strong half with twenty three points.

 

 

*   *   *   *

 

 

The Nets opened the third quarter by extending their lead to ten points on a sweet layup by Brook Lopez off a Gerald Wallace feed.  Midway through the quarter, the Nets were still cruising with a 75-66 lead.

 

 

Toronto made a run towards the end of the third quarter and at 79-74, closed within five points of Brooklyn.  Getting quality minutes in the third quarter, Andray Blatche had eight points in ten minutes played.  However, he missed one of two free throws, and turned over the ball within a minute of each other.  After three complete sessions, Brooklyn's lead was down to four as the Raptors closed with 82-78 of the Nets.  Then at eighty-four points, the Nets went cold.  When Toronto scored at 8:46 to make it a 84-83 game, Coach Avery called time out.

 

 

MarShon Brooks brought the Nets to ninety points.  Halfway through the quarter, Toronto was still close as they trailed by a mere three points.  Kris Humphries started exerting himself under the boards, and on the other end, MarShon scored again.

 

 

Brook Lopez was the only Nets player to get to the line with any kind of consistency.  And he visited the stripe for the twelfth time with less than five minutes left.  He nailed both shots to make it a 94-89 game with 4:45 to go.  The Nets went cold again, failing to score for over two minutes allowing Toronto to pull within two.  At 94-92, and with possession at 2:14, Coach Avery called another timeout.

 

 

C.J. Watson hit a big shot out of the break.  That was his fourteenth and fifteenth points of the night.  Gerald Wallace then took his turn playing strong on the boards.  He gave the Nets a five point lead hitting one of two free throws.  But Toronto came back with a three-pointer.  With a minute left, Wallace fed Brook Lopez, who hit for two and buried another shot from the line to give the Nets a 100-95 lead with fifty nine seconds left.

 

 

Gerald Wallace then went down hard after blocking a shot with 27.7 left.  He rolled his ankle and temporarily stayed in the game.  Coach Avery called a full time out after Toronto converted at the line, to make it a 101-97 game.  Gerald Wallace's strong night was over however, as he left the floor after the timeout.

 

 

Joe Johnson made the score 103-97 with 26.1 left.  But Toronto responded with another three-pointer.  With twenty seconds left and Humphries and Brook Lopez on the bench, Deron Williams sank two shots from the line to make it a 105-100 game.  Toronto launched a three point attempt that careened out of bounds.  The Nets then drew a foul on the possession with ten seconds left.   Deron Williams buried another two shots.

 

 

A change of possession, and then..., Game!  The Brooklyn Nets win their first ever professional basketball game as a member club of the National Basketball Association.  As Ralph Cramden would say - How Sweet It Is!

 

 

*    *    *    *

 

 

Brook Lopez led Nets scorers with twenty seven points.  He pulled down five rebounds.  Reggie Evans was key off the bench pulling down a game high thirteen rebounds.  The Nets out-rebounded Toronto 41-37 with five players contributing at least five apiece.

 

 

Five Nets players also scored in double digits.  After Brook Lopez, Deron Williams dropped nineteen points, and led the team with nine assists.  C.J. Watson was tremendous off the bench.  He scored fifteen points.  Joe Johnson scored fourteen points and Gerald Wallace added ten before leaving.

 

 

Brook Lopez ended the night 11/15 from the line.  Deron Williams buried late free throws to put the Raptors to bed.  He finished 6/8 from the stripe.

 

 

Rookies Mirza Teletovic, Tyshawn Taylor, and Tornike Shengelia did not play.

 

 

It took a few days.  But the crowd was electric all the same.  Let's Go Nets was the chant, but Broook - Lynnn! was the anthem of the night.  This what home sounds like fellas.  It's been a long wait.  But you're finally here.

 

 

The Borough of Kings has a team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: 2012-2013 Inaugural Season Preview

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN NETS: Know Your Team - #5

 

2012 - 2013

Regular Season Preview:

 

#1- Know Your Team; 1967-1968

#2 - Know Your Team; 1969-1972

#3 - Know Your Team; The "Doctor J" Era

#4 - Know Your Team; The Eighties

Finally, after many years of delay, Brooklyn's First, is only days away.  With their pre-season schedule complete, the next time we see Kings County's new cagers will be Thursday evening when they inaugurate the 2012-2013 NBA regular season, and play in the Borough's first major sporting match in fifty five years.


Game One will be against the New York Knickerbockers, and will be played inside the Nets new arena at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue.  Barclays Center is home now.  In five more days, the clock starts ticking on the Brooklyn Nets basketball club.  Once they tip-off, the rest as they say will be history.

The new home town cheer is set.  The anthem of the fans will be...

Brooook - Lyn!
 

These aren't necessarily the Nets everyone is used to.  These aren't even the Nets of the 2011-2012 season.  Gone from the Nets who played last season in New Jersey, and didn't make it to Brooklyn are Anthony Morrow, Gerald Green, Jordan Farmar, Sundiata Gaines, Johan Petro, Jordan Williams, Sheldon Williams, and DeShawn Stevenson along with a few others.


The Nets currently have seventeen players on the roster, and will have to slim down to fifteen by Thursday's opener.  Six players are returning from last season and six players are new veteran faces.  The Nets also currently sport five rookies in camp.  A sixth rookie, Stephen Dennis, was cut earlier in the week.  Word is free agent rookies James Mays and Carleton Scott may be next.  That would effectively get the Nets down to fifteen.  Remaining rookies, Tyshawn Taylor, Mirza Teletovis, Tornike Shengelia stand to make the team.


With his rookie season, New Jersey, and the winds of trade behind him, MarShon Brooks returns for a second campaign.  The twenty three year old guard/forward averaged twelve points per game last season.  In his senior year at Providence, MarShon averaged twenty four points, seven rebounds, and two assists per game.  The youngster will prove valuable off the bench.  Despite only five games played with the Nets last season, ninth year guard/forward Keith Bogans will also return to bolster the bench.


In March of 2012, the Nets traded Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a #1 draft pick in exchange for Portland's Gerald Wallace.  The 25th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, Wallace will not turn thirty one years old until July.  General Manager Billy King signed him to a four year pact which keeps Wallace in Brooklyn through the 2015-2016 season.  The Nets may rue that fourth season, but over the short term, the acquisition seems savvy.


Gerald Wallace has a chance to score his 10,000th point as a pro this upcoming season.  Last year with Portland, he was in the middle of posting his lowest points per game average since the 2004-2005 season.  In 2005-2006 he averaged 15.2 points ppg, then averaged 16.8 points for the next seven years.  His best season came at age twenty five with Charlotte, when he averaged nineteen points per.  At the time of last season's trade, Gerald Wallace had dropped to a suspect thirteen points per.  In sixteen games with the Nets after the trade, Gerald Wallace rebounded and averaged fifteen points in his usual thirty five minutes a night.


Kris Humphries returns to the Nets for his fourth season.  He signed a lucrative, albeit two year deal to stay and play in Brooklyn.  Entering his fifth season, Brook Lopez also returns after signing a brand new four year max deal.  And I say welcome back.  Ever since the Dwight Howard dramatics began, I've long maintained the Nets would be better off with Lopez and Humphries, than with one Dwight Howard.  The Magic center handled himself with indecision and engaged in double-speak during Orlando's ongoing deliberations to trade, or not trade him.  Perception wise, the episode may have been insight into why Howard may not be the best fit to play in Kings County.  And when you consider his history with injuries, if he goes down, there goes your primary source of both rebounds and points. With Humphries and Lopez, the threat of losing both points and boards are separated, and minimized.


Kris Humphries is a proven rebounder, and Brook Lopez is a proven twenty point scorer.  Before Brook Lopez got injured, he averaged twenty points per game during the 2010-2011 regular season, and eighteen points the season before that.  He'll turn twenty five years old next April and seems to be suffering no ill effects of his foot injury.  Standing seven feet tall, weighing 260lbs, and with a few years under his belt now, the Nets want and need Lopez to improve on his career 7.5 rebounds per game.


That's where Kris Humphries comes in.  Since Kris Humphries became a starter with the Nets (or was, his role with Gerald Wallace around is still to be decided upon by Coach Avery), he has become a double-double man the last two seasons running.  He has averaged 11.9 points, and 10.7 rebounds per game.  With Deron Williams on the floor, high double-double nights occurred more frequently.  With Williams, Kris enjoyed an overall career year last season.  Brook Lopez still hasn't realized the full benefit of playing with Deron Williams.  But he will.  In addition to the on-court effects Humphries and Lopez will have, both their contracts are relatively short term, and won't hamper the franchise nearly as adversely as a deal for Howard would have.  And that is why Dwight Howard is free to play elsewhere as far as I am concerned.


Hello Joe Johnson.  He comprises part 1A of the already much hyped Brooklyn Backcourt.  The thirty one year old guard cost the Nets a hefty sum in players, draft picks, and cash.  Joe has four years remaining on a six year max deal he signed while in Atlanta.  In addition to surrendering a 2013 #1 draft pick, and a 2017 #2 pick, the list of players sent to the Hawks is long.  Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, DeShawn Stevenson, and Johan Petro all were traded to Atlanta. Why?  Because Brooklyn now has one of the most formidable back courts in the League.  Entering his twelfth NBA season, Joe Johnson has been a scoring stud on pedestrian Atlanta teams.  Spanning five years from 2005 through 2010, Joe maintained a 21.9 points per game average.  He averaged 18.5 ppg over the last two seasons prior to the trade.

  ....This is my house.  - Deron Williams.
 

It certainly is.  And it wouldn't have been the same without him.  Thanks for staying Deron.  And thank you Mark Cuban for dropping the ball.  Brooklyn showed more of a want for Deron's services than the Mavericks did.  Despite reports, I wonder if the star guard would have really left, considering all Billy King's maneuverings right up to the day Deron Williams sat in the press room on signing day and politely spoke, "Hello Brooklyn."


Had the Knicks known Deron Williams was available, they probably would have never traded for Carmelo Anthony.  After majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov effectively ended the Nets pursuit of Denver's forward, to the great delight of a dejected fan base, the Nets pried Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz under the cover of night.  On a February morning in 2011, locals woke up to news the Nets acquired the star point guard in exchange for a package including Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two #1 draft picks, and cash.


After one and a half seasons playing in New Jersey and losing a preponderance of their games, Deron Williams and the Brooklyn Nets agreed to a five year deal in July of this year.  Biding his time before being able to opt out of his previous pact and declare himself a free agent was no easy endeavour.  At times, the team's consistent losing outwardly wore on Williams.  However, he always maintained the high road, and always insisted the Nets were in the running.  I do not believe he was ever misleading regarding his intentions.  He came here and was quite the leader and ever the professional despite rumors which followed him out of Utah insinuating Deron may have forced Jerry Sloan's firing.  But the Nets effectively gambled the future of the franchise on Williams anyway.  Today, the franchise stands to benefit immensely for having him.

 

 

 

The Nets have secured Deron Williams in his prime.  He is twenty eight years old and eight seasons smart.  He has size, skill, savvy, and rates as one of the elite point guards in the league.  This is his team to lead.  Last season he posted a career high with a twenty one points per game average.  It is the second consecutive season he averaged twenty or more.  He additionally averaged 8.7 assists per game.


Deron's assists were down because with Brook Lopez out, he turned into the Nets primary scoring  option.  But with Billy King's roster overhaul, that changes significantly this season.  In any given moment of any given game, with Williams, Lopez, Johnson, and Wallace, the Nets will have a legitimate scorer on the floor.  Gerald Wallace is averaging 13.5ppg over his career.  The other three have averaged over seventeen ppg over their careers.


MarShon Brooks and Keith Bogans will join forces with Andray Blatche off the bench.  Given the amnesty treatment by the Washington Wizards, Blatche, the upstate New York native has apparently found a home in Brooklyn.  He put together a fine string of pre-season games.  Over a seven year career, he is a nine point, five rebound forward who doesn't shoot free throws very well.


Guard/forward Josh Childress, who averaged eleven points per game and pulled down the occasional rebound while playing with Joe Johnson in Atlanta, will also come off Coach Avery's bench.  He spent two inconsequential seasons with the Suns before arriving in Brooklyn.  Despite being a career role player, the Nets are banking the Childress from his Atlanta years re-emerges.


Tenth year Reggie Evans is here to spell the forwards.  C.J. Watson comes to the Nets via Golden State and Chicago.  He is a twenty eight year old guard who has shown a knack for scoring in limited minutes.  And last, but certainly not least, age has its privilege.  The thirty seven year old, seventeen year NBA veteran, Jerry Stackhouse joins the Nets.


As the new Nets gain familiarity with each other, overall team scoring should be more than adequate.  There are little worries in that regard.  Based on their pre-season performance however, the team left me with a few matters to ponder.


Defensively, the team played no where near Coach Johnson's standards.  Despite a 3-2 record in five pre-season games, the Nets allowed more points than they scored.  They allowed over one hundred points three times.


Secondly, the Nets stand to get out-rebounded.  How often remains to be seen.  Kris Humphries is obviously the team's best rebounder.  I'm looking for even more improvement in his overall game.  But as stated previously, Brook Lopez is being counted on to do more, which invariably means getting more physical underneath.  He is historically good for seven boards a night.  He now needs to make the jump and join Kris Humphries in double digits this season.  Gerald Wallace is known to be good for five or six rebounds per game.  And off the bench, Andray Blatche will be asked to pull down his customary six boards.  After that, the Nets will be lacking.


Billy King deserves credit for assembling a quality team in such short order.  Not too long ago, the Nets situation wasn't looking too promising.  He initially caught a lot of heat for trading away so much young talent.  He also dispersed a cache of first round draft picks around the league, and effectively maxed out the salary cap.  I do not hear too many people complaining now though.  Instead, many believe Billy King has put together an Eastern Conference contender for Brooklyn's inaugural season.


Lastly, I will simply say, I believe the Nets have the right coach as well.  Avery Johnson is alright by me.

PREVIOUS SERIES: BARCLAYS CENTER GRAND OPENING;

THIRTY PICTURES IN THIRTY DAYS

#30 - Thirty More Days Till Jay-Z Blows The Doors Wide Open

#29 - Barclays Center; T-Minus Twenty-Nine Days

#28 - Barclays Center - Crossbeams and Concrete

#27 - Barclays Center - They Came Out In The Tens And Tens

#26 - Barclays Center - Thank You For Your Labor

#25 - Sidewalk Closed. Use Other Side

#24 - Barclays Center - Untitled, Just Because

#23 - Valentine's Day 2011

#22 - Year One A.G. - After Groundbreaking

#21 - Barclays Center - Ya Gotta Start Somewhere

#20 - Barclays Center - Where's the Doorbell?

#19 - Barclays Center - Howdy Neighbor!

#18 - NETS UNVEIL NEW FLOOR PATTERN

#17 - September Is Just The Beginning

#16 - Last Call For Some, Is Not Last Call For Others

#15 - Barclays Center - Dude, Where's My Seat?

#14 - A Sign Of Things to Come

#13 - Growing Season Starts In December

#12 - Next Stop, Barclays Center. Watch For The Closing Doors

#11- "Keep Off The Grass!"

#10 - Barclays Center - Brrrrr!

#9 - Where's The Remote?

RIBBON CUTTING DAY ~ BARCLAYS CENTER SNEAK PEEK

*

#6 - Lets Raise It Up The Flagpole

#5 - Barclays Center - Who Needs Tickets?

#4 - Walk Towards The Light

#3 - All Trains Lead To Brooklyn

#2 - The First Lady Of Barclays Center?

#1 - JAY-Z OPENS THE DOORS

Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: Pre-Season - Victorious In Barclays Opener

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN NETS:

The Borough's First Tip-Off Is A Winner.

 

Pre-Season Final:

Wizards  88

NETS      98

 

Broo-klyn!  Broo-klyn! ...Was The Anthem of the Night

The Hoops of Flatbush finally tipped off in the Borough of Kings.  Although only an exhibition, the first game in Barclays Center was a success.  The Nets defeated the Washington Wizards in Barclays Center Monday evening by a 98-88 final score.  Fourteen thousand plus fans watched the Nets take their court for the first time in their road blacks.  Broo-klyn!  Broo-klyn...! was the anthem of the night.


Late in the game with the outcome near certain, Deron Williams and the Nets punctuated the night by finally planting their flag.  The Nets floor general unfurled it in front of Washington's A.J. Price after taking exception to a hard foul.  This was Deron Williams' perfect moment to declare - This Is My House!


Returning Nets center Brook Lopez led all scorers with eighteen points, and all players with eleven rebounds.  While Lopez is a proven NBA scorer, he is being counted on to pull down rebounds this season, after four years of being labeled soft on the boards.  Deron Williams led the floor with nine assists.  Very encouraging were Andray Blatche's sixteen points off the bench.


In all, five Nets players scored in double figures.  Behind Lopez and Blatche, Joe Johnson followed with fourteen points.  Kris Humphries and Deron Williams scored eleven points each.


Brooklyn out-rebounded the Wizards by a 45-41 margin.  They shot fifty percent from the field while Washington only shot thirty nine percent.  The knock?  Brooklyn was abysmal from the stripe sinking only twelve of twenty three free throw attempts.


Seventeen days remain until the Nets and Manhattan Knicks kick off the 2012-2013 NBA regular season, officially inaugurating professional sports back in Brooklyn.  Last night's tip-off was a momentous occasion for the home team none the less.


Welcome home fellas!  Welcome to Brooklyn.




Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: Media Day Kicks Off Month Long Countdown

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

 

BROOKLYN NETS:

Team Unveils Uniforms.

Media Day Starts Countdown Toward

Opening Night Versus Knicks.

Monday was Media Day at Barclays Center, which also happened to kick off Brooklyn's first ever NBA pre-season.  Then again, I guess everything will be be a first for Brooklyn Basketball this season.  Speaking of which, The Brooklyn Nets inaugural season starts November 1st, against the Manhattan Knicks.


The Nets also unveiled their new uniforms Monday; solid whites, with black lettering/numbers and trim.  I must say, there is beauty in simplicity.  The Nets uniforms hit the mark.  Seeing Brooklyn across the front is still remarkable to me.  The look is marvelous.

Picture - AP/N.Y. Post - Oct. 2, 2012

It's time to know your Nets folks, and a little about the history of this organization we now call ours.  I'll be spending the next month reviewing what it is we are actually inheriting.


Pictured from left to right are Kris Humphries, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, Deron Williams, and Gerald Wallace.  These are the starting five players that will step on Barclays Center's herring-bone patterned hardwood floor in one month's time and make history.  By now, you should know this will be the Borough's first professional game since the Dodgers left town after the 1957 season.


Make no mistake, the Golden Age of Baseball in this town will live forever.  For many, the ol' Dodgers are still alive and well.  But the days of bleeding Trolley Dodger Blue are long over.  A new generation of Brooklynites now have the Hoops of Flatbush.  Sure this era will have as much passion as those who lived and died with their Bedford Bums.  Fuhgeddaboudit!  But in this new century, Kings County sports fans won't get duped again.  The Nets will have a far more savvy chorus on their hands.  This generation is far less patient than their fathers, and grandfathers were.  This generation will see things in black and white, with little middle ground to speak of - Just the way the team wants it.  We've already taken a cue from Jay-Z, and embraced the retro feel of the old subway motif.  It's gritty, it's urban, it's Brooklyn.  So good luck with the crowd Boys, and Lets Go Nets!




Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: The Hoops of Flatbush Are Almost Home

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

BROOKLYN NETS:

The HELLO BROOKLYN Campaign Is Hitting Home.

From Broadway in Williamsburg to Borough Park; from Park Slope to Brooklyn Heights; the Hoops of Flatbush have been introducing themselves to their new neighbors in, and around the Borough of Kings.  Nets hats and shirts are being worn throughout the County.  And the buzz surrounding the team's arrival has fans electrified with anticipation over the first major league game played in Brooklyn; by any league; since that dreadful year of 1957, when Walter O'Malley broke the hearts of two million people by moving the Dodgers to Los Angeles.

Hello Brooklyn indeed, and welcome back!.  It's been a long time coming; fifty-five years to be exact, since professional athletes drew paychecks to represent the denizens of Brooklyn on a major league level.  Finally, in eighty-two more days, Brooklyn's rebirth into the major league professional sports world will come.

Until they swing the doors of Barclays Center open for the first game; most appropriately against the Manhattan Knickerbockers; Brooklynites are continuing to get familiar with their new hardwood representatives.  The 2012 Hello Brooklyn campaign, in my opinion, has been a smash hit.  The Welcome to Brooklyn campaign; although interrupted by the NBA Lock-Out; was received very well.  But once the organization decided upon the logos, and color schemes, the closing campaign leading up to Opening Day has been a resounding slam dunk.

The team's home grown, and iconic minority share owner, Jay-Z, intimated he drew inspiration for the club's scheme from New York City's subway signage.  Upon the unveiling, I immediately embraced the look, which has continued to grow on me ever since.  And at least from the people I'm speaking with, most fans find favor with it as well.  These days, the subway stop servicing Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street now bears the name of Brooklyn's new arena.

 

I'm #7, Joe Johnson,

Six Time NBA All*Star and lifelong Razorback.

I'm #8, Deron Williams,

Three Time NBA All*Star and father of four.

I'm #11, Brook Lopez,

Twenty point scorer and Batman's biggest fan.

I'm #45, Gerald Wallace,

All NBA Defender and off season fisherman.

Most importantly, all indications are the Nets will be a competitive team immediately upon launch.  And if anyone deserves a billboard looking down upon Flatbush Avenue for making that so, it should be General Manager Billy King.  The prospects of assembling a quality team in time for the Nets' arrival in Brooklyn were looking bleak there for a moment, and getting darker by the day.  In truth, try a year and a half.  That's about how long the organization and Brooklyn had to sweat out the Deron Williams dilemma.


In more current news, the Nets' offer for Dwight Howard was better than what the Orlando Magic received in their four way transaction that shipped the center to Los Angeles.  Whether Orlando converts their newly acquired draft picks and tilts the deal heavily in their favor remains to be seen, albeit much further down the road.  I doubt it though.  The Magic got fleeced.  But who cares?  It turns out, Deron Williams lost interest in that transaction long ago.


Today, a better question is, will Dwight Howard really be happy as a Laker?  We'll find out when and if he re-signs with Club Kobe.  But for Brooklyn, the Howard trade finally brings finality for a guy like Brook Lopez.  He probably had himself an uneasy off-season. I'm sure his new contract made him feel better though.


I said it once, and I'll say it again.  I think the Nets are better off with Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries.  I'd rather have Lopez scoring, and Humphries rebounding separately, than risk having Dwight Howard go down, with say, a bad back (?), and have both those aspects of the game go down with him.  The Nets currently have a lower risk factor should Lopez or Humphries go down. Additionally, I think we'll be seeing greater maturity out of both players, as they will be surrounded by a very different cast of competent team mates now.


At this point, I think the Nets are very well put together.  And by saying that, I guess I should be changing my tact regarding Billy King.  For coming from Philadelphia, I did not like him, what he built there, nor what he accomplished with the Sixers.  I was more disjointed by the fact Rod Thorn worked for them now.  But without a doubt, Billy King has transformed what was increasingly appearing to be a skill-challenged team, into an Atlantic Division contender in time for Brooklyn's first ever tip-off.  He also effectively saved the organization from what could have very easily devolved into a tremendously underwhelming opening act for the team; not to mention for the controversial arena.


Okay, so the Nets are capped-out now, and have no draft picks until the year twenty-whenever.  Everything comes at a price.  Especially in Brooklyn.  However, since assuming the office of GM,  Billy King has since guaranteed the opening of Barclays Center, and the Nets inaugural season in the Borough of Kings will be anything but underwhelming, and that he's not just perpetrating a clever play on names.

Barclays Center;

Groundbreaking Day; March 2010

Summer of 2012:

Mike.BTB