Brooklyn Nets: Jason's Kidds Caught Loitering On Flatbush Avenue

From the desk of:  THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

 

Monday Final:

Blazers 108

NETS     98

BROOKLYN NETS:  After Passing The Ball Around Like The Globe Trotters, And Scoring 40 Points In 1st Quarter, The Ice Cold Chuckers Of Last Season Reappeared To Spoil Homecoming.

Say what you will about Monday's loss at Barclays Center, but among the choices, agree this was a vintage 2012-2013 performance.  What I heard, was the Nets ran out of gas.  What I saw, was the same crap as last season, just with a few different faces to blame.

The Nets outscored Portland 33-18 from the free throw line, and benefited from 14 Portland turnovers, while the Nets only turned the ball over 7 times.  Flatbush got marginally outrebounded for the game 46-40, but the Nets pulled down 14 offensive rebounds, while Portland managed 7 offensive boards.  Portland outperformed the Nets on the defensive boards though, by a considerable 37-26 margin.

Of course defense is always an issue.  The real problem is when Nets shooting heads south.  The Nets made 9 more attempts from the field than the Blazers did.  The Nets took 85 shots, while Portland took 76 shots.  The Blazers however, shot 53.9% from the field, while the Nets struggled mightily after the first quarter, and finished the night with a deflating 36.5% shooting percentage. Nets shooting got worse from 3-point land.  The Blazers were 8/18 (44.4%) from beyond the arch, while Brooklyn struggled to make 3/13 (23.1%)3-point attempts.

Kevin Garnett in particular, started the first quarter on fire, connecting on the Nets first five field goal attempts.  He was 6/6 for the quarter, but shot just 2/13 the rest of the game.

The Nets outscored the Blazers 40-31 in the first quarter, and allowed Portland 77 points over the final three quarters.  But all the Nets could manage were 23 points in the second, an anemic 15 points in the third, and just 20 points in the fourth quarter, en-route to a 108-98 defeat.

Perhaps fatigue did play a part.  Maybe age and injury had their affects after four games in six days?  Maybe.  This much is certain..  Early in the game, the Nets put on a clinic focusing on ball sharing.  Then midway through until the final buzzer, Brooklyn collectively seemed content to launch singular unassisted shots.  Growing up in Brooklyn, we called guys like that - chuckers.

Joe Johnson led the team with 3 assists.  That's pathetic!  Paul Pierce, Tyshawn Taylor, and Shaun Livingston only registered 2 assists each.  That's a lot of loitering on Flatbush Avenue.  While at the other end of the floor, Portland's Damian Lillard issued 9 assists, and Mo Williams had 6 assists off the bench.

Shaun Livingston did drop 23 points, and slammed down a left-handed highlight jam over Brook Lopez' brother, but his efforts are being overshadowed by continued losing.

Continued losing, and a whole lot of standing around against the Blazers may be exactly what precipitated a lengthy closed door meeting (Tweeted by Ohm Youngmisuk) after Monday's game.  Other Tweets said Kevin Garnett was the lead mouth, and screamed on everyone, to include Jason Kidd.

We'll see.




Mike.BTB

Brooklyn Nets: Coach Avery Rings In New Year With Pink Slip

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH



BROOKLYN NETS:  A New Year Ushers A New Effort To Make Borough's First Season A Successful One.


I'm not going to say Coach Avery got a raw deal because he sort of earned his termination.  But not entirely.  He is tough, and a task-master.  I like those qualities in a coach to a certain extent.  But Coach Avery was too stubborn.  That was his downfall - not a quick start and a cooling off period on way to a .500 record.  And yes, not catering to his star partly got him fired in Dallas as well.  Coach's style took Deron Williams far away from his game.  But it was more than that.  If you're a rookie like Shengelia, Tyshawn Taylor, or Teletovic, you weren't getting on the floor much.  Some coaches just don't like rookies.  And then you can ask Kris Humphries how hard it is to get out of Coach's doghouse.  But in Avery Johnson's defense, an abbreviated pre-season, and only thirty games to get his new team to gel was a bad break.  Continued fourth quarter and overall second half collapses however screamed for attention.  And apparently, even GM Billy King couldn't save Coach from the team's basketball knowledgeable owner.


I walked out of Barclays Center on Christmas Day after that debacle against Boston saying to my son, this game just might get Avery Johnson fired.  I felt a simmer had been brought to a boil that afternoon, and there would be consequences.  However, I was thinking along the lines of what Coach Avery was going to do to the team.  Instead, the situation turned into a case of what Mikhail Prokhorov did to Coach Avery.


I'm old school.  So I can appreciate a good old fashioned post-up game and isolation offense.  But in the Nets case, something had to give.  And Avery Johnson wouldn't bend.  I never checked the official stats, but in that game I do not believe the Nets scored a single fast break point, nor one transition basket.  They additionally had an atrocious day at the line.  But that sort of thing (cold shooting) happens.  Problem was, nothing was happening Boston didn't see coming.  The Celtics see that brand of basketball everyday in practice.  It's what they're all about.  So why wouldn't they be ready to defeat it?


It is too bad Coach Avery got fired.  He was tasked with unceremoniously ending the New Jersey era and couldn't last the first season in Brooklyn.  Being just a bit too stubborn was enough.  I'm sorry to see him go.  That said, I would like for the Nets to rectify their coaching situation quickly.  Until then, while he does not have a strong supporter in me, I'm sure P.J. will do fine.




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

BKN Nets ~ Billy King Taking a Bullish Approach

From the desk of:   THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

 

BROOKLYN NETS:  Billy King Bringing Moxy Back to Flatbush Avenue.


2012 NBA Draft - Billy King's Deals Left Brooklyn Quiet in the Night


My first impression of Billy King's recent transactions - The Nets are taking on an onerous $90 million dollars.  So let it be written.  So let it be done.  I told you Billy King makes Nets' draft picks disappear, and that the salary cap would be next.  And sure enough... POOF!  Bye-bye draft picks from now till 2050, and so long salary cap flexibility.


Boy am I in trouble.  I'm not a big Billy King fan to begin with, and now, unfortunately, I'm forced to reveal I'm not a big Joe Johnson fan either.  And with Dwight Howard being so wishy-washy, the Nets perhaps feel obliged to put a representative product on the court this Fall.  So decisions like this get made.  And well, the bodies leaving the Nets in the deal to acquire Johnson are inconsequential.  Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, Johan Petro, DeShawn Stevenson, and a lottery protected 2013 first round pick.  But more importantly to me, we can kiss all those expiring contracts good-bye.  That's what the Nets are really losing.


Are they better for making this deal?  That remains to be seen.  This much is certain, Joe Johnson can score.  But as far as I'm concerned, he does little else.  And I really can't see Coach Avery being demanding of him, and Joe Johnson responding.  At first, the Johnson deal was contingent on Deron Williams staying with the Nets.  But later Monday evening, that changed, and it was reported the Nets were going through with the trade regardless of Deron Williams' decision to stay with Brooklyn or move on to Dallas.  Should Deron elect to resign with Brooklyn, the Nets' back court of Williams, Johnson, and MarShon Brooks coming off the bench, seems pretty damn formidable though...doesn't it?


Dwight Howard is responsible for Billy King initiating this trade, and creating this quasi-mess, as much as anyone.  If he wasn't so damn non-committal about his own situation in Orlando, this episode might have been resolved already.  Now with the acquisition of Joe Johnson, there's no chance in hell of fitting Howard under the cap.


Or at least that's what we thought until today.  The Dwight Howard trade apparently can still happen.  The Nets would be giving up every player they have left from last season to get him.  But the trade still seems to have legs.  Involved in a still rumored possibility would be Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, and even more future draft picks.


Should all these moves, and/or proposed moves, pan out, the Nets indeed would be a vastly improved, if not contenting team, post-haste.  There is still small forward Gerald Wallace to consider, and the recent acquisition of Tyshawn Taylor.  Otherwise, Billy King is taking an awful lot of risks for a GM who doesn't have Deron Williams under contract yet.  And should his plan crumble, this organization is in deep trouble.  The Nets' General Manager is already facing salary cap hell, with only half his roster filled...., if that.

Mike.BTB