Game 18 Recap: Bulls 110, Nets 95

Derrick Rose was the real star of tonight's game. Nuccio DiNuzzo/Tribune photo

Lacking effort. Sluggish. Disinterested. Those are three phrases that would accurately summarize tonight's paltry Nets' loss to, in my opinion, the best team in the NBA. It didn't help that Marshon Brooks was surprisingly unable to play after coming down with a sore left achilles as reported by ESPNNewYork's Mike Mazzeo. It also didn't help that the Nets were playing in their 3rd straight game in as many nights. It also didn't help that game-time decisions like Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah were able to play. Nothing really helped the Nets, and well, the Nets didn't help themselves much either.

Frankly, the Nets didn't do much right tonight in any aspect of the game for that matter. The shooting was terribly inconsistent as the Nets had multiple open looks at three-pointers to cut the Bulls' double-digit lead to a manageable margin but missed almost every time (Okur and Morrow were the biggest culprits). The only reason the Nets' FG% was able to be somewhere close to 50% was because of extended garbage time which basically lasted the entire 4th quarter.

On the other hand, the Bulls, the class of the NBA, were draining shots left and right for the whole game. They started the game 8-9 from the field which helped them build a quick, 20-8 lead by the midway point of the 1st quarter. As as has been par the course for the basically the whole Nets' season, the double-digit deficit they have faced early in games has sunk the Nets in major holes before they can even blink. The Bulls are a very good shooting team, reinforced by the genius offseason signing of Richard Hamilton, but they wouldn't have shot anywhere near 57% from the field if the Nets' defense hadn't been so lax on the perimeter as well as in the paint. Boozer, Noah, and Asik had wide open looks at the basket from a few feet out for the length of the game while Rose, Brewer, Hamilton, and even Watson had nearly uncontested looks from 15 feet out or further.

However, there were a few positives to take from this game even though it happened to be one of the worst Nets' performances of this season. Deron Williams continued his recent stretch of solid games and ended up with yet another double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. The Nets were also kept close in the game by two reserves who certainly have had their struggles this season: Jordan Farmar and Shawne Williams.

Farmar ran the offense well in his 32 minutes and was locked-in with his shot as he went 7-9 from the field and 3-3 beyond the arc. Shawne, who was signed this offseason mainly for the shooting prowess he showed last season with the crosstown rival Knicks, hasn't been able to find his stroke so far with the Nets but he showed his potential tonight with 8 points on 3-4 shooting (2-3 from three). It's hard to find positives in such deflating losses like tonight's but the performances of Farmar, Shawne Williams, and even D-League call-up Larry Owens who got some extended time, give coach Avery Johnson some hope in this team until Brook Lopez can return from injury.

Some other observations I had from the game: DeShawn Stevenson once again went scoreless in this game and only played 19 minutes, I wonder if he's now officially in Avery's doghouse as he has showed some terrible body language lately and hasn't been getting the playing time he got earlier in the year...Kris Humphries was really late on his defensive rotations tonight and it plagued the Nets interior defense as he is our best shot-blocker at least until Brook comes back. I'm just going to chalk it up to playing a 3rd game in 3 nights so I think he'll be fine for Wednesday in Philly...Mehmet Okur continued his mini-shooting slump as only shot 3-10 from the field, he's really important to the Nets' offense and when he's not on, the Nets can't really get anything going on offense...The Nets got abused on the boards by the Bulls, they were outrebounded 43-32. Another side-effect of Hump's sluggish and lethargic play, he's uber-crucial to the Nets controlling the glass...It's pretty clear just how important Marshon is to this offense and team in general, I really hope that his Achilles heals up soon.


Looking Ahead
The Nets don't really much of a break as they play the Atlantic Division-leading Philadephia 76ers on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly. We get Marshon back by then and I think we have a chance at a win.