Game 10 Recap: Warriors 102, Nets 93. The One Where Klay and Curry Were Unstoppable

Prediction: This guy's (Klay Thompson) face will be the subject of my next nightmare

If you looked up the definition of "gut-punch loss" in the dictionary, you would find a picture of a wide-open Klay Thompson swishing a three-pointers about 10 feet in front of Joe Johnson. Of course, that picture would be indicative of the complete and utter crap show the Nets decided to feed up tonight in Oakland against the Warriors. Once again, the Nets played a great first half, going up 46-41 after 24 minutes of play. During those first two quarters, our boys from Brooklyn closed out on the Golden State shooters, made plenty of open shots, rebounded well, and cut down on turnovers. Then came the dreaded third quarter, that stretch of 12 minutes between the second and fourth quarters in which the Nets simply can't do anything right. No ball movement or player movement on offense, lazy and low-percentage jump shots, horrendous/non-existent defensive rotations, and unfathomably idiotic turnovers.

Tonight was absolutely no different. For the most part, the Nets stopped driving into the paint for high percentage shots on offense and turned into the solely jump-shooting team we have come to despise from the New Jersey days. The Nets missed a ton of those jumpers and, conversely, the Warriors made nearly all of theirs. Granted, the dreadful perimeter (or lack of) defense exhibited by the Nets certainly contributed to Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry going off in the second half, credit should be given where it's due. Regardless of how bad Brooklyn's defense without Gerald Wallace is, it's clear that those guys can shooting the lights out, altering the result of a game in the process.

Game 8 Recap: Nets 99, Kings 90. The One Where Blatche Went Off

22 points, 11-12 shooting, 20 minutes. Yep, this Andray Blatche. Yep, the guy who was amnestied this summer. Yep, the guy who was sent home by the Wizards last year because of his lack of conditioning.

Another weird, sloppy, and competitive game, another win for the Nets. Brooklyn extended its season-long winning streak to five games by taking care of the hapless Sacramento Kings at the terribly-named Sleep Train Arena (which I thinking should just be called The Sleep Train, in the vein of The Soul Train). It certainly wasn't pretty--we seem to be saying that about a lot of the Nets victories this season--but it goes on the left side of the W-L column which is all that mattered.

The Nets went to the paint for scoring throughout much of the first half, feeding Brook Lopez the ball a bunch early on, and he went to town against DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson. Brook faded away after the first 12 minutes of play and only ended up with 13 and a measly five rebounds on 5-14 shooting. Fellow starting big man, power forward Kris Humphries, was an afterthought on offense, taking just six shots and scoring six points. The real story of tonight's win was a backup forward who possibly had the game of his career.

Andray Blatche was simply unconscious from late in the first quarter to late in the third. Blatche, who I mentioned as a player to watch in my preview, couldn't miss anything. He hit his first nine shots--a miss of crafty layups, drives, and some admittedly low-percentage jumpers too--and scored 18 points by halftime, basically leading the Nets to a 33-22 second quarter by himself, hitting all six field goals he attempted in the quarter. The Nets constantly went to him to build up the lead they would nurse throughout the second half and he responded to the extra burden, attacking the rim with no mercy for anyone in his way. In one word, Blatche was unstoppable, and that's no exaggeration

Game 8 Preview: Brooklyn Nets (5-2) at Sacramento Kings (2-7)

We know his name is Tyreke Evans. The only thing we don't know is what position he is.

Update: According to the Nets' beat writers on Twitter, Gerald Wallace is playing tonight. We love you Keith Bogans, but go back to the bench where you belong!

When: 6:00 pm; Sunday, November 18th, 2012

Where: Sleep Train Arena (really?); Sacramento, CA

TV: YES Network
 
Tonight we have a matchup between teams that are at completely different ends of the NBA spectrum right now--and different coasts of the US. The Nets, coming off of a nationally-televised win on Thursday night over the Boston Celtics, have won four games in a row and will probably be getting starting small forward Gerald Wallace back from injury. The Kings, on the other hand, have lost their last four games, most recently falling to the Atlanta Hawks in Sacramento at the absurdly-named Sleep Train Arena. The last loss led veteran players Chuck Hayes and Francisco Garcia to call a players-only meeting to hash out the team's struggles. Closed-door meetings nine games into the season is never a good time. 

Sacramento isn't a very good team, but they probably aren't as bad as their early-season record indicates. They have a bunch of really good pieces, like position-unknown Tyreke Evans, forward-center DeMarcus Cousins, and forward Thomas Robinson (5th overall pick out of Kansas in June's draft). However, a lot of their talented players have some glaring problem or disadvantage that limits their success. For Cousins, it's his notoriously bad temper, which led to a one-game suspension a few days ago for confronting Spurs' broadcaster Sean Elliot after a game. And for Tyreke Evans, it's that he has no true position. He's too big to play the point and too small for power forward while not being just quite right for shooting guard or small forward. To say he's an enigma as a basketball player would be an understatement.

Preseason Game 4 Preview: Boston Celtics (1-4) at Brooklyn Nets (3-0)

Andray Blatche going up for a lay-up against the Celtics on Tuesday. The summer pick-up has been great for the Nets so far in the preseason coming off the bench, averaging 17 ppg and 7.3 rpg so far in three games.

Update: MarShon Brooks is likely to play tonight to make his preseason debut, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
  
When: 8:00 pm; Thursday, October 18th, 2012

Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY

TV: TNT

Radio: None

The Nets, holding an unlikely 3-0 record in the preseason as of right now, look to extend that wonderful mark in the 2nd-game of a home-and-home with the Celtics tonight at the Prudential Barclays Center in Newark Brooklyn. The starters, after a one game respite, will be back in the starting lineup facing off against a Celtics starting-five that is a veteran, but scary, bunch of players. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett may be 35 and 36 years old respectively, but that isn't even close to meaning that they won't continue to kill the Nets this year and they seemingly do every time these two teams face each other on the court.

Last game, the Nets' back-ups managed to do a pretty decent job of guarding the talented Celtics starters, with the only major exception being Paul Pierce, who scored 29 points on the game with 20 of those coming in the 1st half. The defense did a solid job on Tuesday of getting hands in the face of Boston shooters, much better than they did on Monday against the Wizards. Holding a contending team like the Celtics to under 100 points when none of your five starters enter the game is a very hard thing to do, regardless of whether the game is played in the preseason or in the regular season.

Nets and Andray Blatche Agree to One-Year Minimum, Non-Guaranteed Deal

According to Yahoo! Sports' Marc J. Spears, the Nets and Andray Blatche, a player that has been linked to the team for a few days now, have agreed in principle to a 1-year deal. The contract, which isn't guaranteed and is for the veteran's minimum, is nothing more than an invitation to training camp meaning that the signing doesn't make the Nets commit to anything with Blatche; if he plays well during camp and the preseason, then he'll stick with the team. If not, he'll be cut and the Nets won't be on the hook for major money owed to the veteran forward.

As I wrote on Monday night, Blatche is a nice, low-risk medium-reward replacement for Donte Green. Since it appears that the injury he suffered a few weeks back is more serious than previously believed, it looks like his deal with the Nets will probably not get done. Blatche is an apt-enough back-up 4 for Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez to rely on when they exit the game. While he may not have the best work ethic and/or drive, the former Wizard is really athletic and can score and rebound very well, as he was a starter for a few seasons in the nation's capital.

Andray Blatche Becomes Latest Player to Be Linked to Nets; Will Meet With Avery Johnson in Houston

Blatche was amnestied this offseason by the Wizards to shed themselves of his $23 million contract, making him a nice, low-risk potential addition for the Nets

According to the New York Times, amnestied Wizards power forward Andray Blatche and Nets' coach Avery Johnson, are scheduled to meet in Houston in the upcoming days to gauge each parties' interest in a potential training camp contract. Since the Nets' acquisition of Donte Greene ended up stalling, the team has an open roster spot for a power forward/center with some size, and Blatche fills that mold.

When healthy, the 6'11'' 26-year old has proven that he can provide decent to good scoring and rebounding numbers, posting careers averages of 15.7 points and 8.6 rebound per 36 minutes respectively. Honestly, with a guy that has Blatche's talent, there is almost no risk for the Nets to bring him aboard for training camp and beyond.

He doesn't have to play 20 minutes a night; he can just sub in occasionally to give the starters or higher reserves a blow when needed and can help out on the boards and maybe score some points in his action. With a roster as filled out as the Nets' is, having another player who has shown he can effective in the NBA can never hurt, and is a low-risk, medium-reward transaction. Of course, you can't go wrong with one of those.