Game 11 Preview: Los Angeles Clippers (8-3) at Brooklyn Nets (6-4)

We have a wonderful point guard battle tonight. Which one wins will probably determine the game's outcome.

When: 7:30 pm; Friday, November 23rd, 2012

Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY

TV: YES Network
 
The Nets look to shake off their brutal end to their annual West Coast Thanksgiving road trip by beating another Western Conference foe tonight at Barclays Center. The Clippers will be the fourth-straight California team the Nets will be playing, after beating the Kings on Sunday night and consequently falling to the Lakers and Warriors on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Wednesday's loss was especially tough for Brooklyn as they had a 13-point first half lead squandered as Golden State took advantage of the absence of Gerald Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse--and of the Nets' terrible perimeter defense--to score 61 points in the second half to control the game and eventually win it.

Los Angeles also had a tough loss on Wednesday night, losing to the Thunder in an overtime affair in Oklahoma City. Down 10 points at half, the Clippers tied the game, sending it into overtime after outscoring the Thunder by a score of 33-26 in the fourth quarter. A few quick three-pointers by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook early in the extra period got OKC off to a great start, and netted them a four-point lead they wouldn't relinquish. The defeat ended the Clippers' six-game winning streak and dropped their record to 8-3 on the year.

Game 9 Recap: Lakers 95, Nets 90. The One Where D'Antoni Made His Debut

It was easy to tell that Deron wanted to win last night's very badly. The Nets probably would have if he could have hit a few more shots.

If a moral victory is actually a legitimate thing, then the Nets probably had one last night against the Los Angeles Lakers. A win in the standings? Something they did not have. However, Brooklyn showed that they could match up with and compete with one of the NBA's premier teams in the Lakers by coming back from an early 10-point deficit right off the bat to take the lead throughout much of the second half, just to slowly lose it late in the fourth quarter.

The Nets certainly looked outmatched in the beginning moments of the game, as they committed four quick turnovers in the first four minutes, pressured by the hounding Los Angeles defense. It was surprising that the Lakers--in the debut of new, solely offensive-minded head coach Mike D'Antoni--played so well on the defensive side of the court early on but the turnovers could also be attributed to a Nets squad that was rushing in their sets, making boneheaded and lazy plays, and simply playing like the New Jersey team, one prone to countless amounts of inept stretches of basketball. After a timeout by Avery Johnson, though, Brooklyn came back with a purpose and rattled off eight points in a row to come within two. The game stayed close throughout the rest of the first until Kobe Bryant hit three jumpers in a row to expand the LA lead to six points.

Then, in the second quarter, the Lakers' main weakness was shown as their bench promptly coughed up their lead and the Nets got hot from the field, scoring 34 points in the period to go up a point at half. As usual, the Nets' "bench mob" or "Brooklyn Zoo" (credit Twitter for both awesome nicknames) picked up the slack, with C.J. Watson hitting a few threes, Andray Blatche hitting a few shots in the lane, and, of course, Reggie Evans rebounding nearly everything in sight. Solid second quarter performances also came from starters Brook Lopez and Deron Williams.

Game 6 Recap: Nets 114, Cavaliers 101

The Nets simply had no answer for Varejao tonight. Thankfully, him and the Cavs had no answer for the Nets either.

For the sake of an analogy, the Brooklyn Nets are like the lead actor in a play, possibly even a Broadway one. Lead actors in plays are very talented and draw the audience in with their dramatic dialogue and actions. People root for them when they are the hero, people root against them when they are the enemy. The point is that they are captivating. However, they can also be really loud and annoying, in addition to having off days from time to time. In these circumstances, the audience is expecting a lot from the lead actor but instead gets a dud of a performance. The Nets are very much like this.

How, you might say, could a basketball team be like an actor in a play? Well, like an actor, the Nets have tons of natural talent which will propel them to many leads and big wins this season. They also have their fair share of duds, exemplified by the many blown leads and the pair of notable crushing losses they have had so far this season. Tonight, we saw both sides of the Nets, good and bad. Good in that they moved the ball around on offense masterfully the entire game, leading to 27 (!) assists and 114 points. Good in that they shot 54.5 percent from the field, only committed 13 turnovers against one of the NBA's best teams at forcing turnovers, and even blocked 10 shots. Bad in that they allowed 101 points to the Cavs and career-highs to both Kyrie Irving (34 points) and Anderson Varejao (35 points on 16-21 shooting).

Shot Analysis: Deron Williams

Deron's performance has been kinda uneven with the Nets, but he certainly had his bright spots this season.

This is the 1st series I'm doing analyzing shot charts of the more important Nets (sans Brook Lopez because of his limited play last year) and how they fared from the field last season. We start off with the player at the helm of the Nets, Deron Williams.

For these 'Shot Analysis' posts that I'll do, I'll be using statistical support from a new (at least to me) site called VORPed.com that has shot charts from the last two seasons for every NBA player. Pretty cool, huh? The chart below is Deron's from last season, his first one with a significant amount of games being played with the Nets.

As you can see, Deron took most of his non-layup shots behind the 3-point line along the wing. 31% from the left and nearly 40% from the right sides of the wing are each pretty good percentages for a passing-first point guard. However, D-Will's shooting accuracy faded significantly on threes taken in either corner and from right at the top-center of the arc. 

Deron Williams and Joe Johnson: A Match Made in Heaven

The two guys in the middle; pretty important to the future of the Brooklyn Nets

February 23rd, 2011 and July 11, 2012. Those are two dates that will live on in Brooklyn Nets history forever. The former, in 2011, was of course when the Nets traded Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two 1st-round picks, and cash considerations to the Utah Jazz for one of the top point guards in the entire NBA: Deron Williams. Prior to the trade going through, the Nets were heavily rumored to be going after, and nearly trading for, Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets until he was dealt to the Knicks on the 21st of February.

The latter, occurring just last month, was when the Nets emptied their roster by dealing Johan Petro (thank God), Anthony Morrow, Jordan Williams, Jordan Farmar, DeShawn Stevenson, a 2013 1st-round pick, and a 2017 2nd-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for their All-Star shooting guard, Joe Johnson. Similarly to the D-Will trade, this deal went largely under the radar until it went through as JJ was not widely reported to have been on the Nets' offseason wishlist.

Appropriately so, a crazed and long-loyal Nets fan like myself was going mildly nuts after hearing of each of these blockbuster deals. In 2011, with the Deron deal, I was on vacation in the Caribbean with my family when my dad gets an email on his phone from the Nets' organization. When I read the headline announcing that my favorite NBA team had traded for a star, specifically one of the best points guards in the NBA, I flipped out.

No, I didn't care that we essentially gave up three 1st-round picks (including Favors, selected in the draft preceding that season) for D-Will, I only cared that the Nets had finally gotten the franchise point guard that we had been searching for since trading Jason Kidd to the Mavericks a few years prior. I immediately dropped my regrets about missing out on Carmelo and didn't even care he went to the most-hated basketball team in my mind, the Knicks.

Recapping the Nets' Offseason, A Very Big One Indeed

Brooklyn's brand new backcourt. Watch out Eastern Conference, this duo means business.

So, I'm back. I returned from sleepaway camp two days ago and I'm slowly catching up and coming to grips with everything that has happened regarding the Nets' roster over the past eight or so weeks. Let's review each Nets' transaction (or non-transaction, you'll see what I mean) going back to Draft Night, which fell on June 27th this year:

Portland Trailblazers trade the 41st overall pick in 2012 Draft (G Tyshawn Taylor) to Nets for cash considerations
Entering this year's draft, the Nets only had one pick, the 57th overall pick in the 2nd-round. I guess Billy King liked Taylor, a point guard from the University of Kansas, so much that he didn't want to wait for him at 57 and instead used some of Mikhail Prokhorov's extra cash to nab Taylor with pick 41. Tyshawn, a Hoboken, NJ native, figures to be a part-time player for this year's Nets team who will share back-up PG duties with recent signee C.J. Watson.

Philadelphia 76ers trade the 54th overall pick in 2012 Draft (F Tornike Shengalia) to Nets for cash considerations
I don't follow European/foreign basketball very much so I have no first-hand experience in watching any of the Nets foreign acquisitions play but according to some scouting reports, Shengalia is a physical rebounding/defense type who won't be an offensive superstar but has some decent moves down in the post. His 6'9" frame is better suited for the 4 than the 3 as one of his major weaknesses is lack of a reliable jumper. My best guess is that he's a project who figures to not make much of an effect in the meantime.

Jason Kidd Willing to Return to the Nets: Sign Us Up!

Remember this guy? He led the Nets, yes the Nets, to a few Finals appearances in the early 2000s. Would a return to the Nets spark the same success? I don't know, but I certainly hope so

In a recent ESPNNewYork.com piece, former Net fan favorite and future NBA hall-of-fame point guard Jason Kidd said he would be open to a return to the Nets organization, presumably in a back-up role. Like Deron Williams, who J-Kidd would back-up if he re-signs with the Nets, Kidd is a free agent this offseason and counts the Mavericks and Nets as two of his most-favored destinations.

I know that Jordan Farmar will probably exercise his $4 million player-option to remain in Brooklyn next season and the potential clog at the point guard position if Deron and Kidd sign with the Nets would be salary-cap draining. Farmar is a solid player who obviously has more upside than Kidd but he would probably be moved via trade if D-Will and J-Kidd are Brooklyn Nets next season.

This is all speculation right now and mainly depends on what Deron decides to do this summer with his free agency, news of which has been varied and mainly non-committal from D-Will's camp. Deron has said that he wants to sign before the Olympics, which starts in July, so we should expect some more news to filter through the grapevine in the upcoming weeks and days. Getting a little ahead of ourselves, a point guard tandem of D-Will and J-Kidd would be very potent on offense and would make the Nets' backcourt extremely hard to defend for most NBA teams.

Kidd isn't as agile or youthful as he used to be but still plays as hard as he has done for his whole career and is a major facilitator on the offensive end. Imagine Kidd kicking it out to Morrow for some open second-team 3-pointers. Wouldn't that be a deadly proposition for the teams unlucky enough to face the Nets next year? Yes, yes it would be.

Season-In-Review: Deron Williams

This post, along with the other posts I will do in the Season-In-Review series, will take a deeper look at how all the Nets did last season on the court and possibly off of it. We continue with the (current and hopefully permanent) face of the Nets, Deron Williams. I covered DeShawn Stevenson first. 

Well, a (mostly) full (condensed) season with Deron Williams on the Nets the whole year was interesting, right? It's tough to give a fair analysis of D-Will's season right now because of the injury struggles, impeding free agency discussions, lack of teammate help, and even potential trades that undoubtedly affected his play on the court this past season. Deron came oh so close to being able to play with Dwight Howard in New Jersey but that deal with the Nets and Magic fell apart as fast as it was put together. However, even with all these distractions, Nets fans were able to see D-Will at his very best at some scattered points this season (the huge win against the Knicks at MSG where D-Will had 10 points in a minute and of course the 57-point effort in Charlotte), but were unable to see sustained superstar-like play.

Granted, Deron's short tenure with the Nets is a definite aberration as he is far better a basketball player than he has showed recently with awful supporting casts and teams decimated by injury. D-Will's stats also weren't helped out by his career-low shooting efforts in 67 games with the Nets which, according to him, are mainly due to the so-called terrible shooting background at the Prudential Center, a natural hockey arena. Even though he may have missed a lot of games due to injury, not tried 100% when on the floor, or just flat out didn't perform well, it is clear to Nets fans that Deron Williams, when healthy and on a good team, can be the top PG in the NBA and can easily lead a team far into the playoffs.

The NBA Draft Lottery is Tonight, While The Nets' Future Lies in the Balance

Tonight, at 8pm, in MSG, the Nets' franchise will set out on a road to success....or one of bitter despair

The 2012 NBA Draft Lottery is tonight at 8pm on ESPN and it is obviously one of great importance for the New Jersey Brooklyn Nets. Even though the site has been super-quiet lately (You can blame my teachers), it shouldn't be understated just how crucial tonight is for the short-term and long-term scope of this team.

You know the drill, the top-three protected 1st-round pick the Nets flipped to the Portland Trailblazers could wind up in a very good rookie for the Nets (and potential trade chip for Dwight Howard) or a very good rookie for Portland. There is even some chatter that the results of tonight's lottery will be the deciding factor in whether D-Will will return to the Nets this offseason or sign elsewhere (let it be noted that I don't completely believe in Woj's report, but I must acknowledge its existence.)

Anyway, the consequences of the Nets losing their potentially very-high 1st-round pick in this year's loaded draft would be severe and could lead to another period of extended futility with a team and a fan base that has experienced way too much of that in recent years. The specifics are grim: the Nets only have around a 25% chance of keeping their pick and a 75% chance of losing it.

You don't have to be a math major to know that those are awful, terrible, no-good odds and according to said odds, the Nets and their fans will probably go to sleep tonight without a 1st-round pick and a great chance that their franchise player will be playing elsewhere this offseason.

I'm not trying to scare you, fellow Nets fans, I'm trying to be honest and truthful. Being hopeful that the lottery balls will fall in our favor is the way to go for right now, just keep it in check with the knowledge that that hope will most likely spoil and turn into pessimism in about an hour. The only positive with this grim knowledge is that the Nets are no stranger to terrible luck and us fans are used to it by now. Let's hold on to the chance our luck will turn tonight.

Making the Case for Brooklyn as a Potential Landing Spot for Deron Williams

This Nets team has been a major part of Melodrama (Carmelo Anthony), Linsanity (Jeremy Lin), Dwightmare (Dwight Howard) and now this. If D-Will doesn't come to Brooklyn, we can call the Deronisaster but it he does re-sign with the Nets, it will be pure Headeron (mix of heaven and Deron, not my best work). 

Basically all the NBA writers that cover the teams involved in the complex Deron Williams and Dwight Howard free agency saga sort-of-thing have started to pencil in D-Will as being a Maverick next season. This is coming on the heels of Deron announcing that he will indeed opt of his current contract with the Nets after the season, making him a free agent on July 1st. Guys like Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (who obviously is a big Mavs fan) are saying that this news makes the potential scenario that D-Will will head to his hometown team in free agency a "likely" occurence.

This notion is ridiculous and is nothing more than a biased view from a writer who would certainly benefit from covering a team with one of the best point guards in the league on it. The only thing that Deron has said which would seem to support him leaving the Nets and going down to Dallas as a free agent is that Deron is from a Dallas suburb and said that he likes playing at the American Airlines Center. Putting all of these half-truths and pure speculations aside, let's take a look at why Brooklyn is the place that Deron should be when next NBA season comes around.

Mid-Season Primer: Where Exactly Do the Nets Stand At the Mid-Point of the Season

Deron has been the only consistent positive force for the Nets this entire season and at points, it seems like its too much for him to handle but at other points, it seems like he thrives on that adversity and uses it to improve his game

Record: 10-25


Standings: 5th in the Atlantic Division, 13th in the Eastern Conference, 27th in the NBA

Summary
Much like last season, this condensed 2011-2012 Nets season has been riddled by injuries, underperformance, and trade rumors. Even though Deron Williams has played in all games except for one, New Jersey is still close to the bottom of the NBA but has been playing better basketball of late. Not having Brook Lopez for the first 32 games of the season was heartbreaking for a Nets team that clearly suffered from lack of a proven post-scoring center. Meanwhile, New Jersey has suffered more injuries across the board as coach Johnson has had to use a league-high 17 different starting line-ups due to the multitude of injuries.

The position of obvious weakness for the Nets has been at small forward where the first three guys on the depth chart are all out for the season with injuries after under-performing when they were healthy. Shawne Williams, Keith Bogans, and Damion James were all given their chance to start this year and either lost their jobs due to underperformance (Williams) or gruesome and out-of-the-blue injuries (James and Bogans). The Nets simply haven't been able to catch a break at that position the whole season but with the recent signing of Gerald Green from the D-League, that might all change.

Deron Goes Nuts But East Still Loses All-Star Game

There was some questioning of D-Will inclusion in the All-Star Game but quieted the critics with his performance

Even though he was the last player on the Eastern Conference team to enter the game, Deron Williams certainly made his presence felt in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game which the West won by a score of 152-149. In only 18 minutes, D-Will scored 20 while making 8-for-11 from the field, along with 4-for-7 shooting from behind-the-arc. Deron was one of only six East All-Stars to score double-digits in points and showed that he truly is among the NBA's elite players.

Not surprisingly, the game's two leading scorers with 36 points each were Kevin Durant, who was named the MVP, and LeBron James. Dwyane Wade compiled only the 3rd triple-double in the game's history as the Miami Heat were certainly well represented in Orlando tonight.

All-Star Saturday: Armor Do Well, the Nets Not So Much

The nice tribute Morrow made to Petrovic, a great shooter in his own right, didn't help him much in his debut appearance in the 3-point contest

In today's All-Star weekend festivities (ok, it was yesterday), the Nets and their D-League affiliate, the Springfield Armor, were really busy. On the D-League side, three Armor players (JameSon Curry, Jerry Smith, and Jeff Foote) played in the D-League All-Star game while L.D. Williams played (and won) in the dunk contest that took place at halftime of the game.

In the game, the East team (with all three Armor players) ended up losing 135-132 to the Western Conference D-League All-Stars. Curry scored a game-high 25 points off the bench on 10-for-16 shooting along with 8 assists. Smith started the game and scored 14 while Foote grabbed 7 rebounds but couldn't find his groove at the offensive end. In a weird note, Andre Emmett, whose 10-day deal with the Nets ended on Wednesday, played on the Western Conference team and scored 15. Emmett wasn't on the East squad because New Jersey didn't call him up from the Armor, but rather the Reno Bighorns.

Deron Williams Named as Reserve for Eastern Conference All-Star Team

The Feb. 26 game in Orlando will be a nice place for D-Will to show that he is among the NBA's elite

For the 12th time in Nets franchise history, they will have a player represented in the NBA All-Star Game as Deron Williams has been named to the Eastern Conference team as a reserve. The All-Star appearance is Deron's third in as many seasons and enters himself among the ranks of other Nets players to have made the All-Star team like Vince Carter, Devin Harris, and Jason Kidd who did it recently along with Stephon Marbury, Kenyon Martin, Derrick Coleman among others.

With per game averages of 20.9 points and 8.6 assists this season, Deron is the only player in the whole NBA who is currently averaging 20+ points and 8+ assists per game. There was some doubt before the announcement of the rosters if Deron would indeed be chosen as a reserve or not which I thought was a preposterous idea. D-Will is, in my opinion, the third best point guard in the NBA, after Derrick Rose and Chris Paul, and the fact that he might not make the All-Star game because of the Nets' poor record is simply ridiculous because team success should be an important consideration for MVP but not for something like the All-Star game.

A full list of both rosters can be found here.

Extension Unlikely For Brook Lopez: The Ramifications for Getting Dwight

According to Nets' general manager Billy King, the Nets are probably not going to give the injured Brook Lopez a contract extension before the deadline of January 25th. This is very bad news for Nets fans as it is appearing like the Nets are putting all of their eggs in the Dwight Howard-basket and if they don't acquire him via a trade or free agency by this offseason, then this franchise will be primed to be a bottom-dweller of the Eastern Conference for years to come.

As most Nets fans already know, Deron Williams is probably not going to re-sign with the team this offseason unless the Nets and Billy King get him some help, which in a perfect world, would be Dwight Howard. However, with the recent inclusion of the Clippers onto Dwight's preferred destinations list, it is looking less and less likely every day that Howard will be a New Jersey (basically Brooklyn) Net before the start of the next NBA season.