Game 36 Recap: Nets 93, Mavericks 92

Hey Otis Smith, you watching the game? Behind a monster effort by Brook Lopez, to the tune of 38 points on 17-for-28 shooting, the Nets snapped their 11-game losing streak in Dallas by taking down the defending champs. The key to this game was the great start New Jersey got off to by taking a 28-23 lead after the 1st quarter. The Nets would be able to hold that lead for about 2 quarters but ended up giving the Mavs their first lead of the game with around 2:20 left in the 3rd.

The Nets were able to rebound from blowing their lead, which was as big as 13 points, by taking a 10-point, 89-79 lead with 5:35 left in the game on a slick Lopez lay-up. Then came a 8-0 Dallas run that tightened the Nets' lead to two points. The Mavs ended up taking the lead yet again a minute later on a Jason Kidd 3-pointer. Normally, the Nets would have folded after that point in the game but they went with what was working the whole game, the entry-pass to Brook. Just moments after Kidd's three, Brook got fouled on a lay-up attempt and calmly sank both his free throws, returning the lead to the Nets.

Here is when it got really dicey. With 25 seconds left, Kidd missed the go-ahead three but the Nets would promptly turn it back over to Dallas, giving them a chance to regain the lead. They would not be able to do this as DeShawn Stevenson, just hours after receiving his championship ring from last season, smothered Kidd on yet another 3-point attempt as the former Met point guard clanked it against the backboard as he missed the shot.

Game 36 Preview: Nets (10-25) at Dallas Mavericks (21-13)

D-Will is a Dallas-area native and going home to play the Mavs will no doubt stir up rumors of him and Dwight Howard teaming up in Big D next season. My take, don't believe the hype.

In their first game after the All-Star break, the Nets take on the defending-NBA champion Dallas Mavericks down in Texas later tonight. Both teams have been bit by the injury bug as the Nets will probably be missing Mehmet Okur and Jordan Farmar while Dallas will be without the services of Lamar Odom, who has been mainly ineffective with the Mavs since coming over from the LA Lakers in a preseason trade. Brook Lopez is expected to play around 30 minutes in this contest between two teams that have multiple players that have played in both Dallas and New Jersey with Vince Carter and Jason Kidd being the most notable.

Background on Dallas

As most of you know, tonight's game with the Mavs will be the backstory to the Dwightmare situation that is going on right now, with the Nets and Dallas implicated right in the middle of it. The Mavericks scrapped much of their championship-winning team last offseason in order to have enough cap room to be able to sign Dwight Howard and/or D-Will by the summer. Don't get me wrong, they are still a good team but without key pieces like Tyson Chandler and DeShawn Stevenson out of the picture, Dallas is much less formidable than they were at this time last year. Dirk, Kidd, Terry, and even Marion are all still there but this Mavs team is very different from a year ago.

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.

Nets Sign Gerald Green from the D-League

Green is a complete player who can help the Nets in countless ways on the court

In order to replace Andre Emmett's roster spot after his 10-day contract ended, the Nets signed former NBA player Gerald Green, who won the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, from the D-League's Los Angeles D-Fenders. By signing Green, the Nets look to finally stabilize the low-performing small forward position which has plagued the team all season. Green has been tearing up the D-League in his relatively short stint with the D-Fenders and even was the MVP of the NBDL's All-Star game that took place on Saturday afternoon.

So far this season, the extremely athletic Green has averaged 19.1 PPG and 4.6 APG in addition to nearly lights-out shooting (48% FG, 46% 3PT, 84% FT). He provides the Nets with an athlete that can simply jump out of the arena and this skill can help dividends on offense as well as on defense. More than anything else, New Jersey just needs a player who can shake things up and hopefully push the incumbent members of the team to push themselves more to maintain their playing times.

Overall, I love the signing and I think that Green will be a great addition to this Nets squad. He already has substantial NBA experience so his learning, or developmental, curve won't be as steep as those of other D-League call-ups who only had minor cups of coffee in the NBA prior to being called-up by the Nets. Look for this guy to make a difference down the stretch of this season.

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.

Trade Speculation Candidate: Anthony Morrow

When he gets hot, Morrow is the most dangerous 3-point shooter in the NBA

In this truncated season, Anthony Morrow hasn't been amazing for all 35 games but has been one of the Nets' most reliable players on the offensive end. However, he could become a casualty of New Jersey's quest to clear cap space for this upcoming offseason as his 2-yr, $8 million contract, identical in pay and length to Jordan Farmar's, is one that GM Billy King would love to get rid of in a trade for an (hopefully) expiring contract that might be able to fill some of the production void left by Morrow's departure.

Honestly, Anthony is one of my favorite Nets right now and I would hate to see him go to another team but the truth is that may be necessary for New Jersey to acquire big-name free agents this summer (I think you guys know who I'm referring to explicitly). Let's take a look at two potential trade scenarios which could benefit the Nets, and the other team involved, in both talent and salary cap perspectives:

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.