Game 54 Preview: Nets (18-35) at Sacramento Kings (18-33)

The Nets amnestied Outlaw after he played one season of the much ballyhooed 5-yr, $35 million contract that he signed with the team. He hasn't been much better with the Kings than during his disastrous stint in New Jersey but I guess we will see for sure tonight.

Looking for their first 3-game winning streak of this shortened season, the Nets will try to build of the momentum from their last two wonderful triumphs--wins against the Pacers and Warriors--to take down the young Sacramento Kings. The Kings have tons of talent and are really young but just haven't been able to put all it together so far and that can be blamed on something as simple as immaturity. Immaturity, especially from sophomore power forward DeMarcus Cousins, is what got previous coach Paul Westphal fired and the promotion of assistant Keith Smart to the interim helm of the team. Sure, the Kings' record is pretty bad but that doesn't they aren't a good team; they just don't have the experience to be a successful team right now.

Background on Sacramento

Sacramento actually is a good match-up for this injury-depleted Nets squad because of how undersized the Kings line-up is projected to be tonight, especially in the backcourt. Natural point guard Tyreke Evans is probably going to suit up at small forward opposing Gerald Wallace which leaves the 5-9 Isiah Thomas on 6-3 Deron Williams in a battle between point guards. This match-up could be heavenly for D-Will as having a 6-inch height advantage over your opponent in the NBA means a lot of space on jump-shots and easier post-up situations. Wonderfully, those two aspects of the game are D-Will's strongest. On the other hand, the Nets have a smaller match-up issue at power forward as the Kings trot out massive 6-11, 270-pound college-star Cousins whereas the Nets have smaller, but equally tenacious, Kris Humphries who happens to be two inches and 35 pounds less than the Kentucky grad. 

Game 53 Recap: Nets 102, Warriors 100

Crash was unbelievable, who needs a lottery pick?

Well, that was weird. After the first three quarters of the game in which they played their worst basketball of the season, the Nets roared back from a 19-point deficit to steal a road win from the Golden State Warriors. Golden State raced out to a quick 11-4 run to start the game off and built up that lead over the next few quarters and eventually went into full-on blow-out mode by the 4:35 mark of the 3rd quarter. At that point, the Nets had simply given up on playing defense, were taking terribly contested shots, and were committing turnovers left and right constantly.

Then, something unbelievable happened. The Nets started to actually defend some Warriors players and even made the occasional drive to the hoop. They cut the deficit to 14 points by the end of the 3rd and cut it to one point on a Deron Williams 3-pointer with 2:27 left in the game. Then, on the strength of a Kris Humphries free-throw and a few Gerald Green baskets, the Nets took their first lead of the game since holding a 4-3 early in the 1st quarter. Heck, it wasn't easy but it's result that truly matters, not how you got there.

For most of the night, offense was a real struggle for the Nets as they just couldn't knock down the same open looks that Golden State was. Deron Williams and Anthony Morrow, two of the guys that the Nets rely on the most for their offense, just couldn't get it going from the field and combined for 2-19 shooting. However, D-Will's ball-distribution skills were still present evidenced by his 20 assists. Last night's game showed just why Deron is in the top-three point guard conversation of the whole NBA; even when he doesn't have his A-game, he still makes his teammates better with his great ball movement capabilities.

Game 53 Preview: Nets (17-35) at Golden State Warriors (20-29)

Former Nets fan favorite Richard Jefferson was traded to Golden State from the Spurs on trade deadline day; one of my favorite Nets of all time

Finally, the Nets head out on the road as they look to beat a team in the Warriors who are facing tons of injury and personnel issues like the Nets are. Stephen Curry is most likely done for the season, former franchise guard Monta Ellis is gone, and recently-acquired Andrew Bogut is definitely done for the year with a sever ankle injury. The Nets aren't much better off as they only have 10 healthy players for tonight's game; Shelden and Jordan Williams along with Jordan Farmar are out while D-League call-up Dennis Horner and Anthony Morrow will be suiting up. Even with all these injuries, the Nets still have the superior talent to Golden State and should win this one easily. However, because this is the Nets we're talking about, that probably won't happen. 

Background on Golden State

As mentioned above, the Warriors don't have much healthy offensive explosiveness right now and truthfully aren;t a scary team. David Lee, who spurned the Nets in free agency a few offseasons ago in order to go to Golden State, is still a load to guard in the paint and is a double-double machine. Averaging nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds a game this season, Lee can grab boards with the best of them in the NBA and is a great interior finisher. This could be a major problem for the undermanned and rebounding-challenged Nets who will have Johan Petro (ouch) in the starting lineup for the game.

Nets Sign Dennis Horner to 10-Day Contract

In order to fill up the available roster spot left on the team after not renewing Jerry Smith's 10-day deal, the Nets have called up forward Dennis Horner, who started the season in New Jersey, to another 10-day contract. Horner didn't show much in the five games he played for the Nets towards the beginning of the season but without many other options left for healthy bodies, Horner got the call.

The signing comes on the news that Shelden Williams will probably be out until April 5th because of the eye injury he suffered on Wednesday against Indiana. Jordan Williams' concussion symptoms leave him day-to-day while Anthony Morrow is listed as probable. Jordan Farmar is also out until at least April 6th and might even miss the rest of the season with his groin injury. The Nets keep dropping like flies but they keep trying to patch up the holes of their roster with replacement-level guys. Who knows, maybe Horner, a rookie from NC State, turns into a stud like Gerald Green. The Nets could use the healthy bodies and talent.

Game 52 Recap: Nets 100, Pacers 84

A quick recap tonight of the Nets' best win since trading for Gerald Wallace two weeks ago. Against a playoff-bound Indiana team that had previously beaten the Nets 10 straight times, a beaten-up New Jersey squad (without Anthony Morrow and Jordan Farmar, along with the rest of the injury crew) came out with a passion and intensity that hasn't been seen often at home this season. Sure, Paul George had his customary 22 points on 8-13 shooting but other than him, the Nets played swarming defense that held Danny Granger to five points, Roy Hibbert to five points, and even Darren Collison to nine points.

Normally, the Nets would give up around 105 points to an offensively-sound team like the Pacers but tonight was much different. After coach Avery Johnson chewed out his team after an ugly blow-out loss to Utah at home on Monday, his crew responded for an even 100 points on nearly 50 percent shooting. Deron Williams was on fire for 30 points and 11-19 shooting while Marshon Brooks broke out of his slump for 17 points, with most of those points coming on drives to the paint.

Well, as you would expect, not everything was perfect for New Jersey last night as, you guessed it, there were more injuries. Shelden Williams was sent to the hospital with an apparent eye injury he suffered on a hit from Tyler Hansbrough in the 2nd quarter. The outlook isn't great for Shelden according to some of the Nets beat-writers in Twitter but nothing is known right now. Jordan Williams suffered from concussion-like symptoms and, like She-Will, wasn't able to finish off the game. It wasn't clear when J-Will got hurt but his condition isn't known right now. The Nets need these guys to stay relatively healthy because without them, Kris Humphries and Johan Petro would be the only healthy power forwards and centers left on the roster.


Looking Ahead
The Nets head out to the West Coast to take on the new-look Golden State Warriors and former YES Network broadcaster Mark Jackson at the helm. Let's keep this momentum going.

Injury Update: Jordan Farmar Might Be Done For Season

Farmar is crucial to the Nets' success so they will undoubtedly struggle with his absence

According to the New York Post's Tim Bontemps, Jordan Farmar will miss the Nets' next six games and might be out even more than that with his right groin injury. Before playing in Friday's and Saturday's games vs the Hawks and Bobcats respectively, Farmar had missed the previous four games with the same groin injury so it appears that he reaggravated it in his short return to the court. Obviously, this is bad news as it means more Sundiata Gaines, like a lot more because of the non-renewal of Jerry Smith's 10-day contract. Uh oh.

Game 51 Preview: Utah Jazz (26-23) at Nets (16-34)

Will D-Will step up against his old team? Well, if he doesn't, the Nets probably won win their  2nd-straight home game.

In an attempt to win consecutive home games for the first time this season, the Nets will try to defeat the upstart Utah Jazz, a team that is surprisingly stuck right in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race. Of course, there is added intrigue for tonight's contest as it will be the first time that former Nets Derrick Favors and Devin Harris, who were traded to Utah from the Nets last February (a year ago) for Deron Williams, are going to play at the Prudential Center since the trade. More importantly, D-Will will be playing the team that drafted him in 2005 and the team that he played on for six seasons prior to coming to the Nets. It's always big news when stars play their former teams.

Background on Utah

The Jazz are a very different team from the Nets as they focus very much on interior scoring and defense while the Nets score most of their points from outside of the paint and don't play very much defense. Utah also doesn't turn the ball over much, as they are tied for 6th in the NBA in that category. On the other hand, the Nets are 20th in turnovers per game in the league. I guess it's fair to say that the Jazz as a fundamental-based team which can definitely not be used to describe New Jersey. The Jazz might not have a ton of flash or starpower but playing the game the right way and not making any stupid mistakes can take teams very far and help them win games, especially against a poor team like the Nets.