THE BOOTH RECAPS WIN OVER LA
Mike Fratello and Ian Eagle talk about how the Nets were able to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 110-96.
From the Booth
November 16 by Leave a Comment
Gameday Dish: Charlotte Bobcats at New Jersey Nets
November 3 by Leave a Comment
Prokhorov’s Nets will host Jordan’s Bobcats in Newark this evening. It should be a competitive contest. Both the Bobcats and Nets are trying to establish winning habits early and carry them through the remainder of the season in order to have a shot at the playoffs.
This is a big game for the Nets as Coach Avery Johnson needs to convince his team that they are good enough to challenge for a playoff spot. The Nets stand at 2 and 1 after three games – a drastic improvement over last year’s 18 straight L’s to begin the season.
The Charlotte Bobcats on the other hand are 0 and 3, so Coach Larry Brown will be anxious to get a win under his belt. Last season the 2004 expansion team kept the Bulls and Raptors at bay to clinch the seventh spot in the East and their first playoff berth. Now that they’ve tasted the postseason, the Bobcats will be hungry to return for seconds and hopefully better their playoff record with some wins.
The Bobcats were only 13-28 away from home last year, and that included a loss at New Jersey on December 4th, 2009, to break the Nets’ 18-game-season-opening losing streak. However, the Bobcats later defeated the Nets on a return trip to the Garden State on their way to the postseason.
This is New Jersey’s fourth consecutive home game to begin the season, a true scheduling rarity and something the Nets must capitalize on because after tonight they begin a brutal stretch wherein they’ll play 7 of their next 9 games on the road. Last season they were a pitiable 4-37 road team.
Center Brook Lopez leads the Nets in scoring this season at close to 25 points per game. PG Devin Harris, now in his seventh year, has averaged almost 19 points and 8 assists over the first three contests. And third overall draft pick Derrick Favors continues to show signs of improvement as he gains NBA experience, averaging 10.0 rebounds and 10.3 points per game so far in his rookie career.
Coach Brown leads the Bobcats and is counting on top scorer F Gerald Wallace (league leader in minutes played) and 11th year veteran G Stephen Jackson (a 1997 second-round draft pick) to help the team gel early this campaign after the departure of long-time starting point guard Raymond Felton to the Knicks in the off-season. It remains to be seen whether the Bobcats will have as much of an impact without Felton and Tyson Chandler, who were both key pieces to last year’s success.
Third-year PG D.J. Augustin, out of the University of Texas, has replaced Felton in the lead guard role. In last game’s loss at Milwaukee he had 26 points and shot 5 of 6 from 3-point land.
Ian and I will cover the action tonight at 7:00 PM EST on YES.
Mike’s Take: Brook Lopez
December 29 by Leave a Comment
The Nets were dealt another loss last night at the hands of OKC. Kevin Durant gave an Iceman-esque performance, stealthily putting up 40 smooth ones. That’s four games in a row with 30+ points. The Thunder are on pace to add 20 wins to last year’s total and are clearly a young, talented team that is developing into a contender. On the court they’re a confident crew that plays an athletic brand of basketball, and they’re developing winning habits under Coach Scott Brooks.
On the other side the losing is taking a toll on the Nets. One player in particular is their sophomore Center Brook Lopez. He has struggled in his last few games, not due to a lack of effort, but because he’s a passionate player who is frustrated by the mounting losses and the way defenses have adjusted to take him off his game. As a result he hasn’t been able to score and contribute the way he was doing earlier in the season.
To get back on track Lopez too must make adjustments and find other ways to score so that he won’t be forced to operate against the opposing team’s set defense. Running the floor hard to get easy baskets in transition, hitting the offensive boards to get easy points off follow-ups and tip-ins, and creating opportunities to get to the free throw line will help Lopez produce better numbers and contribute to his team’s success.
Brook is still very young and this is part of the maturation process for him. With players returning from injury Lopez doesn’t need to carry the team. As Brook and the Nets discover the right formula and the right points distribution, we will see Brook return to All-Star form and the Nets get back to their winning ways.
