You may remember our feature gallery last season called "Rep Your Nets," featuring the best photos of fans creatively repping their team. We've chosen our 20 favorite Nets Reppers from last season, which you'll see below. Vote for who you think repped the Nets hardest before the season starts Wednesday. The winner gets a special prize, courtesy of The Brooklyn Game!
With the NBA Draft coming up on June 27th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn -- and the Brooklyn Nets picking 22nd -- we wanted to open a new contest for our readers. We'll be taking a look at different scenarios and prospects all week, but for now: say hello to The BK Draft Game, where you can speculate on all sorts of different draft scenarios and win prizes for your ability to guess properly.
Today's three things to watch for The BK Playoff Game in tonight's Game 2 Miami Heat-Indiana Pacers matchup:
1) Another close game. My official "prediction," which is as official as a stick of gum, was that the Miami Heat would sweep the Indiana Pacers in four very close games. One down, three to go. After a back-and-forth regulation ended with a 30-foot bomb to tie the game at 92 from Pacers forward Paul George, a raucous overtime ended with LeBron James laying in an uncontested layup in 2.2 seconds as time expired to win at the buzzer, 103-102. I'd be surprised if this one didn't come down to the final minute, either.
2) Another LeBronathon. Hard to be humble when you stuntin' on the jumbotron. A calm, unsmiling James recorded his first triple-double of the playoffs in Game 1, with an oddly nonchalant 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, adding three blocks to the party. James began the game hitting contested midrange fadeaways and ended it with the aforementioned game-winning layup. There's no player that can bend the court with his combination of court vision, scoring, and passing ability like James, and his full-court impact both opened and closed the game for Miami. Will that reflect in the statistics again?
3) More chippy play. It's amazing that only one technical foul was called in Game 1, frankly. With two shots to player *ahem* midsections, one of those players being offseason boxer David West, it's a miracle that no one was tossed from the game. With even more on the line for a desperate Indiana team and possible retaliation on their mind, expect an even more physical game -- until the officials step in.
Each day that there's a playoff game, we'll have three things to watch in the NBA playoffs. Each note will be accompanied by a contest. We'll announce winners after each round. Here's today's three things to watch:
1) Miami starting off well. Miami losing even one game in the playoffs so far shocked me, and it was clearly an anomaly: they've won their four home playoff games with an average of 19 points per game. I won't talk at length about Miami's brilliant positionless offensive and defensive principles, but any team facing them in the playoffs has a major uphill battle towards victory. I won't pick Indiana to win a game this series until they actually do -- and until then, I expect Miami to cruise at the highest level.
2) Fights! That's not to say the game will be easy, or fun, or without struggle. David West is arguably the strongest player in the league and boxes -- no, he actually does boxing -- in the offseason. Udonis Haslem and Tyler Hansbrough had issues in last year's playoffs. Hansbrough and Wade, too. Miami currently sits atop the NBA's throne, and that means teams are gunning for them. Chicago did. Indiana will, too.
3) Balance. While the safe money is almost always on LeBron James or Dwyane Wade leading a game in scoring, there's a chance that doesn't happen tonight. Putting aside that the Pacers have gotten unlikely high-scoring contributions from their entire roster, if the Heat use James and Wade as creator-passers and spreading the ball around, finding Chris Bosh open near the basket and in the corner and their other three-point shooters. Wade is also fighting a knee injury which has hampered his effectiveness. James is a multipositional cyborg -- which iteration of him will we see tonight?
WENDIGOOOOOOOOOO (AP)
Each day that there's a playoff game, we'll have three things to watch in the NBA playoffs. Each note will be accompanied by a contest. We'll announce winners after each round. Here's today's three things to watch:
1) San Antonio's continued dominance. The San Antonio Spurs crushed the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, in a 105-83 laugher in San Antonio. The Spurs hit 14 three-pointers, shot 52.6% from the field, and never had a real threat from Memphis, who many anointed as the favorites in the series. Grizzlies starters shot just 40.9% from the field and didn't have a shot after going down 31-14 after one quarter. The Spurs have one of the most consistent, fluid offenses in the NBA, and Memphis -- who have both the defensive player of the year in Marc Gasol and one of the game's elite perimeter defenders in Tony Allen -- could do nothing to stop it. At home again in Game 2, will the Grizzlies make the necessary adjustments?
2) Zach Randolph. One of the aforementioned adjustments the Grizzlies have to make is getting Zach Randolph involved in the offense. Randolph turned in a terrible Game 1 performance, going just 1-8 from the field and finishing with just two points in 28 minutes of action. The Spurs stymied Randolph with a mixture of hard work and strategy -- pushing Randolph out of the paint and swarming him with defenders that could help off their man. If that analysis tells us anything, it's that Randolph can take advantage if his teammates show a bit more commitment to acting as a threat. Randolph averaged 16.1 points per 36 minutes this season and 19.7 per game in the first two rounds of the playoffs -- can he counter?
3) San Antonio's balance. The Spurs had five players score in double figures in a rout and Tim Duncan wasn't one of them. Manu Ginobili wasn't one of them, either. That should tell you all you need to know about San Antonio's balanced offensive approach, one that values the right shot over the top shooter. The Spurs have a bevy of offensive weapons, specifically with three-point shooters. When they're hitting, there's a lot of points to go around.
1) Indiana closing it out. After splitting the two games in New York and then sweeping the two-game home stretch in Indiana, the Indiana Pacers hold a commanding 3-1 lead on the New York Knicks and are one more road victory away from guaranteeing a spot against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Outside of a dominating 105-79 victory over the Pacers in Game 2, the Knicks have looked exceedingly vulnerable, a chilling contrast from their record-setting start to the season -- fewer three-pointers, Carmelo Anthony at small forward instead of power forward, and a lot of one-on-one offense. In Game 4, the Knicks shot just 35.6% from the field, and 61 of their 87 field goal attempts came from three players (Anthony, J.R. Smith, and Raymond Felton). If the Knicks continue their freakish stagnancy, they won't last beyond tonight.
2) Golden State staying alive. This is a personal choice. I'm a big fan of the Golden State Warriors and want to see them survive. They're down 3-2 to the San Antonio Spurs, but this is their last stand at home to force a Game 7. Earlier in the playoffs, Zach Lowe of Grantland called the Warriors' new offense -- particularly, Stephen Curry's new role thanks to the absence of David Lee -- "a glitch in the program." There's few things I enjoy more than watching a shooter dismantle a team from afar. Here's hoping Stephen Curry can do that tonight.
3) Golden State's Backcourt. On the heels of my gushing over Curry, I'd be remiss not to mention his partner in crime, Klay Thompson, whose production has plummeted since his 34-point, 14-rebound career night in Game 2 -- 17 points in Game 3, 10 points in Game 4, and just 4 in Game 5. The Warriors will need another great night from Thompson along with Curry to extend the Warriors' season to Game 7 -- will they get it?
Each day that there's a playoff game, we'll have three things to watch in the NBA playoffs. Each note will be accompanied by a contest. We'll announce winners after each round. Here's today's three things to watch:
1) Indiana doing it again. The Pacers now have a 2-1 lead over the Knicks in the second round of the playoffs, and it's no accident. While New York runs its offense through Carmelo Anthony at a historic rate (more on that in a bit), the Pacers utilize a balanced attack. Three different players (David West, Paul George, Roy Hibbert) have led the Pacers in scoring in their three games against New York, and they've gotten important contributions from George Hill and D.J. Augustin (in Game 1). It's not just their offense: the Pacers have done an excellent job funneling three-point attempts away from New York like no team has been able to this year. At home, their success should continue tonight.
2) An unlikely hero. With San Antonio joining the world in expecting Stephen Curry to shoot the Warriors through the playoffs, the Warriors got two unlikely heroes in their two series wins: guard Klay Thompson (who put up an enormous 34-14 in Game 2) and Harrison Barnes (who somehow took 26 field goal attempts in their Game 4 overtime victory). I'm guessing Thompson will do it again: you can only stay at home on Curry for so long without giving Thompson some open looks.
3) Melo the shooter. As Kevin Pelton of ESPN noted today, Carmelo Anthony is currently using 38.7% of his team's possessions in the playoffs, the highest of any multi-series playoff performance ever. He's taken 230 field goal attempts in the playoffs, just ten fewer than his next two teammates combined. If that trend continues and Anthony continues to shoot poorly -- just 39.1% in the playoffs an 29.5% from deep -- it could spell trouble for New York.
Each day that there's a playoff game, we'll have three things to watch in the NBA playoffs. Each note will be accompanied by a contest. We'll announce winners after each round. Here's today's three things to watch:
1) The series swings back to Indiana. The Pacers & Knicks split the first two games in Indiana in odd fashion -- the Pacers controlled Game 1 from start to finish, the score (102-95) salvaged only by a late Knicks run, and the Knicks dominated Indiana in Game 2, 105-79. After four days of rest, the series swings back to Indiana for Game 3. In three road games in the playoffs, the Knicks have gone 2-1, but Carmelo Anthony has only shot 29-83 (.349%) from the field on the road. New York's success often hinges on how effective Anthony shoots -- in wins, Anthony shoots 46.5% from the field and 39.4% from 3, in losses, Anthony shoots 41.4% from the field and 34.1% from 3. Against Indiana's top-level defense, who will come out on top?
2) Upset City? Oklahoma City is the #1 overall seed in the Western Conference, but an injury to star guard Russell Westbrook leaves them heavily reliant on Kevin Durant -- and as Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated notes, the presence of Kendrick Perkins has severely limited their offensive success in the playoffs. With the series swingig back to Memphis for Game 3, picking the Grizzlies -- replete with defensive juggernauts Tony Allen and Marc Gasol -- may not be an upset after all.
3) Well-roundedness in Indiana. Tonight's two series are quite similar: one team with a transcendent scorer (Carmelo Anthony/Knicks, Kevin Durant/Thunder) against a well-balanced lineup known for their class-of-the-league defense. The Pacers-Knicks series has swung mostly on the starters -- in Game 1, all five Pacers players scored in double figures in the first three quarters, and in Game 2, Knicks starters shot a scorching 60% from the field and matched the entire Pacers' scoring output alone. For Indiana, not reliant on one scorer like the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony, to make good on our first prediction, they'll need a well-rounded output from their starting lineup.
Each day that there's a playoff game, we'll have three things to watch in the NBA playoffs. Each note will be accompanied by a contest. We'll announce winners after each round. Here's today's three things to watch:
1. Miami, keeping pace. In Game 1, the Bulls asserted their physical presence on Miami and they won by 7. In Game 2, well, Miami happened. Miami won by 37. A game marred by technical fouls and referee-directed profanity, the Heat literally ran the Bulls out of the building. Officials called a much tighter game, one far more suited for the defending champions. But, tonight, the series shifts back to Chicago-- to the same building that the Bulls ended Miami's historic win streak earlier this year. Rose, Hinrich and Deng have all been ruled out officially for Game 3, but those pesky Bulls seem to hang around no matter what.
Unfortunately, it would seem as if the refereeing crew will go a long way in dictating what type of series this becomes. If they allow the Bulls to be physical against Miami, Game 3 should be a much closer affair. But if Gibson, Boozer and Noah get in early foul trouble once again, this could certainly be another laugher. Another thing worth noting: Joey Crawford, the NBA's most eccentric, theatrical referee, is on Game 3's staff tonight. Get ready for a buzzer beater or another blowout!
2. Golden State, keeping a stronghold. For the number two seed, San Antonio sure is getting outplayed by Golden State thus far. If it wasn't for Golden State's meltdown in Game 1's double overtime thriller, the sixth seed could (and should) be up 2-0 on the Spurs. Now back in the Bay Area, things don't get any easier for San Antonio. Look for Golden State's raucous fans to set the tone early and often. Playing against the frantic, rapid-fire offense lead by Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson has had San Antonio on their heels and they've suffered offensively and defensively. The Spurs have struggled a little bit thus far, having hardly held a lead at all for longer than five minutes in Game 1, but counting out Popovich, Duncan and Parker would be a crucial misstep. San Antonio scored 129 in Game 1, but just 91 in Game 2. Game 3 in Golden State, can they break 95?
3. LeBron James, doing it all. LeBron James has the potential to utterly dominate every facet of any particular basketball game-- th. But will he tonight? Has Joakim Noah gotten in his head? Can Jimmy Butler do anything to neutralize the 4-time MVP? Neither are particularly likely and given that tonight's game is Chicago, James will probably look to send a message to all the fans and players that still believe the Bulls have a pulse in this series. In Game 1's loss, James tallied 8 rebounds (two more than Bosh's six) and tied Chalmers with 7 assists. In Game 2's blowout win, James notched just 5 boards, one less than Norris Cole; but handed out 9 assists, four more than fellow superstar Dwyane Wade.
Will Thunder strike again? (AP)
Each day that there's a playoff game, we'll have three things to watch in the NBA playoffs. Each note will be accompanied by a contest. We'll announce winners after each round. Here's today's three things to watch:
1) Indiana vs. Manhattan. The Pacers defeated the Knicks 102-95 in Game 1 on the road, thanks to a balanced effort -- six Pacers scored in double figures and they led by 16 heading into the fourth quarter. With a win today, the Pacers would secure a dominating home-court advantage -- needing just two wins with as many as three more games at home. The Pacers produced a convincing 44-30 edge in rebounding, unexpectedly led by Brooklyn-born guard Lance Stephenson.
2) Kevin Durant. Oklahoma City barely eked out a victory in Game 1, winning 93-91 against the Memphis Grizzlies, one of the league's best defenses and a team that starts Marc Gasol, the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Kevin Durant led OKC to victory behind 35 points on 13-26 shooting, adding 15 rebounds and a 19-footer to take the lead for good with 11 seconds left. There's few ways -- if any -- to stop Kevin Durant, but if any team has the capability of doing it, it's the Grizzlies, who employ both Gasol and Tony Allen, arguably the league's best perimeter defender. Memphis has a bevy of talented scorers, and the Thunder barely won even with Durant's routine explosion and may need an unlikely hero to seal Game 2.
3) Carmelo Anthony's shooting. Anthony is no stranger to shooting -- Game 1 marked the 44th time this season that he's recorded more field goal attempts+free throw attempts than points. He averaged 28.7 points on 28.8 FGA+FTA per game in the regular season, which makes this proposition basically a 50-50. The Knicks will be most successful if Anthony's shooting efficiently -- will he?
The Brooklyn Nets season has ended, with a 49-33 regular season record and a 3-4 postseason record, and much like in the regular season, we've got three winners for our first-round contest, The BK Playoff Game:
First place: Brian McNamara
Second place: Joey Convery
Third place: Rebecca Nesi
Congrats!
Fun note: Joey also finished second in our regular season game, The BK Game Streak. Always a bridesmaid...
On to important news: the Nets may be out of the playoffs, but we're not. We're going to continue The BK Playoff Game for each round of the playoffs, with a lean towards following the NBA playoffs as a whole.
Here's how it'll work: Each day that there's a playoff game, we'll have three things to watch in the NBA playoffs. Each note will be accompanied by a contest. We'll announce winners after each round.
Here's today's three things to watch:
1) Chicago's resiliency. If any team's fanbase knows how good this Chicago team can be, it's Brooklyn. The Nets an up against a supremely focused and prepared Chicago roster, and the Bulls ended up the victors despite missing Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, and Luol Deng. Now the Bulls take on a much tougher task: the defending NBA champion Miami Heat, who have had a week of rest after sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. All signs point to a Miami victory -- but they also pointed to a Brooklyn one in Game 7.
Weight: If you pick YES and it happens, you'll win nine points. If you pick NO and it happens, you'll win one point. Wrong answers do not affect your score.
2) Stephen Curry. At 24.3 points per game, Curry leads all players in tonight's Warriors-Spurs matchup in points per game in the playoffs. He can score in a variety of ways, most notably from behind the three-point line; I've never seen someone who has as many moves into scoring from beyond the arc. He's not just a spot-up shooter or an in-rhythm shooter, he's a fire-from-25-feet-at-any-angle shooter. He dropped 54 points against the New York Knicks this year and look how he did it. Just watch from 3:15 on if you're short on time. It's insane. While Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker all have the capacity for enormous scoring nights, no player shoots as frequently or as efficiently as Curry does.
Weight: If you pick YES and it happens, you'll win six points. If you pick NO and it happens, you'll win four points. Wrong answers do not affect your score.
3) LeBron James. James deservedly earned his fourth MVP Award this weekend for what's arguably his best season yet: as Brian Windhorst eloquently stated, James moved from competitor to chessmaster this season, dominating the mental aspect of the game like never before. After finishing the season with averages of 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game, shooting 56.5% from the field and 40.6% from three-point range on nearly 18 shots per game. One way to celebrate this accomplishment: by notching his fifth triple-double of the season and his first of the playoffs. James was on cruise control against the hapless Milwaukee Bucks -- how will he adjust to the Bulls?
Weight: If you pick YES and it happens, you'll win seven points. If you pick NO and it happens, you'll win three points. Wrong answers do not affect your score.
@deronwilliams has to come out guns blazing tonight. #Nets #NBAPlayoffs
— Nicholas Russo (@NicholasRusso18) May 3, 2013
If I'm Nate, I'm sneezing on every Nets players. #TakeOneForTheTeam
— Simon Phoenix (@Ed_Johnson) May 3, 2013
No luol deng, this game is designated for us to win let's go! #Nets
— C.P. (@_Paulie__) May 3, 2013
no deng, rose, hinrich, and a fatigued noah. NO EXCUSES NETS! not must WIN, must EMBARRASS!
— × (@mrsereda) May 3, 2013
