Net Worth

Came out strong, including a perfect 50-foot bounce pass with spin to Gerald Wallace for a fast-break dunk that set Barclays ablaze early. Continued attacking throughout the game and hit some truly phenomenal shots in the paint. This loss is not on Deron Williams.

Picked a hell of a time for his worst game of the season. Looked more Stephen Graham than six-time All-Star. Threw passes out of bounds, His first shot hit the top of the backboard, and came out without making a dent in the first half. Airballed a three with three minutes left, missed another one that could've cut the lead to two with 38 seconds left... This is not the type of game Brooklyn expected in a Game 7 when trading for Joe Johnson.

The Nets lost a Game 7 by six points when Joe Johnson shot 2-14 from the field. That's gonna sting all summer.

Arguably his best game against Chicago in a series full of good games from Gerald Wallace. Started off attacking Marco Belinelli in the post, then hit three huge threes in the third-quarter comeback. Almost looked more like Joe Johnson than anything else. Attacked the baseline with reckless abandon, creating points for himself and open looks for others. This loss was not on Gerald Wallace.

The Nets let Humphries loose in the fourth quarter and it didn't go well.

Had a fine game. Just fine. Just peachy. Got some good rebounds and a couple of big dunks inside. What he did not have For as good as Lopez has played this series, and as solid as his numbers were, there were too many moments when Joakim Noah ripped a ball out from between them for a rebound, or scored in the paint around Lopez's hands. Lopez played well, and he had a phenomenal first series ever. But Joakim Noah outplayed not just him, but all of Brooklyn tonight.

P.J. Carlesimo went with him for Reggie Evans with about four minutes left in the first quarter and the Nets down 4, and after missing his first jumper, got loose under the basket behind Joakim Noah and put down a dunk, then hit an and-one out of the post.

Struggled as the game progressed, particularly on defense.

Oh, Reggie. On his first offensive touch, tried to dribble in the paint and lost the ball. Did get his requisite rebounds and was a big part of the third-quarter push but he needs to know that went Lopez helps on a penetrating guard that he has to box out Joakim Noah. In the end, that made an enormous difference.

Goodbye, sweet prince.

Ineffective.

Near-flawless first half -- 14-8 with 0 turnovers, dunking (on the break), fancy passing (on the break), drawing a four-point play on Nate Robinson. Oddly quiet for most of the second half in a way you don't expect your healthy franchise point guard to be.

Joe Decoy may have been a decoy in and of itself. Pounded early and often in isolation, which worked early, but not often after the first quarter. Played "well enough" as a decoy outside of those moments, but not phenomenally -- though he did snare the game-deciding jump ball.

Airballed free throw and layup aside, he mostly looked like the Gerald Wallace most expected -- not great, not terrible, but "average Gerald Wallace." Hit some corner & wing threes, looked as confident as ever shooting the ball, and popped up after getting hit by a Carlos Boozer shoulder that would knock a lesser man unconscious.

As per usual, came out strong, quieted in the middle quarters, but finished strong with some nice dunks inside. Did get blocked on one shot that he basically lofted into Joakim Noah's outstretched paw. Got easily outworked by Noah and Boozer on the glass.

Played a few minutes with Lopez to success in the first half, then was the focal point of Brooklyn's late-game offense for a stretch as the final option in their offensive sets: hitting one shot off the glass, missing another, then hitting one of two free throws to put the Nets up 3 with 32 seconds left, THEN hitting two free throws off an intentional foul to put the Nets up 3 again with 19 ticks.

In short, the Nets' season hung in Andray Blatche's balance -- and he didn't fall over. This is America in 2013. Anything is possible.

Was the first Brooklyn Mobber off the bench, and that was pretty much it. Seriously though, it doesn't seem like there's so much of a bench rotation as a bench revolving door with no opening on either side.

Most notable moment came in the first half when he tried to walk through Chicago's huddle. Which, in all fairness, was hilarious. But that's not the most memorable moment you want from a starting power forward.

His hilariously undersized feud with Nate Robinson carries strong. Watson smartly pulled back for a layup instead of botching another dunk in an identical moment hit a daggerlicious three in the fourth quarter to put the Nets up 81-73.

When Deron Williams is having fun, he's so much fun to watch. Hit a pull-up three in transition and waved three fingers to the crowd because this is Brooklyn and he can do that. Excellent, efficient double-double (23 points, 10 assists). Big fan of the way he flung passes around tonight, most notably a fourth-quarter dime to a sneaky Brook Lopez for a dunk and-one. Attacked noticeably more in transition and semi-transition. The Nets will take this effort from Williams any day.

Scored four of the team's first eight points before firing an airball and sleepwaking his way through most of the rest of the game.

CONFIDENCE BACK. Hit three-pointers above the break in the first half, then put together the two biggest plays of the game, hitting a corner 3, then coming up with a steal and fast-break one-handed slam to put the Nets up 103-91 with two minutes left.

Hit four jumpers in the second quarter, because what the hell why not. Thought he gave the Nets some good minutes in the first half, though he got stretched more than I would've liked in the fourth quarter.

Another monster offensive game from Lopez, who didn't have to do much outside of the paint for success. Tip-ins, free throws, baby hooks, some surprisingly good passing out of double-teams, and some big dunks (including a late and-one in the fourth quarter) for yet another fantastic offensive night. Ended the game with a huge double-double: 28 points, 10 rebounds.

Big 4th quarter. Played early with Lopez and looked good in tandem, though he was a step behind on a couple of defensive plays. Had one nice slam through (a little) contact to get an and-one in the first half and a bunch of buckets in the fourth as he abused Carlos Boozer's drunken defense.

Had his struggles but LOOK AT THIS

Also, scored in Carlos Boozer's face once, which is all I really need. But the Nets lineup was noticeably better with Blatche in at power forward late in the fourth quarter.

Had issues hitting from outside but attacked the lane well, and on one of the smarter plays of the game, Watson slid under a flailing Joakim Noah and picked up a big offensive foul call.

Shook off early struggles against Kirk Hinrich to put in a classic playoff performance. Had a solid second quarter highlighted (in my mind) by a semi-transition three-pointer that set the tone for Williams's performance. In the third quarter, he dunked in traffic, crossed up Kirk Hinrich for an open jumper, hit five three-pointers...

And then disappeared in the overtime periods.

Williams didn't score once in the first two overtime periods. He missed nine of ten shots at one point, finally scoring on his fifth post-regulation attempt in the third overtime with the Nets already down. I don't blame him for any defensive lapses on Nate Robinson, who made shots that most human beings wouldn't attempt on an acid trip, but they could've used some contributions from their star player in those moments.

After quiet regulation, Johnson carried the Nets through overtime, hitting multiple floaters in the lane -- including one as the first overtime expired to cause the second one, and an and-one to cut the second overtime lead to 127-126. The Nets went to him again down the stretch in the third overtime, but he couldn't continue to deliver, and Johnson's three-point attempt that clanged short with seconds left closed the game.

Hey, remember when everyone hated Gerald Wallace? Then he leveled Nate Robinson with a legal screen that C.J. Watson will probably give him $5,000 for? Then came up with big rebounds and an and-one in overtime? After throwing his first shot off the side of the rim, it was all uphill from there. Hit a three as the first half expired, hit another in the second half. Played swarming defense and got his share of defensive rebounds. Dunked in transition in what would have been a defining moment, before Nate Robinson went Nova Robinson.

As me, you watch a lot of basketball. Some of it is good, some of it is slog-worthy, some of it I watch solely because I have to get through the day. There are times when I watch offense that's just plain awful and gut-wrenching and I beg I can look away but I just can't. But I watch because every now and then, there are those moments that just make you so happy to be a basketball fan.

With six seconds left, Nate Robinson ripped the ball from a posting Brook Lopez, nullifying the shot clock and throwing a loose ball onto the floor. Lopez, who likely assumed that the shot clock was still in play, grabbed the ball from 25 feet out, turned around, and fired up a 26-footer.

He nailed it.

And there's so many things he did well in this game, particularly in the first quarter to carry the Nets through the first frame. He's played like a legitimate defensive player in this series along with his usually fantastic offensive contributions. He blocked Joakim Noah near the rim in the biggest defensive possession of his career. He hit key free throws down the stretch.

I'm sad now, because the Brooklyn Nets lost their biggest game of the season. It's depressing and infuriating. And there were moments when he struggled to get his position inside. But sometimes those moments stick in your mind. Years from now, when I'm reminiscing about this series and Brook Lopez's contributions, I'll bet you his entire comic book collection that the first thing that pops into my head is that turnaround three. And I'll laugh and laugh and laugh.

Hit all four of his mostly silly shots in the first half and had some surprisingly good passes, including one to get Reggie Evans an and-one look, but didn't box out Nazr Mohammed on a game-changing play in the third and final overtime.

Had probably his best game of the series, and it still typified why the Nets need a true starting power forward: the Bulls completely abandoned him when he was on offense, his jaw-droppingly awful help defense helped Nate Robinson find his fourth-quarter magic, he struggled containing Carlos Boozer, and missed seven free throws. Every team needs a Reggie Evans, but you also need someone to make sure he doesn't have to play 50 minutes in a game like this.

Drew a technical foul in the first half for getting attacked by Nate Robinson and responded with a quietly effective game that was punctuated by a missed dunk with three minutes left in a game that didn't end in regulation.

Immediately came out more engaged than in Game 2 but didn't have that energy throughout the game, nor did his teammates share that energy.

Hit some shots and didn't look like he was the victim of plantar fasciitis but holy offense on a stick the one-on-one isolations for long stretches are just not going to work against a defense like Chicago, and 30-foot threes are not effective offense.

Made a layup, airballed a layup. Missed back-to-back threes to end the first quarter, made a buzzer-beater at the half. Goaded Luol Deng into mostly inefficient jumpers, Deng knocked so many of them down.

His shining moment: getting posterized by Taj Gibson. WOOOooooooOOoo.

Was impressed early by his ability to get low position against Noah and had a historic night (22 points, 9 rebounds, 7 blocks is not something you see often) but for the second straight game the Nets needed someone else to be their best player, and it wasn't him. Kind of wish they'd gone to him more down the stretch.

So many quintessential Dray moments tonight I just don't know where to start. Maybe passing on an open jumper, dribbling twice, and shooting a contested fadeaway. Or dribble-driving head-first into Joakim Noah to shoot another off-balance fadeaway.

This isn't a real grade (B for Bogans!) and I'm sure we'll find an answer soon, but... um... where was he?

A lot of people were calling to see Brooks earlier tonight. But when he did get in the game, he did almost nothing outside of a late floater to cut the Bulls lead to 77-72.

So maybe letting Carlos Boozer shoot wasn't the greatest idea. But there was one worse: letting Reggie Evans shoot. Twice. From outside of 15 feet.

His worst game of the series so far and airballed the potential game-tying three at the end of regulation.

Flummoxing performance, especially after such a sublime outing in Game 1. For all of his ability and all of his decision-making ability, it was just frustrating to see him miss good and bad shots alike. Couldn't hit open shots or contested ones. Definitely his roughest outing since the All-Star break, if not all year.

Didn't hit open shots and fell into an all-too comfortable, all-too familiar, poor isolation-style offense as the Bulls took control of the game in the third quarter. Hit two big threes to bring the Nets back into the game in the fourth quarter, but had his shots fallen earlier, they wouldn't have been in such a predicament.

Other than one gorgeous layup in the first quarter and one equally beautiful and clean blocked shot that was called a foul, a "regular-season effort" from Wallace -- which is not a good thing.

Couldn't contest with Noah/Gibson/Boozer near the rim, though he did have one nice stretch with buckets on back-to-back possessions, the second a fast-break dunk.

Looked excited out of the gate, including putting down a great dunk in the first quarter, and hit four straight midrange shots in the second. Played decent defense inside, though the Bulls shot better than they did in Game 1. If he was the Nets' second- or third-best player tonight, perhaps they would've had a shot. Unfortunately, he wasn't.

Had some good moments in the fourth quarter playing power forward next to Lopez but also got burned gambling defensively and had issues catching the ball.

Entered the game, did almost nothing of consequence, and left 98 seconds later a +6. I don't really have a grade for that, but I felt it deserved notation.

Played aggressively against Carlos Boozer -- perhaps too much -- but never really left an indelible Reggie-esque impact on this game beyond accidentally dribbling the ball off his foot once.

Hit a few shots and distributed well but really the only major note here is that he really hates Nate Robinson and I respect him for it.

DERON WILLIAMS PUT DOWN A DOUBLE-PUMP REVERSE DUNK. LET THAT SINK IN FOR A MOMENT. Deron Williams played the first half of the season with crippling pain in his ankles, dunked twice all year on rudimentary one-handed dunks, and DUNKED WITH TWO HANDS IN THE FIRST PLAYOFF GAME IN BROOKLYN.

Before that, played an excellent first half -- attacked the rim, found Lopez near the rim for easy buckets, shot well from inside and out, picked off a few steals -- one that led to THAT DOUBLE-PUMP REVERSE DUNK -- and looked like the maximum-contract point guard the Nets signed in July.

Had a quiet game, but they had no need for him to get loud -- hit open shots within the flow of the offense.

Did you ever think, after the last two months, that this place would chant "GERALD WALLACE" multiple times throughout the game? He picked a great time to have his best game in months. Attacking the rim, drawing fouls, playing solid defense, even hitting a three-pointer. Abused mismatches when the Bulls cross-switched on screens. Shut down Luol Deng. If the Nets had this kind of effectiveness from Gerald Wallace all season...

Scored the first points in Brooklyn playoff basketball history, and he was just getting started. If there were any playoff jitters, it didn't look like Lopez had them. Started phenomenally on both ends of the floor -- scoring through contact, playing smart man and help defense, drawing fouls, blocking shots, and putting up 19 points in the game-defining first half. If the Bulls have this Joakim Noah all series -- the hobbled, ineffective one -- this matchup may end quickly.

Mostly good in moderation Dray tonight. Had a good stretch in the third where he hit Carlos Boozer with the okie-doke and hit a 20-footer on successive possessions. The greatest show in sports rages on. Kudos to Carlesimo for seeing the advantage of him & Lopez on the floor together against a depleted Chicago frontline.

Evans may not be an offensive player, but he can score around the rim when he's not facing a shotblocker. He did just that tonight on two occasions, and rebounded with his normal maniacal ferocity.

JERRY STACKHOUSE ANGELED THE NATIONAL ANTHEM BECAUSE SAYING HE ACED IT WOULD BE TOO MUCH OF A COMPLIMENT TO PLAYING CARDS. I DON'T CARE THAT HE AIRBALLED THREE SHOTS. KILLED THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AND THE NETS BLEW A TEAM OUT AND AIN'T NO WAY YOU CAN TELL ME THOSE TWO THINGS AREN'T CORRELATED. JERRY STACKHOUSE LISTENS TO GOSPEL BEFORE EVERY GAME SO HE CAN LAUGH AT THOSE LESS TALENTED. I'M SORRY YOU DIDN'T SCORE BUT THE TEAM DON'T CARE BECAUSE GAME ONE GOES TO BROOKLYN. AND I LIVE IN BROOKLYN. OH AND LOOK AT HIS GODDAMN SHOES. A+ FOR JERRY STACKHOUSE AKA CAN'T STOP WON'T STOP AKA THE HUMAN KEG STAND. I'M OUT.

Came up big against his former team. Played well, as is wont to do, when he functioned as a shooting guard.

He barely played and did nothing of consequence after the first quarter. Would be silly to grade him fairly. Give him an A+ for not wearing that suit again.

Shot 5-6 and had a nice block.

Nearly put up a double-double (20 points, 9 rebounds) in about 20 minutes.

Classically frustratingly brilliant and hit a three-pointer, so there's that. On the plus side, we now have the greatest Blatcheism ever: "Blatche don't kill my vibe."

Had yet another double-digit rebounding game, even in limited time. Crazy fact: In his last 20 games, he had more rebounds than Gerald Wallace all season.

In perhaps Jerry Stackhouse's final regular season game, Stackhouse struggled from the field until hitting two three-pointers in the fourth quarter, the second a gorgeous shot over the outstretched arms of Jonas Jerebko. I'm not sure what the future holds for Stack, but regardless, it was a pleasure watching the Immortal Jerry Stackhouse AKA Inventor of Palindromes AKA IDGAS AKA The Ophiotaurus Slayer AKA Trey Stacks AKA The iPhone 6 AKA The Only Man David Stern Fears in this act of his career. Keep on, Jerry Stackhouse.

Hit two threes in the second half, so that was fun.

Just a weird suit jacket-undershirt color combo, and it looked oversized.

I'm going to use Gerald Wallace's grade capsule to say... I mean... how the hell do you grade this game? I'm going to try, but take every grade with this grain of salt: this game was played like a pickup game, full of irreverence and irrelevance and indifference and wonder and hilarity and Gerald Wallace still barely shooting even when he was playing exclusively with backups. So take every grade with a grain of salt because I have no idea how to quantify this and shut up neither do you.

Well, he shot a lot.

This game was Andray Blatche as a basketball game. Played point guard, threw reverse layups off the backboard and made them, threw up a few fadeaDrays, and got blocked by Jan Vesely. So perfect that it came against his former team. Picked up some big rebounds and banged inside when he needed.

Had a couple of really fun moves attacking the basket and deking defenders but this is exactly the type of game where Brooks succeeds and that kind of typifies him as a player.

Very classy with the button-down striped shirt.

EVERYONE HOP ON THE TOKOMOTIVE CHOO CHOOOOOOOO!!

Great moments attacking the basket. Gave the Nets a lead on a coast-to-coast layup in the fourth quarter. Finished with a double-double. Swatted two layups so vehemently the crowd suddenly realized that these teams were playing basketball. Forced a five-second call in crunch time. Had some awful moments early that I haven't forgotten -- on both ends of the ball -- but after he shook off that rust, a very impressive night.

Always dresses to impress.

Clearly had some fun as the crunch-time point guard and hit all three of his threes, including the dagger with 22 seconds left. He gets the A+ for holstering his 3-gun.

Struck Fearza in the hearts of big defenders who couldn't contest his threes.

The good: dunked for the second time this season. Got to the rim for a few more field goals in the first half. Caught fire in the second half of the third quarter, hitting a few threes and continued to have a big offensive impact throughout the quarter. Just not as much as DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay.

Off day until a 30-footer with 23 seconds left cut the lead to 4. Before that, he struggled to even hit his open looks.

Rough start doesn't even begin to describe it -- missed his first six shots (three in the restricted area), and even two free throws before finally putting a putback in late in the second quarter. Turned it around in the third, scoring the team's first 12 points in the quarter, but wasn't enough of a factor in all 48 minutes and missed entirely too many free throws.

Successfully frustrating insanity. Jumpers, stepbacks, porous defense, the full Blatche engaged. Played well off Lopez in the fourth quarter, if not well enough.

All downhill after he hit his first two threes. Could do nothing to stop Rudy Gay or DeMar DeRozan.

0 field goal attempts, 16 rebounds. In a weird way, felt like he should've had more boards. Zero fourth-quarter minutes as P.J. Carlesimo tried out the Blatche/Lopez combination.

Not only did he score 33 points and dish out 14 assists, he did so in scintillating fashion. His 20 point second quarter performance torched the Pacers and made final few plays the Nets needed to cling to victory.

His offense carried the Nets in the second half, especially during a stretch when the Nets were desperate for buckets.

Scored 14 of his 24 points in the first quarter which signified his great start but also his penchant for disappearing the rest of the game. Also had a few defensive lapses inside against the Pacers front line.

Reggie tosses headband. Reggie gets ejected.

Looked a bit slow on the defensive end at times, but was almost able to return everything he gave on that end with his offense.

Sparked the Nets with his active defense and outside shot.

Superstar mode: engaged. Quick, made good decisions, shot well, drove into the lane with purpose, and played like a great player who's not in pain. Put opposing defender Avery Bradley -- arguably the best perimeter defender in the NBA -- on the bench with foul trouble all game. Other than a couple of well-deserved heat checks, not really much to complain about tonight.

I don't know if he's fully healthy -- only he can really answer that question -- but the way he's shooting, in spot-ups, isolations, and attacking in the post, he looks it.

Left the game in the first half with a left heel contusion and wouldn't return. Injury aside, some painful struggles to watch early -- he had issues even catching the ball in the first quarter -- but did hit a field goal, a putback two-hand slam.

A few things about Brook Lopez I enjoyed tonight: The Tyson Chandler-esque backtaps; tapping a loose ball out to the perimeter to the point guard to reset the offense; his help attempt to stop Brandon Bass, even if it didn't work; his soft touch around the rim throughout the game; his left-handed dunk in traffic, his dunk to put the Nets up 99-82 in the fourth quarter. All-Star game from an All-Star player.

My stomach hurts, but I'm cool with it.

Somehow, a one-point game with 14 rebounds is almost more comforting.

Was most successful when he didn't play like a point guard, but roamed off the ball and snuck open spot-up looks.