Here are the final stats for the season -- regular and "advanced"
Devin Kharpertian
Brook Lopez. (AP)
Season Numbers: 74 G, 74 GS, 30.4 MPG, 19.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.1 BPG, 52.1 FG%, 75.8 FT%, 24.7 PER, 9.0 WS
The debate over what an MVP award means rages and enrages. Some may say that it should go to the best player, while others might argue it should go to the player who is most critical to a team’s success. While the best player, in most cases, is often the most critical to a team’s success, the situation with the Brooklyn Nets this season is somewhat different.
For me, an MVP is someone who changes the team dynamic when on the floor and when taken off, the team is simply not the same. Brook Lopez -- though not as flashy and provocative as most star players in the NBA -- is that player for the Nets this season.... MORE →
William Rausch
The Brooklyn Nets found out their opponent in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in the fourth quarter of a 103-99 regular season finale win over the lowly Detroit Pistons: by virtue of a New York Knicks victory over the Atlanta Hawks, the Chicago Bulls solidified the fifth seed and will travel to Brooklyn to take on the fourth seed Nets on Saturday.
Late Wednesday night the NBA released the schedule of the Nets/Bulls series:... MORE →
Rick Barry1971
P.J. Carlesimo's partial-season winning percentage (.648) is the highest of any coach in any single season in #Nets NBA franchise history.
— The Brooklyn Game (@TheBKGame) April 18, 2013
Devin Kharpertian
Deron Williams POINT 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.
Kris Humphries POWER FORWARD
Shot 5-6 and had a nice block.
Brook Lopez CENTER
Nearly put up a double-double (20 points, 9 rebounds) in about 20 minutes.
Andray Blatche POWER FORWARD
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."
Reggie Evans POWER FORWARD
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.
Jerry Stackhouse SHOOTING GUARD
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.
Mirza Teletovic POWER FORWARD
Hit two threes in the second half, so that was fun.
Devin Kharpertian* * *
With a 98-92 Atlanta Hawks loss at the hands of the New York Knicks, the Brooklyn Nets will officially face the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
With both teams at 44-37 entering Wednesday night and the Bulls owning the tiebreaker with the Hawks, the Hawks only had a chance to play the Nets in the first round if they won and the Bulls lost. The loss seals their fate as the sixth seed, and they'll play the Indiana Pacers in the first round.
The Nets lost the season series to the Bulls, losing three of four games. The Nets ended the season
The Nets are the fourth seed, meaning they'll have home-court advantage against the Bulls in the first round. The first two games will be at Barclays Center, along with games 5 and 7, if necessary.
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Devin Kharpertian
Hey... I get it. Sometimes you gotta tie your shoe. Even if that sometimes is in a professional basketball game, and it comes when Andre Drummond -- who leads all rookies in rebound rate by a wide margin -- is the guy you're supposed to box out. At least Teletovic hit two threes in the first half.
Devin Kharpertian
#CRASHBACKTOBACK
Brooklyn Nets forward Gerald Wallace, he of the 1.8 points per game average in April, threw down dunks on back-to-back plays in the first quarter of the team's final regular season game against the Detroit Pistons: the first an alley-oop off a Deron Williams lob, and the second he created himself.
Devin KharpertianThe Nets will not sit any of their players and start their usual five: Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Reggie Evans, and Brook Lopez. Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo has said that the five will likely get between 18-24 minutes of playing time, with Wallace possibly getting a few more, and that he'd treat tonight's game similar to a preseason game.
On Monday night, the Nets defeated the Washington Wizards 106-101 with four of their five starters (all but Wallace) sitting out, letting their backups & prospects play and getting big games from Andray Blatche, Kris Humphries, Tyshawn Taylor, and Tornike Shengelia. Though their minutes will likely be more limited thanks to the starters, it'd be no surprise to see the starters sit the fourth quarter, if not the entire second half.
Carlesimo also stressed that there aren't any hints from tonight's rotation about the playoff rotation: while the substitution pattern will be the same, he's looking to get everyone minutes regardless.
I'm a fan of Texas Hold'Em. While I occasionally play for money, I have a firm belief that when I play poker with friends just for fun, weird stuff happens. More four-of-a-kinds. More people catch stupid things on the river. Bad beats happen more often. I think it's because when there's nothing on the line, people play looser than they normally would: when you're not risking anything, that 8-4 off-suit suddenly looks like a winner. And every now and then, it is!
The 48-33 Brooklyn Nets, with nothing to play for, are at home for their final game of the season, taking on the 29-52 Detroit Pistons, also with nothing to play for, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. That's why I'm watching tonight's game: because both teams don't have any significant skin in the game, weird stuff is going to happen. Other than the starters sitting late, everything is up for grabs: will Toko force another five-second violation? Will Andray Blatche take over as point guard for possessions at a time? Will Kris Humphries attempt a three?
Anything is possible. And that's what makes these games fun and wondrous: at some point Tyshawn Taylor is inevitably going to look at a metaphorical 8-4 offsuit and push all in. I can't wait to see what comes up.
More notes:
Devin Kharpertian
* * *
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Gerald Wallace, brandishing. (AP)
SLAM Online's Adam Figman sat down with Brooklyn Nets forward Gerald Wallace and talked to him about all sorts of things, including his hometown Childesburg ("It’s mostly family-oriented. Everyone knows everyone"), his relationship with New York City ("I don’t go into the city, period"), his life after basketball ("I really don’t think about it"), and the basketball league he's starting with his friends this summer:
I’ve got a lot of friends that want to play that are over 30, so we’re gonna start a league with them, just [to] have something to do. It’ll be fun to play with some of the older guys. A lot of my guys are starting to get big bellies, so I told them we gotta get back out there this summer.
SLAM: You just turned 30 last July. Pretty convenient timing.
GW: [Laughs] It is. Right on time.
Given the way Wallace has shot after the All-Star break, his merits as an NBA-level shooter are dubious at best. But against his 30-plus friends with pot bellies? Unless Wallace's friends are transplanted from the Space Jam universe, he's going to spend his weekends this summer destroying his friends in the sport he plays professionally. Even if his friends are all retired NBA players, Wallace is still an athletic marvel that competes against the best athletes in the world.
This is a league I want to see immediately. (Just please stay healthy.)
Full interview below.
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Rick Barry1971
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Devin Kharpertian
According to various reporters, the Nets will play at full strength with their regular starting lineup tonight, but will only play their starters 18-24 minutes:
“I’m pretty sure everybody’s okay, they all went through shootaround and unless somebody comes up lame, I plan on playing everybody,” Carlesimo said after shootaround at PNY Center. “They’ll definitely get a sweat, they haven’t played since Sunday (at the Toronto Raptors) and we still might not play until Sunday, so they’ll definitely get some good runs. Maybe they’ll start the first and start the third, we’ll see how long they go.”
The Nets rested Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Reggie Evans, Brook Lopez, Keith Bogans, and Jerry Stackhouse Monday night, but Carlesimo said after that game that they'd "definitely" play today if healthy to shake off rust before the playoffs.
Read More: Joshua Newman, SNYNets -- Nets at Full Strength For Regular Season Finale
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I can't wait summer !!!!
#sunbathing #sun #summer #flower #nets #snapback #university… http://t.co/TDI1PHzHFU
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The #Nets have got to have the worst front office. Firing Carlesimo after a turn around seeing then thinking they can get Doc? Get real
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Speaking of Deron Williams, on how he embodies everything both wonderful and flawed about Brooklyn: http://t.co/paNXeNue2u
14 hours ago Feel like it's NBA destiny that Lance Stephenson is becoming the next DeShawn Stevenson.
15 hours ago Funny: Brook Lopez was snubbed from the All-Star voting ballot for the same reason that he should've made an All-NBA team.
20 hours ago Barclays wins Sports Facility of the Year in its rookie season. Thank you Oculus. http://t.co/m5M16AtSxX
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