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Box Score - Philadunkia - Liberty Ballers

The Nets unquestionably have looked like an improved team this season, but every once in a while, they have a tendency to remind me that they're still coming off of a miserable 12-win season. Last night's fourth quarter in Philadelphia was more than just a reminder of everything that went wrong last season - it was an anvil on top of the head for Nets fans.

In many ways, the final score of 102-86 bails the Nets out from some of their responsibility. It looks like they were just romped by a livelier, better prepared Sixers team. While that was ultimately true, the game was there for the Nets to win until there was about 6:50 left in the fourth quarter. The fact that the Nets nosedived at such a stunning rate in less than a 7 minute window, indicate just how deplorably the team played in the fourth quarter.

The final line of the fourth quarter was Sixers 36, Nets 20. The Nets two biggest fourth quarter problems came home to roost - they couldn't shoot, and they couldn't defend. Last night was certainly not a banner night for the "Devin Harris is back to his old self on defense" fan club. Philly's two point guards, Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams combined for 35 points, 18 assists and 1 turnover. Holiday (20 points, 13 assists) was especially slippery in the fourth quarter as Harris was consistently letting him get by him into New Jersey's "secondary" of Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries down low. One instance was probably the turning point of the game for the Nets, when at the 6:30 mark Holiday used a screen to skit by Harris where he was met and fouled by Brook Lopez in the corner, converting a four point play that stretched the Sixers' lead from 4 to 8. The Nets never got closer after that and the Sixers went on to finish 15-18 from the field in the fourth, and shot 51 percent overall for the game, compared to 41 percent for the Nets.  It was so embarrassing for the Nets that former retread Tony Battie even put on a clinic, hitting all three of his shot attempts in the fourth quarter, including a rim rocking dunk with about two minuted left in the game. I would question where that spring in Battie's step was last season, but I'm assuming he, Rafer Alston and Bobby Simmons were all channeling their inner Roger Murtagh's while with the Nets and were simply "too old for this …" well, you know.

Did I mention that the Sixers only had 3 wins coming into this game? While there certainly are no gimmees in this league, for the Nets to fall apart like this against a team that's had an equally hard time closing out games in the fourth quarter was just stunning.

There was a bit of a silver lining in this game with Lopez, but as is always the case with Brook, there's a catch. His final state line of 25 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks looked great, especially when he did a good job of taking what the defense gave him and finished 5-7 from beyond 15 feet.  He was especially effective in the first quarter when got to the free throw line 10 times, sinking 9, but here's the "catch." He didn't get to the free throw line again the rest of the game.

A few more thoughts after the jump:

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Mark Ginocchio

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Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the New Jersey Nets (5-10) play host to the last place Philadelphia 76ers (3-13). Here's a couple of quick things I'll be looking for tonight:

Finish them! - In their past 5 games, the Nets have played neck-and-neck with their opponents until the final minutes. That's great. Unfortunately, the Nets have lost 4 of those games, and the only game they won, went into overtime after the team blew a late fourth quarter lead. The Nets need to finish what they started. Maybe if they had a go-to scorer.... oh, I'm just kidding (not exactly).

Can They Score at the Four? - Nothing against Kris Humphries, who's been a revelation at the PF, but Hump and Derrick Favors combined for 6 points on Wednesday night against Boston. The rebounding is nice, but if Troy Murphy is going to stay in a suit on the sidelines, the Nets need a little more than 6 points from both of those players going forward.

Don't Cross the Little General - Troy Murphy can't get activated because Avery Johnson thinks he's out of shape, and now Terrence Williams has been demoted to the D-League for violating team policies. So is there any question about who's in charge of this team? Accountability is a great thing in the NBA, but how is the rest of the roster going to respond? Typically, players only seem to respond to a dictator when they start winning. At 5-10, the Nets are better than last year, but they're certainly not winners.

Feel free to comment on the game in here, but please be mindful of our commenting constitution. And of course, let's go Nets.

Mark Ginocchio

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Matt Moore, guest writing at NBA Fanhouse, has a fantastic, must-read breakdown of everything that is wrong with Avery Johnson's decision to "punish" Terrence Williams by sending him to the D-League. Here are a few highlights:

Trapping the player in the D-League forces him to deal with the D-League conditions (low travel budgets, lack of staff, lesser accommodations), and that's not supposed to be the intent of the league. The D-League is a place to get players floor time, to work with them on specific parts of their game that they need to improve on in order to become NBA-caliber players, to fix kinks in their game and regain confidence. It's not meant as a lesser environment to send players down to punish them because you don't get along with them.

and

The Nets just got through showing a great commitment to understanding the importance of the D-League in acquiring the basketball operations of the Armor in 2011-2012. Now they've just shown they didn't learn from an earlier mistake in using the D-League as a prison with Sean Williams (an experiment which failed miserably), and now appear as if all they've done is buy themselves a $250,000 timeout corner. How are you going to get future players to commit to a long-term development plan in this system you've afforded yourself if your assignment legacy is one of a wrist slap by sending the player down to the D-League?

I can't repeat enough how great of a read this is from Moore. When I was personally dissecting this TWill debacle yesterday, I honestly was looking at this with any sensitivity towards the mission of the D-League. After reading some of the points Moore made, I can't see how this move does anything to help the Nets. It's a power play from Avery Johnson pure and simple, who despite not technically being the team's GM, is clearly the one calling the shots here, not Billy King. I'm starting to doubt that this "demotion" will have any kind of positive affect on TWill and after discovering that in a few weeks, my guess is TWill is either bought out, or traded for pennies on the dollar. If Avery Johnson wants to act the dictator and this team starts winning, then as a fan, you deal with it. But if he's going to alienate players and misuse the NBA's developmental tools and the team continues to be a joke ... well, let's just say to Mikhail Prokhorov that fans aren't going to fill an arena in Brooklyn just to watch an egomaniac coach.

Mark Ginocchio

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Update 1:35 PM: It's official. TWill to Springfield. I guess we'll see how the D-League option works out.

Original Post: After being inactive for the past two games, today is considered a day of reckoning for Terrence Williams, who may be facing further disciplinary action from the Nets organization and coach Avery Johnson. Johnson is so serious about sending a message, that a demotion to the D-League is a very real possibility for TWill, according to Al Ianazzone onTwitter:

D-Day for Terrence Williams: He will remain inactive, be activated or Nets will send him to D-League.

I've heard all 3 are possible. Avery already sent a message, may want to send more of one - if so D-League may be way Nets go with TWill.

Meanwhile, while the rest of us were digesting our turkey last night, the Daily News spoke to Nate Robinson, always the beacon of common sense and professionalism, who said the Nets have mishandled his former HS buddy in TWill:

"That's not what real teams do. I've known him since he was seven years old," Robinson said. "For me, all I can do is talk to him the best way I know how – talk to him and be that brother for him. Because I'm going to love him regardless. I'm going to love him at his worst and I'm going to love him at his best and I feel the Nets are not doing that.

For starters, I'm glad Nate has found happiness in Boston, but considering he couldn't even get along with a lax guy like Mike D'Antoni speaks volumes about Nate Robinson.

Meanwhile, Terrence Williams has the potential to be a very good basketball player. I've said that numerous times. I honestly believe when he's playing to his potential, he turns the Nets into a possible playoff team. But there's always been an other side to basketball than just ability, and unfortunately TWill has this knack of keeping himself off the court because of his immaturity. If he's going to continue acting like this, his ability isn't worth squat, because he's not going to catch on in a meaningful way. Especially not with Avery Johnson, who is someone I believe commands a great deal of respect. It took threats of a D-League demotion to get him to straighten out last season, but the team can't continue to deliver empty threats. Maybe this time, they have to go through with this.

On the flipside, we saw what happened when Sean Williams was demoted to the D-League. His behavior down there pretty much killed his NBA career. So this is a dangerous line for this organization to be walking right now. Is TWill mature enough to take a demotion as a learning experience, or will he just completely implode? And if he's that fragile that he can't learn how to conduct himself around his teammates, then what is he doing in a Nets uniform anyway? I'll put it to you all this way - I'm glad I'm not the one having to make what stands to be a very difficult, ugly decision here.

Mark Ginocchio

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A long time ago, maybe 78 years or so, the Pilgrims sailed along the Atlantic from Novia Scotia and landed on Plymouth Rock. They were met by the Indians who were minding their own business when the pale men approached them and bought the island of Manhattan for some gold coins and a couple of boxes of Jujy Fruit. Hence, the holiday, Thanksgiving came to be. Or something like that as I'm not too sure about the details. However, this much I know - what I'm thankful for regarding the New Jersey Nets!

First and foremost, I'm thankful for a new owner who doesn't mind spending money on not just players, facilities, and personnel, but also on the ladies. New Jersey Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov, if I may steal from Sade, is a smooth operator. And while his prediction of making the playoffs this season may not come to fruition, I appreciate the cojones in that bold statement. Wait, did I just say I appreciate cojones? In any case, secure in my masculinity, I can safely say that I have a man-crush on Prokhorov because he has a vision and is taking every step to see it happen.

Second on the list, without question, is the Little General, head coach Avery Johnson. He brings a strong presence, unlike that Kiki Vandenoonelistentome person. You listen to Johnson and his rules or you sit your buttocks down on the bench (c'mon Terrence Williams!). He certainly has a solid coaching record, albeit a small sample, and an NBA championship ring to his credit. Like Prokhorov, Johnson has a vision (from a shorter point of view) and when dealing with a young team like this, is selling this to his team and herding them into believing. Even though I'm a huge T-Will fan, I'm glad Johnson is laying down the gauntlet and not taking any shiznit.

I'm happy that Devin Harris seems to have found his swagger back. Watch him play and you can see how confident of a player he is and he's playing defense again! Harris is also attacking the basket and getting to the free-throw line as Johnson wanted him to do before the season and it looks like there isn't any tension in the relationship between coach and player. Can Harris become an All-Star again? I think so, with the ubiquitous caveat that he stay healthy. So far, he's looking good.

There was a prolonged rough patch for Brook Lopez earlier this season, but after the Atlanta Hawks game earlier in the week, as well as his new close-cut hairstyle, Lopez looks like he can get back on track. Regardless, how thankful does everyone that loves the Nets have to be to have a young big that can do the things he does. Lopez has been getting so much hype in his young career, but yet it hasn't fazed him in the least. A potential superstar without any attitude issues? Thank you, basketball gods!

As much as most people didn't like the Nets' offseason haul, I'm thankful for Jordan Farmar, Travis Outlaw, and Anthony Morrow. Johan Petro... not so much. However, the aforementioned trio has made their presence felt in a significant way at different times during the young season. As the season moves forward, I totally expect the new guys (sans Petro) to become regular factors in games. All this team needs is to build its chemistry a bit more and this trio (again, sans Petro) will become difference-makers.

I am truly thankful that the Nets front office haven't traded rookie Derrick Favors, as of yet anyway. I'm a big opponent against bringing in Carmelo Anthony, especially at the cost of Favors. Melo is a chucker and while he scores a ton, he doesn't exactly do it efficiently. Besides, I think he would mess up Lopez's development because he would demand the ball in the half-court offense and not even give Lopez a real chance. Plus Melo doesn't play any consistent defense, if any. My favorite hashtag of late on my Twitter when it comes to the Nets and/or Melo is #nomelo. I think we need to start a movement.

In any case, on to the main point of the previous paragraph... I am thankful that Favors is still on the Nets and hope he stays on it. He's shown flashes and really did well at the beginning of the season. The revelation that is Kris Humphries (another thing I'm thankful for) has kept Favors on the bench more recently, but I'm patient and can wait for Favors. Sitting him during his rookie season is actually a smart thing in my opinion because he can get used to the NBA life and learn from the bench. Since Avery is a good teacher and Favors an equally good student, I really think Favors is going to be a keeper.

Well, that's what I'm thankful for when it comes to the Nets and I'm really hoping that soon enough there are more things to appreciate about the team. They're not the Lakers or Celtics, but the Nets are definitely better from last season (which isn't a hard thing to do), but more than the W-L record, there's tangible hope for the Nets... and I'm definitely thankful for that.

Dennis Velasco

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As a way to giving thanks to you, the readers, we're going to run this article by one of our loyal readers, Andres Torres, about some possible alternatives for Carmelo Anthony if the Nets are indeed looking to upgrade their offense:

After 14 games, one the biggest stories surrounding the Nets is about a player who has never even worn a Nets’ uniform. It seems as if every day is a new round of “will he” or “won’t he rumors.” After the Nets played at Denver Saturday night, the speculation reached new levels. Leading up to the game, every day there was a new story, a new clue, as to what Carmelo was thinking and to what Nets management was planning. The game itself was almost an afterthought. (The Nets lost by 4 pts. by the way…) It seems everybody is firmly entrenched in one of two camps. There are the people who are all for the Carmelo trade which is rumored to have the Nets giving up Derrick Favors, Troy Murphy, draft picks and Kris Humphries. Others do not want to give up Favors pointing to his potential to be a very special player. Before the season started I was all for the Carmelo trade, I thought the price was a little steep but it was needed if the Nets wanted to be taken serious sooner rather than later. I even wrote a little piece about it.

Now, the Nets have managed to change my mind. I know it’s a small sample but the Nets look to have the start of something special here. Devin Harris looks like he’s out to prove that he’s an all-star point guard. Brook Lopez has been a little soft this year but he’s still averaging 17 pts., 6 rebounds, almost 2 blocks a game and he’s still only 22 years old. Travis Outlaw and Anthony Morrow are apparently alternating 20 point games and have improved the Nets FG %. Humphries has been a wonderful surprise filling in for an injured Murphy. He’s grabbing rebounds and makes high percentage shots as if they are going out of business. Jordan Farmar is proving more than capable as a back up to Harris and has been so valuable that at times Avery has both Farmar and Harris in the game at the same time. Finally Favors the key to the Carmelo Saga has been surprisingly good this early in the season. In the limited minutes he gets he’s been grabbing rebounds and dunking on everybody in his way. In Saturday’s game which was his “showcase” game against the Nuggets he scored 14 pts. and grabbed 8 rebounds in 25 minutes of action. Most important of all, Avery has taken firm command over this team and has them going in the right direction, never giving up and playing defense to the last possession.

Their one glaring weakness’ is the lack of that reliable scorer, that one player who stops scoring draughts, the one who is driving to the basket on the last possession of a game, that one player that they can always count on. Now of course those in the Carmelo camp are going say that Anthony will be perfect for that role. And you know what? They are right, he would be perfect. He’s one of the best scorers in the league he gets to the line about 7 times a game he is exactly what the Nets need. The problem is he’s not. No, I’m not Bi-Polar; the problem with acquiring Carmelo is that the Nets would have to give up too much to get him. There has got to be another way, another player that could help the Nets. So I did a little research and I came up with 2 players that could help the Nets in these situations. Two players that would help the Nets and they wouldn’t have to give up the farm to get them.

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Mark Ginocchio

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If I told you that the Nets would have an eight-point lead on the Boston Celtics at halftime, would you believe me? Well what if I told you that Shaquille O'Neal, at the spry age of 38, would light up the Nets for 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting and 11 rebounds? Would you believe me then? Truth is, both of those things happened Wednesday night at the TD Garden in Boston, as the Nets fell 89-83 to their Atlantic Division counterparts.

Surely not many Nets fans believed that the team stood a chance last night on the road against the reigning Eastern Conference champions, and whatever hope might have been floating around probably stemmed from the forthcoming absence of Rajon Rondo, who missed the game with an injury. The Boston Celtics did ultimately seal the deal to avoid losing to the Nets on their home floor for the second consecutive year, but it certainly did not go as planned for Doc Rivers & Co.

It was the typical tale of two halves for the Nets, as they came out strong in the beginning of the game (especially in the second quarter) before fading progressively as the game wound down. Despite the momentum New Jersey had, it almost seemed inevitable that the lead would evaporate — not only because the Celtics were the favorite but also because the atmosphere of the game felt that way.

What chance the Nets did stand was a product of effective defense once again, and stingy D is becoming a trademark of the 2010 team. The Nets held Paul Pierce to 7-of-17 shooting and Kevin Garnett to 8 points on 4-of-12 shooting with no free-throw attempts. But it wasn't all a success on defense, as the Big Shamrock proved once more to be kryptonite to the Nets.

O'Neal was an offensive force for the Celtics, stepping up when the regulars couldn't hit their shots. He showed great touch around the rim, finishing any shot that was created for him around the basket, and as he tends to do against the Nets, he got to the free-throw line a lot. It's incredible that Shaq is still capable of putting up numbers like this, but what's more incredible is how helpless the Nets' post defense was in containing him. Too many times he got wide-open looks, and when there were defenders around him, they passively stood by as he dropped a layup through the net like he was playing Pop-a-Shot. The Nets said they wanted to get tougher — last night that would have meant forcing Shaq to go to the line.

On offense, the Nets didn't look all that great. That said, as good as Shaq was on the offensive end last night ... he was just as poor on defense; in fact, he didn't look like much more than a reanimated corpse on that end of the floor. Routinely, the Nets ran pick-and-pops with the point guard and center, and O'Neal, time after time, failed to close out on the spotting-up center to contest the look. At one point, Johan Petro made three 18-footers because O'Neal wouldn't come out to put a hand in his face. Meanwhile, when the Nets did get in to the paint, they managed to draw body contact from Shaq, who had five personal fouls in the game.

Elsewhere, the Nets were absolutely battered in the square-off of points in the paint; the Celtics put in 44 while the Nets managed only 28. Furthermore, the Celtics improved upon their top transition defense in the NBA, allowing only 6 fast-break points to that Nets — and that's one of the best aspects of New Jersey's offense. The real killer, though, was the total of 17 turnovers. You can't surrender that many possessions to a team like the Celtics and hope to come away with a victory. What was so bad about it, though, was the nature of the turnovers. Several of them were errant passes arising from miscommunication between Nets players, something that never fails to be infuriating.

A problem that continues to manifest itself with the Nets offense is that there isn't a ton off off-ball movement. While the Nets do run the pick-and-roll quite frequently, it's never all that effective. And when they don't run it, one of two things happens: (1) someone throws an entry pass into Brook Lopez in the post, which usually has good consequences; or (2) the Nets swing the ball around the perimeter like they're a middle school girls basketball team until there are three seconds left on the shot clock and someone has to fire up a shot.

Avery Johnson has made his mark on this team with his defensive philosophy. Now it's time to either make Lopez the focal point of the offense on every possession or develop a new scheme that encourages off-the-ball movement. Some of Boston's plays that get Ray Allen open for jumpers off screens come to mind as potential plays to run with Anthony Morrow, for instance.

At the end of the day, it wasn't a huge letdown to lose to Boston; it was almost expected going in. But considering the Nets' lead at halftime, these second-half breakdowns are a bad sign. The will to battle for close games, that killer instinct that all elite teams have, isn't developed yet. When the Nets start to keep their first-half leads with resilience and toughness, that's when the wins will start coming in regularly.

Some more notes on the game after the jump.

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Spencer

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After a big win over the Atlanta Hawks last night, the Nets look to go 2-0 on their back-to back against the formidable Boston Celtics. Dedicated fans will remember that the Nets handily defeated the Celtics last season on the road at the TD Garden in a very surprising occurrence. The Celtics have looked very impressive so far, so a win will certainly be hard to come by. That said, Rajon Rondo, who many consider to be Boston's best player, will miss tonight's game.

• Devin Harris and Brook Lopez: The pair looks to follow up on last night's great tandem performance. Harris should have a good opportunity to break out with defensive hound Rondo out, so look for him to try to get his scoring game going early. As for Brook Lopez, he couldn't miss against the Hawks, but the Celtics defense is a different story entirely. Look for Avery Johnson to run pick-and-roll sets frequently to exploit Shaq's deficiency in defending the play.
• Guarding the wing players: Anthony Morrow and Travis Outlaw are going to have their hands full containing Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Expect the Celtics bigs to barrage Morrow with screen after screen to get Allen a look on the perimeter. As for Outlaw, he'll need to bring his best one-on-one game to keep up with Pierce.
• The return of Jordan Farmar: Farmar was essentially absent from the Nets offense last night, save a rather incredible long-range trey. He'll need to step up his performance tonight in order to help the Nets win. With Marquis Daniels likely playing some second-unit minutes at the point, Farmar will have a great opportunity to help out on offense.

Spencer

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Image Credit: AP Photo/Chris Schneider

Let me ask you a question. How well do you think the Nets have performed offensively this season? Pretty good? Pretty bad? Average? Not great?

If you chose one of those last two, I'd accept your answer. The Nets haven't been particularly stellar on offense so far this year - according to Synergy Sports, they rank only 21st out of the 30 teams in the NBA in points per possession. Basketball-Reference (which is slightly more up-to-date) has them ranked 21st as well. They've turned the ball over on 13% of their logged possessions, only shot 44% on the year so far, and attempted about 70 less free throw attempts than their opponents.

However, I firmly believe that if the Nets make some small adjustments to their offense, they can become one of the better offensive teams in the NBA instantly. Seriously.

Find out more about the Nets offense after the jump.

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Devin Kharpertian

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Box Score - Hoopinion - Peachthree Hoops

Let's be honest, this was a game the Nets needed to win. They got off to a 9-0 lead to start the game and led throughout the contest. But after the Hawks got a big effort from Jamal Crawford and sent the game to Overtime, I'm sure most Nets fans got a very bad feeling. However the Nets made sure this would not be a disappointing night as they got off to a fast start in the OT period and ended up with a 107-101 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The team got big performances from their stars and got this Thanksgiving Week started with an impressive victory.

Before the game I talked about Anthony Morrow and Travis Outlaw needing to put together a big performance on the same night. Well both had their moments tonight as Outlaw got off to a fast start in the game and Morrow hit some big shots in the 4th quarter. They combined for 22 points on 8 of 19 shooting but they were effective when they needed to be.

There is no doubt that the star for the Nets tonight was Brook Lopez. He scored the Nets first 7 points and didn't stop on his way to a 32-point night on an impressive 12-19 shooting performance. He clearly was comfortable going against Al Horford and he showed his entire offensive game with numerous post moves, dunks/layups and jump shots. Tonight you saw the Brook Lopez that people talk about when referring to a future all-star player.

The other major player I want to touch on from this game is Devin Harris. As a whole Nets fans are divided on what they think of Harris. While many fans feel he is one of the top 5-7 point guards in the NBA, others think that he is very expendable. Well tonight he proved why the Nets would be foolhardy to get rid of him. 27 points, 9 assists and leading the team in all facets of the game is a combination I would love to see from my point guard in every game. Devin did it all tonight; he hit the three, he drove the lane in transition and he even made 6-8 free throws. I tip my cap to you Devin, as your performance tonight is something I hope to see more often.

I continue to like the effort that Jordan Farmar brings as the backup point guard on this team. Yes I know he was 1-8 tonight and only had 3 points (and some big turnovers) but the sense of poise he brings to the offense is something that really benefits this team. I especially like when Avery goes to a lineup of Farmar and Harris together. They really compliment each other well and although they are both point guards, they know how to share the ball effectively.

So while the Nets should have finished this game off in regulation and had a somewhat easy victory, getting the W is all that counts. Now they head into Beantown tomorrow night for a tough game at the TD Garden. Hopefully they have a similar effort tomorrow night that they had tonight, and maybe us Nets fans have a very good thanksgiving.

Spencer

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Well, now Terrence Williams has really gone and done it. Just when it looked like he was ready to come back to the team and contribute, he got himself suspended for two games for violating numerous team policies, Avery Johnson told the Nets before yesterday's victory against the Hawks:

“We’ll take it day-by-day,” Johnson said. “The focus right now is on the Nets and the guys in uniform that are working their butts off, who have really bought into the program and they try.

“One of the things with the NBA is not about being an NBA player. It’s about being a professional.”

According to Al Iannazzone, this suspension seemed to tie-in to TWill being repeatedly late for practices.

This is incredibly frustrating for Nets fans and fans of TWill in general. The kid has so much talent, and as we witnessed in March and April of last year, when he's focused, he can help this team win with his unique skillset. But unlike last season, when the inmates seemed to run the asylum under Kiki, I can't see Avery Johnson being too tolerant of TWill's nonsense, especially when he's got solid citizen veterans in Anthony Morrow, Travis Outlaw and Stephen Graham ready to take his playing time.

Mark Ginocchio

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It was a tough end to the Nets West Coast road trip to say the least, and they're back in action tonight against the Atlanta Hawks at The Rock. After beginning the season 2-0 (both wins at home) the Nets have now lost 9 of 11 and although they have been competitive, they have not been able to get the W's. The Hawks are coming off of an embarrassing loss at home to Celtics, where they lost by 23 and were outscored 39-13 in the first quarter. Aside from a Halloween loss to the Heat, the Nets 3 other losses at home have come by a combined 5 points. I'm sure they will continue to be competitive and keep games close but they need to start winning, especially at home.

Morrow and Outlaw. Mark wrote about the Nets starting shooting guard and small forward last week, and one of the team's major issues has been getting these two to play well on the same night. Against Denver they each scored in double figures but shot a combined 10-25 from the field, not exactly a sparkling percentage. It would be nice to see a game where both of these guys shoot the ball well and contribute consistently.

The Nets Frontcourt. It is no secret that Kris Humphries has been a completely different player over the past few weeks and has really helped the Nets down low. But the Nets overall production in the paint Saturday against Denver was very impressive and is something they should build upon. Humphries, Brook Lopez and Derrick Favors combined for 44 points and 24 rebounds against the Nuggets and although Atlanta has a solid post player in Al Horford, the Nets will need consistent numbers from their inside players to get a win tonight.

Get an Early Lead. The Atlanta Hawks started the season 6-0 but have lost 6 of their last 8 and their effort has been questioned in some recent losses. The Nets are desperate for a home win tonight and the Hawks could be the perfect opponent, but they need to start fast. Coming off of a poor performance last night, Atlanta will be looking to start fast, and it will benefit the Nets to get an early lead and demoralize the Hawks.

For more coverage of the Atlanta Hawks, check out ESPN’s TrueHoop affiliate Hoopinion.

*Ed. note: After this article went up, it was learned that Terrence Williams will be inactive tonight for disciplinary reasons. More information to follow as details become available.

Spencer

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