The Nets were literally scorching to start the game, leading 33-19 after the first quarter, but the Mavericks methodically picked them apart over the second and third quarters, and were able to withstand a late Nets surge, to beat New Jersey 96-87 in Dallas tonight.

• The Nets were shooting close to 53 percent at halftime and held on to an 8-point lead against a Dallas team that had won 12 in a row entering tonight. But 19 percent shooting in the third, where they were outscored by the Mavericks 31-15, put New Jersey in a deep hole entering the fourth that they could never climb out of, despite getting as close as two points down the home stretch.
• Terrence Williams keeps topping himself in the month of March, putting together another career game with 18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
• Devin Harris had a solid night offensively against his old team with 21 points and 7 assists on 7-14 shooting, but turned the ball over 6 times.
• Kris Humphries had 13 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, while playing some solid defense against former teammate Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk had a particularly awful night, finishing with 12 points on 3-16 shooting.
• Jason Kidd finished with 20 points and 9 assists, and was 5-8 from three-point land.
• Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee each had a quiet night, finishing with 10 points each. Lopez picked up his 5th foul at the end of the third, and wasn't seen again until about 2 minutes left in the game.

Mark Ginocchio

Tweet

The last time the Nets played the Mavericks, it wasn't pretty.  At all.  The Mavs might be missing a fair amount (Jason Terry and Erik Dampier are definitely out) of their pieces tonight, but Jason Kidd is still there.  Before we talk to the game, I figured this was sort of Mavericks related and interesting.  According to Wayne Winston (former stats guy for the Mavericks - see?  Related) the Nets are on pace for 11 wins according to his rankings (more on that Friday).  Wayne Winston is a pretty smart guy and these projections are pretty well respected, so take it for what it's worth.

Now moving forward to tonight, the Nets are going to have to play a perfect to get a win tonight.  They can't do the little things wrong like take the foul-to-give early or going for steals that trigger fast breaks for the opponents.  Onto the lineups...

Devin Harris vs. Jason Kidd

Last year Devin Harris got the best of Jason Kidd (and the Mavs), so it looked like the Nets won the trade.  This year the Nets are awful and the Mavs are good (and there was that blowout game in New Jersey) and now the Mavs are thought to have won the deal.  My opinion?  We still don't know who we are getting with the Mavs pick, so the deal is incomplete and since it was a longterm deal for the Nets, it is way too early to judge.

Advantage:  Jason Kidd

Courtney Lee vs. Caron Butler

Courtney Lee has been playing out of this world as of late, and while I don't think he will average 30 points a game for the rest of his career, he is starting to show what Rod Thorn saw in him that he was willing to give up Ryan Anderson  for him.  Combine his scoring now with the ability to play lock down defense, and you have a solid starter and a solid piece moving forward.

Advantage:  Caron Butler

Trenton Hassell vs. Shawn Marion

Trenton Hassell is probably going to start again, but we probably will be seeing a ton of Terrence Williams tonight, because I don't think Hassell will be able to hang with Marion's athleticism (even though that has declined through the years).

Advantage:  Shawn Marion

Josh Boone vs. Dirk

Josh Boone might start (he did have a solid game against the Grizzlies), but I don't think he is going to successfully be able to hang with Dirk, which means you might see a lot of Kris Humphries.  While Humphries has struggled on the offensive end as of late, he still continues to work on the offensive end.  It is going to be fun to watch Dirk and Humphries go at it, and Humphries might be able to use his experience in Dallas to his advantage.

Advantage:  Dirk

Brook Lopez vs. Brendan Haywood

When I saw Brendan Haywood got traded to the Western Conference, I was happy because this means Brook Lopez gets to face him less than when he was in the East.  Brendan Haywood had the two best defensive performances against Brook (in my opinion), and he might have another tough night if his teammates don't make shots.

Advantage:  Push

Sebastian Pruiti

Tweet

I certainly understand why a lot of Nets fans are down on Yi Jianlian, and I’ve certainly taken my fair share of shots at him this season, but I also think people need to be fair and realistic about how much Yi’s individual performances actually affect the team overall. When Yi left Sunday’s game against the Knicks with an ankle injury, there were a few comments about how much better the Nets played once Yi left – never mind the fact that in the first quarter, EVERYONE on the Nets was stinking up the joint, regardless of who was on the floor.

Here are the facts: looking at the simple rating for each player on the Nets roster – which is a statistic found at 82games.com that takes into account the team’s offensive and defensive performance when a specific players is on and off the court – you can determine that Yi does have a negative impact on the team when he plays. However, there are many other players on the roster, who currently get significant minutes, that have a more detrimental effect on the team than Yi.

According to 82games, Yi has played 40 percent of the team’s minutes this season. Yi is putting up a Player Efficiency Rating of 13.8 in those minutes, while opposing players matched up against Yi have a PER of 22.5, good for a differential of -8.7. Meanwhile, when Yi plays, the team’s +/- is -7, and when he’s off the floor, their +/- is -13.4, good for a differential of +6.4. When you add these two differentials together, you get Yi’s simple rating of -2.7.

Yi’s simple rating is sixth best on the Nets roster, which is more of a statement of how bad the Nets are (shocking).  Only two players have a positive simple rating, Brook Lopez and Keyon Dooling.  The other players ahead of Yi include Courtney Lee, and two players who have a relatively small sample size, Bobby Simmons and Sean Williams.

So that puts Devin Harris (-2.8), Kris Humphries (-3.5), Terrence Williams (-3.7) and Chris Douglas-Roberts (-3.8) all behind Yi in terms of simple rating, meaning the team is overall playing worse when those players are on the court when compared to the team’s performance when Yi is on the floor. Of those four players, I think the one that is most worth picking out for the sake of this post is Humphries. While I’ve been relatively impressed with Hump’s aggressiveness and attitude since he came over from Dallas (and thankful to have him over Najera), these numbers demonstrate that he’s not necessarily a better full-time option at the four than Yi.  Just based on some observations, I think Humphries has many of the same issues as Yi – occasionally soft on defense, a penchant for bad shots and inappropriate times – so the section of the fan-base that believes Hump MUST start instead of Yi may want to look at the numbers to determine if it really makes a difference for the Nets.

Nets fans need to go a little easier on Yi. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe the Nets absolutely must upgrade at PF next season and that the Yi as a starter experiment should come to the end.  But the Nets aren’t bad solely because of Yi, or even primarily because of Yi. The Nets are bad because they are a bad team, and the 7-wins they’ve accumulate is proof enough that their issues run beyond one player.

Mark Ginocchio

Tweet

Sebastian provides some of his expert insight of some mistakes the Nets made against the Grizzlies on Monday, over at his NBA Playbook site.

In a roundtable at SI.com, NBA writers discuss which downtrodden Eastern Conference team that would buy stock in if they had the opportunity, and naturally, the Nets are brought up.

Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com talks Brooklyn.

David Biderman of the Wall Street Journal kicks the Nets when they're down, but then offers some support: By now you've realized that the New Jersey Nets aren't just a sad-sack basketball team, they're profoundly horrible. But even with a 7-56 record, there are several recent sports teams that were even worse.

Just how talented is Dallas? As Al Iannazzone notes, even without Jason Terry, Erick Dampier, Brendan Haywood and Tim Thomas expected to play tonight, they still have Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Caron Butler and Shawn Marion to lean on.

And that Jason Kidd fella is still a very productive PG, as Julian Garcia writes.

Brooklyn Paper with more on the designers of the Barclays Arena.

People are apparently buying Knicks season tickets at the fastest pace ever because they believe they're going to sign LeBron James.

Mark Ginocchio

Tweet

With the Nets in Memphis last night to play the Grizzlies, I was expecting some news about CDR to come out of it.  The city of Memphis loves CDR from his college years, and with him not getting much time fans are probably curious about why it is happening.  This afternoon an article from Scott Cacciola of the Memphis Commercial Appeal popped up, and in it were some interesting quotes about the relationship between CDR and Kiki Vandeweghe.  Here are some excerpts:

The disconnect between Douglas-Roberts and coach Kiki Vandeweghe could not have been more obvious. Not counting the two times Vandeweghe requested that Douglas-Roberts report to the scorer’s table, neither appeared to acknowledge the other’s existence. And while Vandeweghe has been diplomatic in his public remarks about Douglas-Roberts, their relationship is strained. It is one of the worst-kept secrets in the NBA.

When Douglas-Roberts was asked about the situation, he craned his neck to check if anyone was listening and lowered his voice to a whisper.

“It’s unique,” he said. “We talked a lot when he got here. But then he took over as the head coach, and it’s … it’s, uh, unique.”

...

Under Frank, Douglas-Roberts averaged 16.3 points on 14.3 shots per game. Under Vandeweghe, he is averaging 8.3 points on 7.7 shots per game. And his playing time continues to deteriorate. In February, he averaged just 3.3 points on 39-percent shooting in 14.4 minutes per game.

He also was benched twice, and that included the Nets’ 104-94 loss to the visiting Grizzlies on Feb. 21. Vandeweghe told reporters it was the result of an “internal matter,” which provided at least an indication of the turmoil that has hindered the Nets – and CDR, in particular – this season.

“I’m fully aware of what’s going on,” Douglas-Roberts said. “Earlier in the year, I was really successful. The first 30 or 35 games, I was averaging 17 a game. But we were still losing. And then the coaching change, and he came in with a different system, philosophy. Basically I had to take a backseat.”

Asked how the system is different, Douglas-Roberts said: “It’s more of an inside-out team. We have a great big in Brook Lopez. And another young big in Yi Jianlian. And then basically we have to play through them, which is fine. But I’m suffering a little from that.”

...

Douglas-Roberts, during his cameos, often stationed himself outside the 3-point arc along the baseline. He looked almost uncomfortable.

“I don’t really know what my role is,” he said. “I just go in there and, you know, play while I’m in there. It’s not really an established role like it was earlier in the year. So I just go out there and try to play and help us out however I can.”

That is a lot to take in, so let's look at each individual topic.

The Disconnect

CDR has been saying something to this effect for a while now.  I don't know what happens behind the scenes, but I have been to a couple of practices and to me it doesn't seem like Kiki is going out of his way to talk to him, but he isn't going out of his way to avoid him.  Again, just based on my observations it seems that CDR is more of the initiator of the disconnect.  It all probably started after Kiki's first benching of CDR.  I am not saying he needs to be happy, but it is pretty important to have a working relationship with your coach, and if the coach doesn't feel like he can trust a player to listen to him, he isn't going to play him.  It is that simple.  The problem is that the more CDR sits, the more introverted he becomes.

The System

This has been CDR's biggest complaint of the season and of Kiki.  That Kiki's decision to play inside-out is disrespectful to CDR and his game, but in all actuality this was the decision that turned the Nets' season around (from 0 wins to now 7).  The fact that CDR still spouts off his scoring average after the first 30 games off the top of his head is troubling.  He seems to be hanging on to that despite not doing what got him there.  Ever since Yi returned and Kiki decided to play inside-out, Kiki has lost that aggression and willingness to attack the basket.  That's why his shots and his scoring have gone down.  The shots are out there (especially now that the Nets need a 4th scorer with Yi out).  Even the Memphis paper admitted this:

Douglas-Roberts is a slasher, not a distributor. But there does seem to be room in Vandeweghe’s system for guards and wings who are capable scorers. Against the Grizzlies, swingman Courtney Lee scored 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting and point guard Devin Harris added 28 – though, in fairness, they had to take on more responsibility because Jianlian was sidelined with an injury.

CDR's Role

This seems to be CDR's new complaint about the Nets and Kiki.  That CDR doesn't know his role anymore, as if it is an excuse for him to stand out beyond the three point line when he is in.  I have an idea for CDR, if he doesn't know his role, why doesn't he ask his coach?  Oh yeah, I forgot, their relationship is "unique".  Not knowing his role shouldn't prevent him from doing things like boxing out (gave up a key rebound in the fourth quarter against Memphis) when he is in the game.

---

Talking about CDR and his complaints about the Nets is getting old.  It seems like he needs to come up with a new excuse or reason why he isn't playing (or playing well) about every month.  CDR is a guy with a chip on his shoulder, and rightfully so.  That chip is what makes CDR a potentially special player, but he needs to realize that not everyone is against him, especially his teammates and coaches.

Sebastian Pruiti

Tweet

While watching last night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies, I couldn't help thinking about Mark's terrific post on the Nets new "Big Three."  As I watched the game, I saw two thirds of this new big three play very well.  Courtney Lee scored 30 points on 13-20 shooting and Devin Harris put in 28 points on 9-18 shooting.  However the big man in this triangle of players, Brook Lopez, battled foul trouble in the first half and really seemed to struggle the entire game.  Lopez scored 10 points on 3-10 shooting and was only able to pull down 7 rebounds (including a whopping 0 in the first half).

Now I am not going to get on Brook Lopez for one bad game.  He has been the Nets' most consistent performer all year and bad games are bound to happen.  But what this bad game from Brook Lopez goes to show is how dependent this current roster is on the Nets' new "Big Three."  For the Nets to get a win, they need Courtney Lee, Devin Harris, and Brook Lopez to all play well because there simply isn't enough production coming from the rest of the roster.  Look at last night's game for example, if Brook puts up his average and scores 19 points, the Nets win.  Instead, he scores 10 points and there is nobody there to pick up the slack.  When good teams have their stars struggle, they usually can get someone else to help out in terms of scoring.  Let's use the Grizzlies as an example as their best player, Zach Randolph, ended up not playing.  They needed some extra scoring to come from somewhere, and Mike Conley ended up picking up the slack scoring 21 (he averages 10).

Is there someone on the Nets roster who can do what Mike Conley did last night (pick up the scoring load when the main guys aren't able to)?  I don't think so.  Terrence Williams has been playing very well as of late, but he isn't a scorer at this point in his career.  Keyon Dooling and Jarvis Hayes are guys who can knock down jumpers, but they aren't going to go out and get 20 points for you.  Chris Douglas-Roberts has the potential to do it, but he is so wildly inconsistent you can't depend on him.  Then there is Josh Boone and Trenton Hassell.  These are two guys who are going to work their butt of for your team, but they couldn't score 10 points alone in a gym.

If the Nets are going to avoid infamy and get that coveted 10th win, the Nets are going to need to find someone who can provide a 4th scoring option, a guy who can help pick up the slack when either Brook Lopez, Courtney Lee or Devin Harris struggle.  Who is that going to be?  Well, when Kris Humphries arrived from Dallas, he was putting up great numbers, but now he is struggling.  My candidate is Terrence Williams, because as teams start to play him for the pass, lanes are going to open up.  If nobody steps up, the Nets probably won't get to 10 wins unless Courtney Lee, Brook Lopez, and Devin Harris start combining for 80 points a game or something like that.

Sebastian Pruiti

Tweet

3 Shades of Blue - Straight Outta Vancouver

At the risk of overstating things, last night's 107-101 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies could be one of those games that will really stand out at season's ends if the Nets fail to get to 10 wins and avoid infamy. Not so much because this looked like much of a win on paper for the Nets, especially the way they played in the first half when they were down 67-51 at halftime. But because Memphis all but giftwrapped an opportunity for the Nets to steal win #8 by playing about as bad as an NBA team could play in the second half.

After looking unstoppable in the first half, the Grizzlies laid an egg in the third, shooting 29 percent and earning hearty boos from the Memphis faithful. But that's where the "what ifs" come to play. The Nets pulled as close as two points when Devin Harris hit a step back 17-footer with about 11 seconds left in the third. But the Nets had the first of their many breakdowns when they fouled Marcus Williams with just a bit too much time left on the clock, allowing Sam Young enough time to get a clean look at the rim to swing the momentum back towards Memphis.

In the fourth, the Grizzlies weren't nearly as bad, and the Nets weren't nearly as good, but New Jersey still had their chances. With Yi Jianlian out with a knee injury and Josh Boone seemingly dinged up in a play in the third, the Nets went with a small lineup for a few minutes and settled for too many perimeter shots. And when they still managed to grab a few breaks, like when Kris Humphries intercepted a bad pass from Williams under the rim with about 7 minutes left and the Nets trailing by four, Hump rushed the putback and missed - another opportunity gone.

But the biggest "what if" was regarding the offensive play of the Nets frontcourt - namely Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries. Lopez looked out of it early, and was getting played tough by Marc Gasol (and had the bloody scratches to prove it - in job refs). But he mostly a non-factor from the field finishing 3-10, though he was fairly effective in the give-and-go fame with Devin Harris and Courtney Lee, tallying up 6 assists.

And with a lot of Nets fans scratching their heads as to why Boone got the call over Hump at the starting four, Humphries did very little, if anything to distinguish himself offensively. In addition to shooting 1-7, he just looked tentative out there, getting the ball 16-18 feet away from the basket and knowing he shouldn't be shooting those shots, but not making a strong enough move to the hoop to either to a higher percentage shot or draw a foul. The saving grace for Hump came on the defensive end, where he blocked three shots and drew an offensive foul when Sam Young pushed Hump away while taking what looked to be, an easy lay-up with 6:37 left in the fourth and the Grizzlies hanging on to a four point lead. But again, the Nets were never able to take the next step. Terrence Williams had a layup attempt blocked by Young and a DeMarre Carroll layup later put the Grizzlies back up by 6.

Final thoughts after the jump:
... MORE →

Mark Ginocchio

Tweet

With the Nets inching closer to all-time infamy, the Philadelphia Daily News gives a detailed look at the 72-73 Sixers. Fred Carter, the leading scorer of that team, wants to keep the record in Philadelphia.

Rudy Gay is quietly spreading the word that he would play in New Jersey, but the Memphis Grizzlies expect the restricted free agent to stick around:  Grizzlies’ owner Michael Heisley told the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “I feel we’re going to sign him.”

Post columnist George Willis doesn't blame David Lee for looking towards the Nets this summer.

Courtney Lee tells Al Iannazzone that he's starting to regain that scorer's mentality he had in college:  "I was a scorer in college," Lee said. "I went to the NBA and I had to switch my role. Just getting back into that scoring role like before, you have to be in tip-top shape and you have to definitely have your rhythm.

Mark Ginocchio

Tweet

The Nets used a strong second half to help change this game from a Memphis laugher into a close game, but the Grizzlies ultimately pulled away in the fourth quarter, topping New Jersey 107-101.

• Courtney Lee had another off-the-charts game for the Nets, scoring 30 points on 13-20 shooting. He also grabbed 5 rebounds and 2 steals. The way he's played lately, the hype surrounding this kid entering the season is finally starting to make sense.
• Devin Harris was right behind Lee, finishing with 28 points, 5 assists and a blocked shot.
• Tough night for Brook Lopez, who was out of sync early and never got it going, scoring 10 points on 3-10 shooting, though he did add 7 rebounds and surprisingly 6 assists, including a behind the back pass to Harris in the first that led to a three-pointer.
• Little bit of everything tonight for Terrence Williams, finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
• Nice effort for emergency starter Josh Boone tonight, finishing with 6 points and 9 rebounds.
• The Memphis offense was led by Mike Conley, who was unconciously hot in the first half, and finished with 21 points on 9-18 shooting. Rudy Gay also scored 21 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds.
• Memphis scored 67 points in the first half, but only shot 29 percent in the third quarter which allowed the Nets to pull back into the game where they were down double-digits for a majority of the first half.
• Kris Humphries was brutal on offense, finishing 1-7 and 2 points, but he made a number of great defensive plays in the second half, and collected 3 blocks.

Mark Ginocchio

Tweet

Tonight the Nets are looking to get their first win streak of the season, but the Nets technically do have a win streak.  The Nets have won 3 straight games on the road as they start a 4 game road trip.  If the Nets are going to want to continue this streak, they are going to have to go down to Memphis and beat the Grizzlies.

The last time these two teams played, the Nets were able to jump out to a big time early lead only to fall apart in the second half.  I think the Nets have gotten better/smarter when it comes to playing a full 48 minutes, so that means we should be getting a very interesting game.

Devin Harris vs. Mike Conley

Devin is coming off of another great game, and that is starting to happen more often than not, which is comforting to see.  Meanwhile on the other end, Mike Conley is considered by a good amount of people as one of the worst starting PGs in the league.  Here is what 3 Shades Of Blue has to say of him:

Mike Conley has picked up his game since the All-Star break and is starting to look more and more comfortable running the point but Memphis fans have seen similar stretches from Conley before only to watch him revert to the tentative PG who panicked at open shots.

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Courtney Lee vs. O.J. Mayo

When Lee went down with the ankle injury a few games ago, I was really worried because it looked like his shot was finally coming around and to see him go down with an ankle (an injury that really hurts jump shooters), all his work to get back could have gone down the drain.  However, Lee came back Saturday night like nothing ever happened.  He was sticking his shots all night.

Advantage:  Push

Trenton Hassell vs. Rudy Gay

Yes, Trenton Hassell is still starting.  This could be 1 of 2 reasons.  The first is that Hayes is still being bothered by injury a bit.  The second is that the Nets' coaching staff believes Hayes is more of an effective shooter when he comes off the bench.  Either way, Hassell has been doing a decent enough job, but the fact that he is starting really tells you about the lack of depth the Nets have.

Advantage:  Rudy Gay

Kris Humphries vs. Zach Randolph

Humphries came to New Jersey like a bat out of hell.  He came in and was hitting shots, grabbing rebounds, and doing just about everything you could ask of him (he even set his career high in points twice).  He fell off, and you can blame Yi and Kiki from taking minutes away from him, but when it comes down to it, he hasn't been hitting his shots.  With all that being said, Humphries is the perfect match-up for a guy like Randolph. He isn't going to let Zach Randolph push him around on the block or on the offensive board.

Advantage:  Zach Randolph

Brook Lopez vs. Marc Gasol

Brook Lopez had his way with Marc Gasol the last time these two played, scoring 22 points in the first half of the ball game.  However, he was held to only 4 in the second half because the Grizzlies decided to double on him.  It is going to be interesting to see how the Grizzlies defend Brook.  I think they will come out and double him from the start, and if this happens, hopefully the good shooting can carry over from last game.

Advantage:  Brook Lopez

Sebastian Pruiti

Tweet

In Saturday night's win against the Knicks, the Nets were able to go 14-24 from the three point line, obviously the team's best performance from deep.  So how does a team who is 29th in the NBA in terms of 3 point shooting percentage (30.2%) shoot 58.3% against the Knicks?  They attacked the basket.

Now, you all know how important I think attacking the basket is.  When the Nets' do so and are aggressive, they either get themselves to the free throw line or get good looks in close at the basket.  What doesn't get talked about though is how attacking the basket opens up things on the outside.  The Nets are poor shooters from deep, we know that.  However, when they attack the basket, the Nets give their outside shooters better looks that are easier to make.  Let's look at a few plays from Saturday night:

This first play is a transition possession.  We have seen Terrence Williams attack the basket the past few games, and the Knicks know that.  As Terrence Williams crosses the three point line, Devin Harris' man drops down to the lane to meet him.  Williams uses his vision to spot the wide open Devin Harris who knocks down a big three pointer.

On this one, Keyon Dooling attacks the baseline.  Instead of giving up his dribble and trying to force up a  lay-up, he keeps his head up looking for a teammate.  To me, under the basket is the under-belly of the defense.  If you can get there, it forces defenders to focus on the ball rather than their man.  Look at the above clip.  All 5 Knicks' defenders have their eyes on Dooling, who has his pick on who to get it to on the outside.  Dooling chooses Courtney Lee, who knocks down a three, extending the lead to 16.

Now this might all have happened against a terrible Knicks defense, but the theme is the same.  When you force the defense to make decisions or rotate, there is a better chance that they make mistakes.  And when they make mistakes, the Nets are going to be able to take advantage.

Sebastian Pruiti

Tweet

The Nets haven't had a legitimate "Big Three" since the days of Kidd-Carter-Jefferson, and even then, I don't know how "big" those three players ever were since they never took the Nets any further than the second round of the playoffs.

Coming into this season, while no one ever proclaimd Devin Harris, Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee as the new "Big Three," they were, arguably, the team's three best options on the offensive end. Unfortunately, Lee struggled mightily shooting-wise and Harris had been erratic. It's not until recently that the three have started to produce actual results together offensively, and it's no surprise that the Nets are playing better as a team as a result.

In their last seven games together (starting 2/16 and excluding the last three games before Saturday when Lee was out with an injured ankled), Lee-Harris-Lopez combined to average 61.2 points per game, which, for you math majors out there, breaks down to about 20 points per player - not too shabby for the worst offensive team in basketball. Meanwhile, the Nets as a team have put together a 3-4 record in that stretch, which includes a win on the road against a tough defensive team in Charlotte, a stunning upset of the Celtics in Boston, and a great come-from-behind victory against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. You could accuse me of cherry-picking these seven games, but considering the Nets are still on pace to have the worst record in NBA history, any stretch where the team is winning 43 percent of their games, is something to take note of.

It makes sense that the Nets are most successful offensively with those three players clicking, because each one brings a unique ability to the team. Lopez is clearly the post presence, Harris is best when he's breaking down defenders and driving to the hoop, and Lee excels as a three-point shooter, or a mid-range jump shooter in transition. When Lopez and Harris are excelling at their games, it opens up more opportunities for Lee and vice versa. It just makes sense that these three should work so well together. And unlike the period earlier this season where Yi Jianlian was scoring in bunches in what some thought was at the expense of other players, Lee, Lopez and Harris are all getting their opportunities as of late, with each player carrying the offense during certain stretches.

Mark Ginocchio

Tweet