Before we get to the game tonight, I wanted to talk about a contest that the Nets are holding real quick.  There is a Jay-Z concert on March 6th at the Izod Center.  The Nets are giving away free tickets, and it is pretty easy to qualify for a chance to win.  According to the site:

All one has to do is follow the Nets on Twitter (@netsbasketball) or Become a Fan on Facebook by March 1st, and retweet a message (Twitter) or fill out a brief form (FB).

Just thought some Nets fans would be interested in this info.

As for the game, no Chris Bosh tonight for the Raptors.  Nets' fans shouldn't really be celebrating yet, because Bosh's great play isn't the reason why the Nets have been losing to the Raptors.  Don't get me wrong, he has been a factor, but the Raptors running and gunning is what has been giving the Nets problems.  We shall see if the Nets can keep this from happening tonight.  Onto the lineups...

Devin Harris vs. Jarrett Jack

Mark summed it up perfectly earlier today.  Devin Harris is back, and it isn't just because of the numbers either (I believe sometimes the numbers can lie to you), but if you watch him, he just looks better now.  He looks like the same player as last year, and that is important.

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Courtney Lee vs. DeMar DeRozan

Courtney Lee had a really good game in the Nets' win against Charlotte.  He then had a truly awful game against the Heat.  That seems to be Courtney's problem this year, consistency.  It is understandable though.  Last year, as the 5th or 6th option on that Magic team, Lee could afford to have a bad game here or there because the Magic weren't relying on him.  The Nets rely on him.  He is this team's third option, and he is going to have to be more consistent for the Nets.

Advantage:  Push

Jarvis Hayes vs. Hedo Turkoglu

Hedo Turkoglu is one of the biggest flops (in terms of Free Agent signings) this year so far, and part of it is the way that he plays on the Raptors.  Hedo is a guy who is at his best with the ball in his hands, he just seems more comfortable with that.  The Raptors have a true-point guard, and they like to run their sets (not saying it is a bad thing), but this kind of keeps Hedo out of the loop.

Advantage:  Hedo Turkoglu

Yi vs. Amir Johnson

I think Amir is going to be the guy who is going to replace Chris Bosh tonight, thought I am not really positive.  Johnson might end up being a nightmare match-up for Yi, because he is a very athletic guy, and those are the guys who seem to give him the most problems.

Advantage:  Push

Brook Lopez vs. Andrea Bargnani

Andrea Bargnani is going to present a unique problem for Brook Lopez.  Bargnani isn't going to bother him on the defensive end, but when on offense, Brook is going to have a tough time covering Bargnani.  He said it himself (via @netsbasketball):

Brook, on Bargs: "It’s tough b/c he can shoot the ball, he’s big and can play in the post. You’ve got to try to make him rely on counters."

To offset this, Brook really needs to get working in the post on the offensive end.  Hopefully the contact and all that will tire Bargnani out and that will end up leaving his shots short.  If not, this can happen.

Advantage:  Brook Lopez

Sebastian Pruiti

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Sam Holako of Raptors Republic returns to answer a couple of quick questions about the Toronto Raptors before tonight's game at the Izod Center.

NAS: Because exhibitions like the Slam Dunk Competition are what's really important (at least when you follow a team with 5 wins), how would you rate DeMar DeRozan's performance over All-Star weekend and do you have any ideas on how to improve on the dunk competition, which was universally panned this year?

I really thought DeMar had a great dunk off. The kid is a natural athlete, and has been putting down big dunks all year. It was good to see him get out there and get some attention on a national level. I'd do two things to improve the dunk competition: 1) Ban Nate Robinson from competing ever again 2) Transform it into a team competition where you have a dunkers and shot blockers, with regular NBA rules (fouls, travelling, etc), and see who wins. The dunk off has been lame since Vince Carter took things to the next level years ago, and will never be as good again.

NAS: How realistic of a goal is it for the Raptors and their fans to shoot for the #4 seed and overtake Boston in the East by season's end? And how would the Raptors fare in a first round match-up against Boston? We know what happened the last time the Raptors won a division and faced an aging, but battle tested former Division winner in the first round of the playoffs (please allow me to relive some semblance of Nets glory here).

For the Raptors to sneak into 4th in the East, they will have to win 6 more games than the Celtics do, since the Celtics have already won all the tiebreakers. Considering the Raptors have 28 games left, and the Celtics have 31...it's just impossible unless the stars align, and since we have Turkoglu running amok on the wing, I wont hold my breath. If you ask me, it doesn't even matter if we take 4th since we have no chance of beating the Celtics in a 7 game series. Boston OWNS the Raptors; we've beat them only once over the last two seasons, I don't see the playoffs being any different. I hate you for drudging up the past like that; sign of a guy who's supporting the worst team of all time in professional sports.

Mark Ginocchio

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I’m going to pull two sets of numbers on Devin Harris to help set the table for this post:

Points per game: 21.3

Field Goal %:  44%

Assists per game: 6.9

Free Throw Attempts Per Game: 8.8

and

Points:  19.9

Field Goal: 43%

Assists:  8.7

Free Throw Attempts: 7.0

Obviously, these two sets of numbers are not identical, but they are comparable, and that’s a good thing. The first set are Devin’s final season numbers from his breakout 2008-09 campaign, and the second set details Devin’s performance in the month of February, which includes seven games since he missed one due to injury.

Since the beginning of the season, where there was a noticeable decline in his numbers, I’ve been one of Harris’ harshest critics, questioning if last season was a fluke, or if he was capable of carrying a team offensively without another all-star backcourt-mate like Vince Carter.  He still has his flaws as a player, and his shot selection late in games could you leave you scratching your head, but the fact that he’s getting his scoring, field goal percentage and free throw attempts closer to last year’s levels is a good sign. What makes me most optimistic about this stretch of play is that the light seemed to go on after he missed four and a half games with his wrist injury.  Perhaps Devin’s finally starting to regain his touch now that he’s a little more healthy.

Adding a little more credence to the idea that Devin’s wrist injury was affecting his scoring ability is his field goal percentage on long twos and threes the past month. Harris is shooting 42 percent combined on all jump shots from 16-feet and out (including threes).  He’s shooting 32 percent on just his three pointers in February. Compare that to earlier this season, like in December, when Devo was atrocious from beyond the arc, shooting 22 percent on 11-50. A Devin Harris who can mix in an occasional jump shot with his usual attacking of the basket, is a dangerous offensive player.

What we now need to see is how much longer Devin can keep this play up for. It’s without a doubt, his most prolonged stretch of good offensive basketball this season. I’m still waiting to see if he’s capable of that transcendent game where he’s unstoppable.  He had his fair share of those last season, like his 47 point, 8 assist game against Phoenix on 11/30/08 or his 41 point, 13 assist performance against Dallas on 12/19/08. Harris looked capable of one of those nights early on during Wednesday’s game against Miami, scoring 12 points in the first quarter, but he sat an incredibly long stretch between the first and second quarters, and when he returned, he seemed to have lost that scoring touch. I think once Devin mixes in one of those “big” games where he’s the best offensive player on the floor, I can more safely conclude that the Harris of old is “back.”

Mark Ginocchio

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The Nets decided to stand pat at the trading deadline this year, but it seems like they were the only ones.  There were a lot of teams clearing space at the deadline, and now the Nets aren't the only ones with a lot of cap space available going into this offseason.  Now that the dust has settled, I think it is important to look at the teams with newly discovered capspace and compare their situations to the Nets.All numbers moving forward are based on an estimated salary cap of $53 million next year.

Sacramento Kings

Breakdown

By shipping Kevin Martin out, the Kings have freed up slightly less than $19 million (before taking into consideration the contract of a lottery pick).  This can make them a player for a a real good second tier guy.   It has long been a plan that if the Nets can't get a max contract guy (Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh), the Nets would end up "settling" for a second tier guy like Joe Jonson, Rudy Gay, or Carlos Boozer (this is if any of them are willing to take less than the max).  The Kings can now sneak in and take away one of these guys.

Advantage

So why would a player go to Sacramento over New Jersey?  There is a pretty special player named Tyreke Evans over there.  There has to be a shooting guard out there just salivating about the chance to play with him, plus they have another lottery pick coming this year.  A nice little core building in Sacramento.

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Sebastian Pruiti

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On Wednesday, the Nets couldn't beat Miami without Dwyane Wade. Can they beat the Raptors tonight without Chris Bosh?

The Record talks to Nets fans about why they're not showing up at the Izod Center. Money quote: "Obviously, the team and the crowds have gotten a lot worse over the seven years," Walters said. "I’m considering whether to come back. It’s discouraging to watch a team with five wins. I used to come to every game no matter what. Now I pick and choose. Part of me feels like I already wasted my money to come here, do I want to waste my time, too?"

After the trade deadlines, Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News is getting the Canyon of Heroes ready for the 2010-2011 Knicks. Seriously.

John Krolik, of Cavs the Blog fame, breaks down the potential summer spenders over at NBC Sports.

Mark Ginocchio

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As the trade deadline passed, there were no trades announced by the Nets. There was a pretty big move announced today though, as the Nets have made it known that they reached an agreement and will be playing their games in the Prudential Center soon.  The Star-Ledger has the details:

After months of speculation over whether the struggling NBA team would leave Izod Center in the Meadowlands for a two-year stay at the new Prudential Center in Newark, a deal was struck today to allow the Nets to break their lease for $4 million and move to Newark, according to officials involved in the negotiations.

The early termination fees could be offset in part by advertising, suite revenue and other credits.

The agreement came after the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority voted in secret to approve the deal at a special meeting this morning. A formal announcement is expected later today by Gov. Chris Christie.

This is a great move for the Nets.  While there is no word on when the games are going to start being played in Newark, I am guessing it will be next year.  I know the move is only temporary, but you know that Free Agents would rather play anywhere other than the Izod Center.  I have also been in the Prudential Center (not as a fan), and I can say the locker-rooms and facilities are very very nice.  This is a good place to play while waiting for Brooklyn to get done.  I am not saying that the Prudential Center will draw fans on it's own, but it is much more attractive than the Izod.

Plus, this is better for the fans.  The Prudential Center is just blocks away from a train station.  This means that there is finally a way to get to Nets' games using mass transit, something that wasn't all that possible for the Meadowlands.  In the article, there was one final interesting note:

Additionally, the Nets agreed that it would not stand in the way of another NBA coming to New Jersey in the future -- which leaves the door open to another team coming to the Prudential Center should the Nets finally move to Brooklyn.

Not sure that it would actually ever happen (in my opinion it all depends on how the Nets draw in the Prudential Center), but can you imagine having two New York teams and a team in New Jersey?  That could be interesting as a fan...

Sebastian Pruiti

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Like just about every other Nets fan, I think that Brook Lopez needs more touches.  In fact, after last night's game, I was ready to blast Kiki and Brook's teammates for not getting him the ball enough.  To prove that he wasn't getting the ball enough, I went over to my favorite statistical website (HoopData.com) and I looked for Brook's Usage Rate, expecting to see it low compared to other NBA centers.  Well, I was very surprised with what I saw.  As it turns out, Brook Lopez is getting plenty of touches.  Among centers who get over 25 minuets per game (37 of them), Brook Lopez is 5th with a  Usage Rate of 23.73.  This is slightly below guys like Al Jefferson, Shaq, Tim Duncan, and Chris Kaman.  Brook is ahead of guys like Dwight Howard, David Lee, and Andrew Bogut.  The average usage rate among centers is 16.92.

Usage Rate measures the percentage of possessions used by the player.  While it isn't a perfect measure of a player's touches (it only counts possessions that directly end because of the player -  free throws turnovers, and shots), it is the best that we have at this point and time.

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Sebastian Pruiti

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AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

Hot Hot Hoops - Peninsula is Mightier

While no one has ever stopped me from writing my opinions on Nets Are Scorching, I've always sensed that there's been this unspoken rule about not outwardly ripping on a coach or specific coaching decisions. I get that. I've never been a professional coach. I've never played professional basketball. I'm just a guy who happens to follow the Nets, who also happens to write a blog about the Nets. It's a lot easier for me to judge what's right or wrong about a game-time situation 8 hours after the fact from the comfort of my living room couch.

I'm tempted to make an exception about this unspoken rule after last night's 87-84 Nets loss to the Miami Heat, but I'll try to honor the code and instead look at a very specific moment in the game and its aftermath. You could call this moment the turning point if you'd like. Otherwise, I'm going to do my best to withhold any value judgements. Just the facts ma'am.

At the 4:45 mark of the fourth quarter, and the Nets clinging to 80-74 lead, Kiki Vandeweghe took out Keyon Dooling, who had just converted a three-point play when he was fouled on a layup, and put in Courtney Lee, who was shooting 0-7 for the game. Over the next four and a half minutes, the Nets missed all of their field goal attempts, including two missed threes from Lee, who went on to shoot 0-9 for the night. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade for most of the game after he left in the first quarter with an injury, went on an 13-4 run to put the Nets away.

I understand that Keyon Dooling is far from an all-star, especially on a Nets team that would have won two games in a row for only the first time this season if they found a way to overcome their terrible finish. But, Dooling had come into the game at the 2:20 mark of the third and the Nets trailing 66-60. Dooling proceeded to score 10 of his 14 points during that 9+ minute stretch of play. On the aforementioned three point play, Dooling looked absolutely pumped after the foul, and his teammates seemed pumped by his performance as well.

Do you see where I'm going with this? In the game's critical closing minutes, the guy who perhaps playing the best and providing the most energy on the team in that exact moment, was sent to the bench in favor of a guy who hadn't hit an open shot all game. I know Courtney Lee is a part of the future of this franchise - he had a great game Tuesday night in Charlotte and I even noticed with about 90 seconds left last night he sprinted back on defense after Michael Beasley rebounded a Devin Harris shot attempt in order to stop a fast break attempt by Miami. But, I would have rather seen Dooling play out the last few minutes of the game, to see if the Nets could have put the Wade-less Heat away, in similar fashion to the way they distanced themselves from the Bobcats on Tuesday. Instead, we saw another Nets collapse. We saw the Nets lose another winnable game. We saw the Nets move one step closer to the worst of numbers in the NBA - 73, as in losses for a season, when the number 6 seemed a lot more plausible in the moment. It's taking me every last bit of restraint to not say what I truly feel about Kiki Vandeweghe right now.

More thoughts after the jump.
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Mark Ginocchio

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There's just something about the Nets losing these gut-wrenching games to the Miami Heat this season, huh? Tonight, the Nets lost a back and forth affair 87-84 at the Izod Center.

• The Heat were able to prevail playing most of the game without superstar Dwyane Wade who left with an injury early in the first quarter. Michael Beasley led the way for Miami, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. The Heat closed this game out on a 13-4 run.
• Devin Harris was in double digits early, but he finished with 18 points and 6 assists on 6-14 shooting.
• Courtney Lee had just an awful night, shooting 0-9 and scoring 2 points. In general, the Nets were awful from outside, shooting 1-15 from three.
• A double-double for Brook Lopez, who finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks.
• Rafer Alston was 0-5 in his long awaited return to New Jersey, but he gets props for a crafty defensive play on Devin Harris with seconds to go and the Heat up 3, as he pulled the string on Harris in the post, throwing Devo off, who then missed the shot.

Mark Ginocchio

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So a win huh?  That was pretty exciting.  I said it in the comments of one of the posts today that we shouldn't shrug off a win against the Bobcats as the Nets beating a crappy team.  The truth is that the Bobcats are a pretty quality opponent, and their loss to the Nets last night actually dropped them back to .500.  Oh and they beat the Heat by about 40 points a month ago (now I am not saying the Nets are 40+ points better than the Heat but this is just to say that the Bobcats are good).  So how did the Nets beat a quality team?  Well, they have been doing the same thing that they have been doing for the most part during this 7 game stretch.  The only difference was last night they did it for 4 quarters instead of three.

Moving onto tonight.  The Heat beat the Nets by 1, and they needed two incredibly lucky three pointers to do so.  I think that this is another game that the Nets can win, only if they play another full 48 minutes though..oh and oh yeah, the return of Rafer Alston!

Onto the lineups...

Devin Harris vs. Rafer Alston

Devin Harris looked like his former self last night.  The numbers don't really show it, but he was under control, and more importantly only tried to take over when he needed to.  He ran the offense correctly and was finding guys in proper spots.  He will be going against Rafer, who actually has been playing pretty well in Miami.  Hopefully all the bad vibes he had in the Izod Center return to him now that he is a visitor.

Advantage:  Devin Harris

Dywane Wade vs. Courtney Lee

Dywane Wade is playing some really good basketball, and he scares the crap out of me.  However Courtney has been playing well on both sides of the ball, so he might be able to hold Wade down.

Advantage:  Dywane Wade

Jarvis Hayes vs. Quentin Richardson

Mark pointed out to me that Hayes is averaging 10.6 PPG as a starter.  The most important thing to me is that he seems to be a stabilizing factor for this Nets lineup.  You know exactly what you are going to get from him.  A couple of threes, a couple of jumpers, and hard work on the court.  I love CDR and think he should play more, but he has been so inconsistent as of late.  You don't know if you are going to get the attacking CDR (that puts up a lot of points) or the passive CDR who only takes 2 shots in 30 minutes.  I think that is why Kiki is sticking with Jarvis here.

Advantage:  Push

Yi vs. Micheal Beasley

Beasley looked pretty good during the rookie-sophmore game, but his biggest problem is that it takes him a ton of shots to get his points.  With Dywane Wade on the same team as him, he isn't going to get the shots he needs to be a 20+ PPG scorer.  He still is a dangerous player though, and if he gets hot, he can really hurt the Nets.  Also, Yi seems to be the best match-up for him (I think he is too athletic for Hump), so that really scares me as well.

Advantage:  Micheal Beasley

Brook Lopez vs. Jermaine O'Neal

Brook was on his way to a really special game, but foul trouble seemed to derail that.  He gets another favorable match-up tonight too.  Jermaine O'Neal is too small to defend Brook in the block, so if he gets the ball in the post (and stays out of foul trouble) he has the chance to have a really big game.

Advantage:  Brook Lopez

Sebastian Pruiti

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The season is more than half over, yet the Nets are getting their first visit at the Izod Center from the Miami Heat tonight, which means we have our first Bloggers Talks of the season featuring Surya Fernandez from the TrueHoop blog, Hot Hot Hoops.

NAS: Since the Nets are one of those teams looking to spend this summer, we're obviously interested in what people think about the status of Dwyane Wade in Miami. Deep down, do you think he stays, or will he look to go elsewhere if the situation is right (like if he could go play with LeBron James in Brooklyn)?

If you would have asked me this before the season I would have been 50/50 on this but the more the season is progressing I'm more and more convinced that Wade, Lebron and (to a slightly lesser extent) Bosh will stay with their current teams. Yeah, I think Miami has an outside shot at convincing Bosh to sign with them and Lebron's ego is perhaps getting a bit too grandiose for Cleveland and would suit Brooklyn better but of the three I'm most convinced that Wade stays with Miami. Just because other teams could sign him doesn't mean their teams don't have just as many question marks as the Heat's roster does. But what makes Miami's situation so unique is that they have no bad contracts and are in prime position to reload their roster anyway Riley (or Wade) sees fit.

NAS: The Heat are clinging to one of the last playoff spots in the East and are around .500. Given the team's performance the past couple of years, do you get the sense that the franchise is in a bit of a holding pattern? Not good enough to win anything, but not bad enough to warrant blowing the whole thing up and starting again?

No question the Heat is in a holding pattern and many of the fans bemoan a sense of wasted years of Wade's prime. Heck, many fans (despite the championship!) still lament the Heat had to let go of a young Caron Butler and a resurgent Lamar Odom for Shaq. The Heat surprise no one that they're .500 and, at best, show flashes of overachieving. At least they have their "go-to" guy in Wade and he is capable of lifting their overall play against quality opponents.

NAS: With Cleveland reportedly close to trading for Amare Soutdemire, a name that's been linked to the Heat, is there anyone else out there on the trade market you feel is worth pursuing?

The Heat have too many plugs to fill on this roster and it just might be worth it to wait it out and be patient until the summer. As long as the player has an expiring contract, like Roger Mason or Kurt Thomas, I would offer anyone short of Wade and Beasley. I don't see the point in getting someone less than an All-Star at the moment because it most likely won't be enough to get the Heat out of the first round.

Mark Ginocchio

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It's an established fact that the ladies love Kris Humphries, as do Nets fans who enjoy aggressive, gritty players who aren't afraid to scrape for an offensive rebound, and shoot an ill-advised 17-foot jumper in the fourth quarter. However, Hump showed what a true fashionista he is during All-Star Weekend, when he donned a snazzy little outfit and walked the runway as part of a fashion show.

Mark Ginocchio

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