The box score is here, if you hate yourself.
Five final thoughts:
- The Nets began the game 14-17 from the field in the first 10:30, and finished 17-68 in the final 37:30. It’s not like they were getting bad shots; the team shot an abysmal 15-42 inside the paint and missed countless open jumpers. Even after Kevin Garnett hit six shots in the first five minutes of the game, finally looking like the player the Nets thought they got in July, before finishing 8-19 from the field and racking up more shots than points. When this Nets team is good, they’re unstoppable. They just have to be good for more than six minutes at a time.
- For all the struggles the Nets have had last night — and all season — Shaun Livingston doesn’t fall in that category. Livingston was the only player hitting shots in last night’s game, and his ability to poke and prod and somehow get within ten feet of the basket with the utmost ease is stunning for a player that doctors once thought may never walk again. Livingston was hand-picked by coach Jason Kidd as the team’s backup point guard, and he signed for the veteran’s minimum.
The only sad part: the Nets won’t have any of his rights next year.
- The Nets heard boos from the rafters for the first time this season, and Andray Blatche responded with a step-back contested jumper. It’s still very early, but last season looks more like a fluke with each passing game.
- After last night, I’m not sure the Nets can defend anyone, least of all themselves for the way they left after the game. Kudos to Mason Plumlee, Jason Terry, and Shaun Livingston for accepting their role as sacrificial lambs to the horde of media carnivores, even though Terry’s actual defense left, um, something to be desired.
- Even though the loss was rough, it’s worth noting that the Nets played the hottest team in the NBA without their two best players and their sixth man. A loss was expected. But it’s the manner of the loss — a red-hot start, a complete dissipation, and radio silence afterwards — that makes it seem so much worse. Well, that and a 3-7 record. But against the Charlotte Bobcats, the Nets have a chance to right the ship.
