We are going to quickly get into the breakdowns today, and these are all going to be positive ones. Over the past two games the Nets have done a lot of things right offensively (Forget about the struggles against the zone. That will be getting it’s own post tomorrow). With a more aggressive Courtney Lee and a healthy Keyon Dooling and Devin Harris, the Nets have been clicking on offense for the most part (Yes the Nets struggled in the second half yesterday, but they put over 60 up in the first half). If they can keep this up, the Nets are going to pick up a few more wins very soon since this upcoming stretch has some very winnable games.
Game 19 vs. Charlotte
Nets & The Pick And Roll
Another post that I am working on is the ineffectiveness of the Nets when they run the pick and roll. This is because they have guys on their roster who don’t attack off the pick (besides Devin) and make themselves a threat. CDR does this a lot. He puts the ball on the floor too much, and they are meaningless dribbles too usually. Someone had to get in his ear though, because in Charlotte he was much more aggressive coming off ball screens:
Here is CDR coming off a side pick and roll with Brook. Brook sets a perfect screen like he usually does.
The Bobcats initially do a good job defending the screen, getting CDR to turn his back to Brook, who is rolling wide-open.
Previously, CDR would pull the ball out here and try to swing it, but here CDR stays aggresive. He does a great job of getting to the baseline and driving. This forces the Bobcats’ defender to make a decision, either stay with Brook or allow CDR to make the lay-up.
The defender tries to stop CDR, leaving Brook wide open for the big dunk.
Brook And Help Defense
Dooling’s first game back was Friday against the Bobcats and while he only went 1-4, just the threat of him being able to make a shot forces the defense to do some things that they wouldn’t do if it was say Trenton Hassell or Bobby Simmons out there.
Here, Brook is posting up with CDR getting the ball up top. Brook has just been dominating Tyson Chandler when he gets the ball, so the Bobcats need to find a way to keep him from getting it. Usually the help defender covering Dooling at the three point line would be in the passing lane, helping out on Brook. Since they respect his shot, Tyson Chandler now has no help so he needs to front him.
Brook feels Chandler trying to front him and just rolls backdoor on him. CDR recognizes it and throws him the lob for another big dunk.
Game 20 vs. New York
Courtney Lee’s Aggressiveness With Keyon Dooling
Keyon Dooling seemed more comfortable out there against the Knicks yesterday. He went 4-7 including 1-2 from 3. His shooting ability stretches out the court and prevents the defense from bunching up in the middle:
Here Courtney Lee catches the ball on a swing and puts his head down ready to attack. He can get into the lane because of where Dooling’s defender is. If that is Bobby Simmons or Trenton Hassell, the defender would be on the elbow. It doesn’t seem like that big of a difference, but that little space gives Lee just enough room to slip in there on the drive.
Since Lee was able to get into the lane, this forces CDR’s man to come down and help. Courtney Lee recognizes this and makes the kick.
CDR gets the wide-open 3 and knocks it down. The Nets don’t have a lot of great shooters, so getting guys like CDR wide-open like this is key. Getting wide open like this makes everyone a better shooter.
It was a little disappointing to see the Nets drop a winnable game against the Knicks, but there were a lot of great things in the game that makes me optimistic about the next few. Courtney Lee needs to be more aggressive though if they want to get some wins. He only took 5 shots and he didn’t attack the basket as much as I would like to see (when he did attack the basket, good things happened). Maybe some of it had to do with the zone…
