 |
DeShawn Stevenson, SG 23 MIN | 0-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | +1
Drew a couple charges, but he’s a three-point specialist that can’t shoot threes and a defensive specialist that can’t defend. |
 |
 |
Kris Humphries, PF 38 MIN | 11-14 FG | 2-2 FT | 10 REB | 3 AST | 24 PTS | +6 Hit his first eight shots, and they weren’t all dunks — four came from 12-19 feet. Attacked in the first quarter, scoring eight quick, aggressive points and swatting a Darren Collison fast break layup into the seventh row. Dunked on and around players at all stages of the game. Bothered David West enough to render him ineffective after the first quarter. Star of New Jersey’s game. |
 |
 |
Shelden Williams, PF 34 MIN | 3-6 FG | 2-2 FT | 9 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS | -6
Love that he’s trying. Love that he hits the floor and fights for position. Love that he cares. And can’t wait to see him coming off the bench again. |
 |
 |
Deron Williams, PG 42 MIN | 10-24 FG | 8-9 FT | 6 REB | 4 AST | 29 PTS | +2
Got to the rim, got clobbered on a few attempts, and didn’t get many calls. Then, cussed out Joey Crawford on a bad out-of-bounds call, got hit with a technical, and got a call the next play. Progress! When he looked to create it was mostly for himself first, which given the circumstances lately, makes sense. Dropped 17 points in the first half and an F-bomb on Joey Crawford. Hit shots and layups late to keep the game close. |
 |
 |
MarShon Brooks, G 32 MIN | 6-16 FG | 1-1 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 14 PTS | +1
Fired up more contested shots than you’d like, and it appears his three-point shooting is regressing to the mean. After a fantastic start to the season in turnover rate, has committed 10 turnovers in the past two games. For what it’s worth, he led the game in assists at the half with four. Nick Young’s had four assists or more 11 times in 325 complete games. #GentlemensNickYoung |
|
 |
Andre Emmett, SG 9 MIN | 1-1 FG | 1-2 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 3 PTS | -1
Hit the weirdest leaner I’ve seen in a while in the third quarter. He reminds me of a bulkier, passer Chris Douglas-Roberts with a weirder shot. It doesn’t help that they have the same number, either. Got switched onto Danny Granger when Brooks got in foul trouble and didn’t make a difference either way. |
 |
 |
Anthony Morrow, SG 23 MIN | 3-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS | -9
Didn’t draw any charges, but he’s a three-point specialist that can shoot threes. And for that, we salute you, Anthony Morrow. |
|
Five Things We Saw
- Really sloppy game tonight. Both teams missed layups, dunks, dribbled onto the floor aimlessly, bobbled passes, threw passes out of bounds, airballed jumpers, didn’t run offenses. Got sloppier as the night went on. It’s almost like a team that had lost seven straight was playing a team on a third end of a back-to-back-to-back or something.
- The zone didn’t look as strong tonight as it did against Memphis — on the few plays I noted them using it, they collapsed up top too much and gave up open three-pointers. The Pacers didn’t shoot nearly as well as I’d expect given the looks they’d gotten.
- Turnover rate and offensive rebounding made the difference again. The Nets snared six fewer offensive rebounds and gave up seven more turnovers. That’s a -13 in my invented “possession preservation” rating.
- For a complex, nuanced sport, there’s an awful lot of possessions that basically come down to “hey, that big dude is bigger than that other big dude.” Enter Roy Hibbert, a talented center who’s also much taller than the Nets’ tallest players. I hate to sound like a broken record, but man, this team misses the crap out of Brook Lopez. With Brook out there replacing Shelden Williams, Shelden Williams can then replace Johan Petro. Then, hopefully a healthy Mehmet Okur can replace Shelden Williams, and Shelden Williams can then replace Johan Petro again while taking on his intended duties as Kris Humphries’ backup. And so on down the line.
- Off the topic of basketball, but there’s no better local announcing crew in the NBA than Ian Eagle and Mike Fratello. If only they had the team they deserve.
