Here is a statline from tonight’s game: 24 minutes, 14 points, 5-15 FG, 2-6 3PT, 5 REB, 1 TO, 1 BLK. Can you guess who it is?
No, not Deron Williams, Jason Terry, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, or anyone else you can think of who would take six three-pointers in a basketball game. It’s Andray Blatche’s — yes, that Andray Blatche — the 7-foot, 22% career three point shooter.
Blatche certainly made his presence felt in this game, for better or for worse. Whether it was step-back fadeaway airballs or wide open, awkward looking three pointers that somehow went in the basket, Blatche put on a comedy show for the larger-than-anticipated crowd in TD Garden tonight.
Other than Blatche, there wasn’t much to extract from this game with the entire starting lineup sitting on the bench (or eating at a restaurant) and the competition being a bottom-of-the-barrel NBA team.
Jason Terry made his debut and looked rusty at the start: throwing errant passes and missing some jumpers. But as the JET settled in, Nets fans were able to see what the former 6th-man of the year can bring to the table. Terry knocked down shots, came off screens, and played good defense — not bad for his first preseason game coming off offseason knee surgery.
As for the final score, the Nets lost 101-97. Though the 4th/3rd unit put together a slight run at the end of the game, they were unable to get the win.
The Nets play their 6th and final preseason game on Friday in Miami. LeBron James is not expected to play.