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Gerald Wallace, SF 44 MIN | 7-16 FG | 8-9 FT | 18 REB | 5 AST | 24 PTS | +3
What an unbelievable performance from Gerald Wallace, and the crazy thing is, he actually played better than his statline showed. Just a monster on the glass, in the paint, behind the arc, chasing loose balls, fighting for rebounds; it was a pure joy to watch. He is a hustler/energy guy who is actually useful and completely earned his Crash nickname tonight. For three and a half quarters, he was the only Net that was keeping me awake, but then the game took over, and the energy of Crash was much of the reason the game elevated. |
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Johan Petro, C 25 MIN | 4-10 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 0 AST | 8 PTS | -9
He earned the chance to start and didn’t completely mess it up. He missed his usual Petro misses, but grabbed some important rebounds and made some good slams. He is so frustrating to watch, because for someone of his size and strength, he should dominate. He just doesn’t. |
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Kris Humphries, PF 41 MIN | 8-12 FG | 4-6 FT | 9 REB | 1 AST | 20 PTS | +8
It was tough to watch him come out of the first half after a pretty defeating performance against David Lee. Somehow, he managed, and had an excellent second half. He could have been more dominant on the glass, but he still was a good scoring option for Deron down low. |
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Deron Williams, PG 40 MIN | 2-13 FG | 4-6 FT | 2 REB | 20 AST | 9 PTS | +5
An incredibly strange D-Will performance. He didn’t make a field goal until the fourth quarter, which you read and think, “D-Will’s checked out,” until you look at his assists. He was distributing all night, hitting his open guys, finding those looks, setting up plays. He was extra special finding guys down low, and in creating chemistry with Wallace and Green. I’ve got absolutely no qualms with him tonight, his misses are forgettable when you watch what he did in the fourth. But, you can’t shoot 2-13 and expect an A+. |
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Gerald Green, SG 28 MIN | 8-12 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 20 PTS | +18
Phenomenal fourth quarter. Just when I thought the Nets were out, Green, D-Will and Wallace bring me right back in. Hit crucial jumpers throughout the last five minutes, including a game-turner with 51 seconds remaining. Well done sir. |
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Five Things We Saw
- Was that the strangest Nets game of the season? In a game where Deron Williams was virtually useless shooting the ball, where Gerald Wallace led the game in rebounding, where Johan Petro actually contributed, and where the Nets — who were down by fourteen entering the fourth — came away with a last second win, I’m going to say it was. Utter craziness.
- Avery Johnson went with some interesting lineups tonight, not really by choice. Gaines at the one, D-Will at the two, coupled with Hump at the five and Crash at the four. They played pretty small. Good thing they were playing Golden State, who are a pretty small team themselves, so it didn’t matter as much as it could have.
- Is there anything else you can say about Gerald Wallace? He was just all over the floor tonight and it was pretty incredible to watch. Nights like these may make us reconsider hating the trade for just a few hours. I am sure we will snap back down to Earth tomorrow, but let’s just all be thankful if we can get this kind of play every once and a while.
- The same Nets who got completely blown out by Utah on Monday, just followed it up with back-to-back wins versus the “good” bad teams. A strange season all around, especially with odd wins when we are supposed to be tanking.
- Certainly a lot to like about a game like tonight, but one thing that is worth noting is that Golden State absolutely dominated the paint. Sure, most of this is attributed to the Nets not having a true center on the court all game, but when they go back and watch this tape, finding ways to maximize points under the basket will be a good way to start fixing issues of always having to come from behind. The first quarter was especially brutal in the post.
