LOOK AT MIGHTY MASE. Put down slams in the first half with ease, hit a pretty layup through contact near the end of the third quarter, scored at the rim against Lob City throughout, and brought his now-expected patent energy off the bench. His biggest struggle at this point: he missed his first five free throws before finally hitting on a pair in the fourth quarter.
Struggled putting the ball in the basket, especially on those short jumpers (the last one notwithstanding). But every time he dunks it’s a welcome sight and a reminder of how far he’s come.
Shot well early, hitting threes and drawing a foul on a three-pointer, and hit two threes to start the third quarter. I’m going to sound like a broken record by December, but Anderson may have the purest shot on the team, and he’ll hit wide-open looks more often than not.
Like Livingston, struggled to score throughout, especially balancing isolations with spot-ups, but also did an admirable job facilitating the offense and making the right pass if the double-team came. Hit a shot in the clutch, but didn’t hit a contested 3 that could’ve brought the lead within one.
The Greatest Show in Sports. Blatche hit his first midrange jumper, giving him license to shoot them at will, which he did… and he made them at will. With Mason Plumlee patrolling the paint, Blatche hung outside, setting up for high pick-and-pops and hitting midrange shots nonstop. Blatche was arguably Brooklyn’s best offensive player tonight, unless you put Plumlee up there. Did you imagine hearing that in October?
A Joker game the Nets desperately needed: tons of rebounds, very few shot attempts, and just enough fouls to wear down Los Angeles’s frontcourt, but had two rough fouls in the fourth quarter that changed the game’s momentum
Got early playing time in the first quarter with Williams out and Kidd adjusting his point guard depth chart to put Taylor ahead of Alan Anderson, and played aggressive. Got into the lane on many occasions and hit his one (wide open) three-pointer. His aggressiveness led to foul trouble, though.
His time may be running out.
