Brooklyn Nets forward Gerald Wallace will miss his sixth straight game Thursday against the Boston Celtics due to a sprained left ankle.
Nov 152012
Nov 122012
Nets coach Avery Johnson has called Gerald Wallace the second most important player on the team, behind Deron Williams, because he is key to the team’s defense.
Nov 092012
Brookyln Nets forward Gerald Wallace will miss Friday’s game with due to ankle injury.
Nov 082012
The Brooklyn Nets have a big problem defensively, that’s no secret. However, Billy King and I on different sides of the coin in thinking that the Brooklyn Nets can improve on the defensive end. There’s a lot of time left for this team to grow and a lot of defensive experimentation that can be done, but they can’t wait too long.
Brooklyn has been thrashed by Miami, completely collapsed against Minnesota and pulled out a win over Toronto in their home opener. Not once have the held their opponent under 100 points. There are problems that need fixed and possibly some players that need to be replaced.
First let’s take a minute to point out the obvious about their defense. What, exactly, is wrong with it?
Well for starters they’ve got a front line that is terrible defensively. They’ve got Kris Humphries to grab some rebounds, but that’s really his best defensive quality. Aside from rebounding he’s capable of playing a mediocre defensive game on his best nights, but he’s easily backed down and his footwork is best when he’s boxing out.
Then there’s Brook Lopez. Lopez is a wonder offensively and a legitimate scorer. However, on the other end of the floor he might as well not be there. He’s a big, moving tackling sled and not much more than that. He’s easily backed down and has no idea how to consistently position himself to grab rebounds.
Going down the line of the rest of the team, only three or four guys really stand out as players who are good defenders.
Deron Williams and Joe Johnson are pretty good on-ball defenders, Gerald Wallace is a hound dog whenever he’s on the court, always pestering his man and getting a hand in on a pass or a shot, and Reggie Evans is just nasty.
The biggest problem their defense has is that they’re missing Wallace, who is out on a day-to-day basis after spraining his ankle against Toronto.
Otherwise, C.J. Watson is historically a better defender than he’s showed so far this season, as is Keith Bogans.
The problem is that their best defensive big man happens to be atrocious on offense. If he’s out on the floor for more than 20 minutes a game, he ends up being a net loss. He’s not so good defensively that he can shore them up well enough so that his offensive ineptitude is completely negated.
Brooklyn is itching for a big man that can at least finish around the basket on offense and play long enough to make a discernible difference.
Even if Zach Lowe thinks there has been some improvement in Lopez’s defense so far this season there’s not enough he can improve this season to make this team play well defensively.
Few players in the league mistime jumps as often, or float indecisively when a pick-and-roll is coming his way. What’s worst, however, is his indecisiveness in the post. There seems to be an occasion every game when he can’t decide between taking a mid-ground and hedging to stop a pass or sticking hard on his man and keeping a pass from happening.
These are things that can be fixed and working with Billy King, a smart defensive mind, is a good way to help him with that, but he’s not going to turn into a show stopper overnight.
Something that I’ll be interested to see is whether or not Brooklyn is able to land one of the handful of good defensive veterans without jobs.
There are two obvious guys still out there who deserve a look by Brooklyn, both of whom can help them out.
First there’s Kenyon Martin. Not nearly the offensive threat he used to be, but he’s still physical and athletic in the post, capable of stepping in front of cutters and altering shots quite often.
Then there’s a guy who has had his problems in the past, but has always benefited the teams that give him a chance. Delonte West is not only still an effective offensive player, but he’s a perimeter defender with an attitude (in a good way). There’s something about the way that he plays guys that gets them frustrated, usually resulting in mental mistakes.
Unless they add someone to this team who is a legitimate defender, there’s no way they can put together a defense good enough to win a title.
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Nov 072012
It’s not just the Boston Celtics and Doc Rivers who are infatuated with the Miami Heat. The Brooklyn Nets admitted it recently when they talked about how their roster has been evolving. They were built specifically with the Heat in mind.
Howard Beck of the New York Times reported that the Nets focused on point guard and center because that’s where the Heat were weak. In addition, Nets general manager Billy King had this to say:
“My thought was looking at Miami, because they were the team. I had to build a team that I thought could compete.”
It’s an excellent game plan for beating one specific team, but there are 28 other teams in the NBA that the Nets will have to beat. The combination of Deron Williams and Brook Lopez stacks up well to most of them.
Any time a team gets into a mindset about individual matchups, problems arise. The most glaring issue is chemistry. A team of All-Stars sounds terrific, but if they can’t learn how to play together and best utilize their strengths, they will fail.
Depth also remains an issue. Gerald Wallace is the team’s leader in energy and hustle, but after he got hurt in the first game, there was a severe dropoff to journeyman Keith Bogans.
Wallace is also the Nets’ defensive stopper who was brought in specifically to deal with the tough wings at the top of the Eastern Conference like LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony and Danny Granger.
There was a noticeable lack of energy without Wallace on the floor, as the Nets lost a 22-point lead to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second game of the 2012-13 season.
Joe Johnson spoke after the loss about Wallace’s absence and didn’t want to use it as an excuse, but noted that it highlights Wallace’s value to the team:
“No excuses about Gerald Wallace being here, but those are situations why we feel so strong about Wallace.”
When asked specifically about the Heat and why Wallace was one of their prized signings, King confirmed the strategy was to “at least neutralize the battle.” King then added:
“You’re not going to stop those guys. You just got to try to take things away from them and force them to do things they’re not comfortable doing.”
Although Deron Williams is the best player on the Nets and the one hardest to replace, Wallace could be considered a close second because the Nets are already going to struggle defensively.
Kris Humphries and Lopez aren’t defensive stalwarts in the paint. They aren’t going to mimic Dwight Howard and come off their man to block and alter shots as if they knew it was coming. That’s another main reason why Wallace is so important. He can guard his man in a one-on-one situation, allowing the others to stay home.
The Nets aren’t expected to unseat the Heat this year, but they’ll have a close eye on them. Their first matchup of the 2012-13 season comes on Wednesday, November 7 in Miami. It’s a measuring stick game for the Nets, and even though they were built to beat the Heat, their lack of chemistry and health means it’s not going to happen so soon.
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Nov 072012
Brooklyn Nets small forward Gerald Wallace will miss his second straight game on Wednesday night against the Miami Heat due to a sprained left ankle, the team announced.
Nov 052012
Nets small forward Gerald Wallace will miss Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a sprained left ankle. Veteran Keith Bogans will start in his place.
Nov 052012
Brooklyn Nets small forward Gerald Wallace is out for Monday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves because of a sprained left ankle, according to ESPN New York.
Nov 042012
Brooklyn Nets small forward Gerald Wallace sprained his ankle in the team’s Saturday night game against the Toronto Raptors.
He is not expected to miss significant time, and ESPN New York’s Mike Mazzeo reports that he is “listed as day-to-day” and that “X-rays on Wallace’s ankle were negative.”
Late in the game against the Raptors, Wallace suffered the injury in an all too common way. He leaped in the air and landed on Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry’s foot, twisting his ankle when hitting the floor.
This was the season opener for the Nets, and the 30-year-old swingman filled up the stat sheet, as he is expected to do this season. He shot 50 percent from the field and put up 10 points while also contributing six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
The Nets traded for Wallace last season and made him an important part of their revamped roster by singing him to a four-year, $40 million deal in the offseason.
He averaged 15.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 16 games for the Nets last season, but will have a reduced role in the offense after the arrival of Joe Johnson. Wallace can still thrive in this situation, as he is an excellent defender and rebounder.
He provides size, athleticism and leadership for Brooklyn as the team tries to reach the postseason for the first time since the 2006-07 season. He will be a key part to the team’s success. The Nets will certainly hope that the injury does not cause any lingering problems and that Wallace will be back on the court shortly.
Check back to this page for updates on his injury going forward.
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Nov 042012
The Brooklyn Nets opened their season and christened their new arena in the right fashion, with a 107-100 home victory over the division-rival Toronto Raptors. The win comes on the heels of the would-be opener against the New York Knicks being canceled due to Hurricane Sandy.
The win featured efficient performances from point guard Deron Williams (19 points and nine assists on 14 shots) and center Brook Lopez (27 points on 17 shots).
Nets new star shooting guard Joe Johnson praised the crowd and the environment:
Let’s just start with the fact that we’re in Brooklyn now and it’s a big difference. You saw the crowd tonight, even under the circumstances. Not only did we have a sellout, they were into the game.
Johnson put up 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in his first game as a Net.
The one sour note on the night was the injury to veteran small forward Gerald Wallace in the fourth quarter. Wallace sprained his left ankle and is listed as day-to-day, according to ESPN. He suffered the injury with 27.7 seconds remaining in the game on an attempt to block a layup from Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry.
Wallace will hopefully return to practices and games quickly. He will need time to learn to play with all of his new teammates. Acquired late in the 2011-12 season, he has only played 17 games in a Nets uniform. Moreover, he has never started a game alongside Brook Lopez prior to this season. In a lot of ways, Wallace is playing with a brand new team this season.
Despite being an All-Star and an All-NBA Defensive First Team member in 2010, Wallace does not get the kind of attention generally received by All-Stars. He had a fantastic 2009-10 season with the Charlotte Bobcats.
He led the Bobcats offensively and defensively to the only playoff berth in their franchise history. It is often overlooked how big the drop-off has been for the Bobcats in the two years since they traded away Wallace.
If the Nets are to be contenders in the East this year, Wallace will have to be a big part of that. He is their best defensive player—not only on the perimeter—and can be a strong facilitator on offense.
The Nets will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night in what will likely be their first game without Gerald Wallace.
Adam Waksman is a featured columnist for the Bleacher Report New York Jets community. Be sure to follow Adam on Twitter to receive updates right away.
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