The Warriors knocked out the Nets with a heavy dose of David Lee. That’s right, the ex-Knickerbocker went off in his first game in Brooklyn, scoring 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter of a 109-102 Golden State victory.
Dec 072012
Dec 072012
NEW YORK (AP) — David Lee had 30 points and 15 rebounds, Stephen Curry scored 28 points, and the Golden State Warriors gave coach Mark Jackson a winning return to Brooklyn by beating the Nets 109-102 on Friday night.
Dec 062012
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Victor Cruz has some pointers on how to salsa for his good friend J.R. Smith, who did Cruz’s patented dance after hitting a game-winning shot at the buzzer to beat Charlotte on Wednesday.
“We got to go to the drawing board a little bit, it was a little stiff at the end,” Cruz joked. “We’ll get that squared away.”
Cruz and Smith grew up in New Jersey and even played AAU ball together when they were teenagers. After practice Wednesday, Cruz tuned in to watch Smith and the Knicks take on the Bobcats.
Dec 052012
Andray Blatche has the greatest of expectations for himself and the Nets. But that’s only for this season. The Nets center said he’d like to re-sign as a free agent next summer but understandably couldn’t commit to anything so early in the season.
Dec 052012
Brooklyn Nets small forward Gerald Wallace has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for committing his second violation of the league’s anti-flopping rules, the league announced Wednesday . He is the second NBA player to receive a flopping fine this season, following in the footsteps of trail-blazing teammate Reggie Evans, who two weeks ago became the first victim of the league’s new method of penalizing players who exaggerate or simulate contact in an attempt to draw phantom fouls against their opponents.
Wallace received his first warning from the NBA’s disciplinary office last Thursday, stemming from this play against Carmelo Anthony late in overtime during the Nets’ 96-89 win over the New York Knicks on Nov. 26:
The second violation — which, in accordance with the NBA’s newly instituted anti-flopping policy , triggers an automatic $5,000 fine — came as a result of this defensive play against LeBron James near the end of the third quarter of Brooklyn’s 102-89 loss to the Miami Heat on Dec. 1:
Dec 052012
The Brooklyn Nets (11-6) may have lost at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder (15-4) on Tuesday night, but that win proved to be something positive for the new-look Nets.
Brooklyn fell 117-111 to the powerhouse Thunder at the Barclays Center, but the Nets played extremely well in the second half.
After trailing 61-48 at halftime, the Nets mounted a comeback in the third quarter, outscoring the Thunder 38-29 to cut OKC’s lead to four points entering the fourth quarter.
And they did it all without starting center and leading-scorer Brook Lopez.
Lopez missed his third straight game with a sprained right foot (h/t NJ.com), meaning that Brooklyn was at a clear disadvantage without its top scorer and leading shot-blocker.
Still, the Nets managed to prove their worth as a legitimate NBA title contender by hanging tough with Oklahoma City as Deron Williams netted 33 points and dished out seven assists.
Andray Blatche—who usually comes off the bench to spell Lopez—scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a starting effort, as Brooklyn’s bench wasn’t as deep as usual with Lopez and Reggie Evans missing from the lineup.
Evans, who’s Brooklyn’s leading rebounder, missed Tuesday night’s game with the flu, according to ESPN.
If you factor in the fact that the Nets were without their leading scorer and their leading rebounder, you could make the argument that they would have beaten the Thunder.
Still, even in the loss, it’s clear to see that the Nets are ready to contend in the East this season.
Brooklyn sports four players scoring in double figures (Williams, Lopez, Blatche and Joe Johnson) and plays excellent defense, as it ranks No. 2 in points allowed, surrendering just over 91 PPG.
Having already beat the Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics twice, the Nets are beating contending teams and will only get more dangerous as they spend more time on the court together.
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Dec 042012
NEW YORK (AP) — Brook Lopez and Reggie Evans will miss Brooklyn’s game against Oklahoma City on Tuesday night, leaving the Nets without their leading scorer and top rebounder.
Dec 042012
As part of the “Punch List” year-end culture roundup in its December 2012 issue, GQ magazine asked hip-hop icon Jay-Z to identify the five coolest things about the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA franchise of which he owns a small part and which he helped revamp and reboot, leaving far behind its sub-chic New Jersey past in search of blacker, whiter and (at the gates and concessions) greener pastures. As you might expect, Jay — who turns 43 years old on Tuesday, so happy birthday, Hov — identified the jerseys and logos he helped design, the team’s unique herringbone-patterned home court , the rust-roofed but beautiful Barclays Center in which the Nets play, the swaggering borough in which it’s located and, naturally, himself (“Me? Ha, I am Brooklyn”).
While it doesn’t include the fact that the team itself is pretty cool right now — their 11-5 record gives them the East’s third-best mark, they rank ninth in the league in points scored per 100 possessions and 12th in the league in points-allowed-per-100 (last year’s swan-song version of the New Jersey Nets finished 23rd and 29th, respectively), they’re winning despite neither member of the much-ballyhooed Deron Williams/Joe Johnson backcourt looking consistently sharp, and they’ve already beaten the crosstown rival New York Knicks in their inaugural intra-city meeting — it is a pretty good list. If you really wanted to, though, you could also pick a handful of things about the Nets that, deep down, in the places you don’t talk about at parties (probably because you are not invited to very many parties), you all know aren’t very cool.
Well, I really wanted to. Here’s mine; feel free to weigh in with yours in the comments.
Dec 042012
Authorities say a New Jersey high school basketball player has died after collapsing during a team scrimmage. But it’s not yet clear what caused the death of Red Bank Regional High School student Albert Martin.
Dec 022012
I know how this looks. It looks as though the Philadelphia 76ers were bamboozled into trading Andre Iguodala and a first-round pick to land Andrew Bynum, who might not even play for the team this season and very well could sign elsewhere in the offseason.
In other words, it doesn’t look good for the Sixers.
But when you peel back the layers and really look at the possibility of Bynum barely playing this year, it’s the star center who comes out of this situation looking worse than the Sixers.
Let’s start by looking at this purely at the perspective of the Sixers. Even if Bynum doesn’t stick around, Philly needed to make a change. With Iguodala, Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young, the Sixers had an array of top-notch complementary players, but no real stars. Making a deal to land the second-best center in the league made sense in that regard.
And Iguodala had a big contract. Dumping that and freeing up cash to either retain Bynum or make another splash in free agency was the right move.
Even if Bynum doesn’t re-sign, it was time for Iggy to go. He wasn’t terribly popular with the fans, never fit the role of top gun in the offense and was being overpaid for filling the role of excellent defensive stopper, good athlete and above-average scorer.
The Sixers needed a go-to guy, and Iguodala was an elite role player.
No, it is Bynum who could suffer from this lengthy injury. For one, the Sixers own his Bird’s Rights, meaning they’re the only team that can offer him a five-year, max deal. If Bynum has burned bridges in Philly, he’s cost himself money and security.
But one wonders if Bynum’s shenanigans will limit his market value as well. Realistically, a center with his potential is going to get paid, but will he have as many suitors as he might have if he were more mature? Will he find he won’t get to choose his destination, as teams balk at his huge asking price?
We already know he was out bowling with a knee injury and caused more damage, which may have been innocent ignorance but also exhibited a lack of judgement. Bowling puts strain on the knees, and Bynum should have at least consulted someone before taking on the activity.
And his immaturity is hardly a new story. There was the three-point shooting fiasco last season, and who could forget Bynum elbowing JJ Barea in the playoffs two years ago after the Los Angeles Lakers were en route to being swept by the Dallas Mavericks?
Now, he’s engaged in a lawsuit and subsequent counter-suit by his neighbors, who have accused him of marijuana use, letting his dogs run free around the neighborhood, cranking his video games and music to incredibly loud levels and even waving a gun around at them, amongst other things.
Yikes.
At some point, you have to think many teams will say, “You know what, this guy is talented, but I don’t trust him enough to pay him as a franchise player. He’s not worth the investment.”
Remaining in Philadelphia is still the best option for both Bynum and the Sixers. He can earn the most lucrative contract there, he grew up in New Jersey, Doug Collins is the right man to keep Bynum focused and he’ll be the center of the offense in Philadelphia. It’s a good scene.
But if nothing else, the Sixers took a chance, dumped a big contract and still have a nice foundation in place with young talent.
It’s Bynum who has the most to lose in this situation. His immaturity and lingering injury concerns could cost him some serious cash this offseason. He had a good thing in Philadelphia, and if he’s blown that he may not find a better alternative in the market.
And all to go bowling. He may rue that decision for years to come.
Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets don’t know what’s up with that hair either.
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