Thunder vs. Nets: Why Brooklyn’s Tight Loss Proves They’re Legit Contenders

 Brooklyn  No Responses »
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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NBA Finals 2012: Oklahoma City Thunder Shouldn’t Go Back to Drawing Board

 Rumors  No Responses »
Jun 242012
 

The initial instinct after postseason disappointment is for coaches and front-office management to think through a litany of long-term adjustments, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are no exception.

Forget that this club ended the San Antonio Spurs‘ winning streak with four straight wins of their own. Forget that the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers appeared hopeless in the face of their younger opposition.

The reactionaries of the sporting world will call for changes—perhaps not an overhaul, but changes nonetheless.

It didn’t take long for general manager Sam Presti to dispute rumors about OKC attempting to land a big-name coach like Phil Jackson (according to the Associated Press, per NJ.com).

Nor should it. The Thunder weren’t blown out of the water in the NBA Finals by any stretch of the imagination, at least until Game 5. Taken as a whole, the series was closely contested, and the outcome could have changed dramatically if a couple of shots went in or a few calls went the other way.

That’s basketball.

These finals were hardly a referendum on who qualifies as the best team in the league, and they’re still less relevant as a prognostication for next season. At the end of the day, they were simply a barometer for who got hot at the right time.

Just as the Spurs hit an untimely rut in the Western Conference finals, so too did the Thunder a series later.

Could the Thunder be a little bit better?

Sure, and the same goes for the other 29 teams. But, most of that improvement will come from within. The club must learn how to get Kevin Durant more than the 20-25 shots he was taking in each game of the finals.

They also must find ways to keep its half-court ball movement clicking against quick defensive teams like the Heat.

As successful as these guys have been, it’s easy to forget that Durant and Russell Westbrook are still just 23 years old. James Harden and Serge Ibaka are just 22, so perhaps they can be forgiven for their untimely disappearing acts.

The worst thing this organization could do is pursue an offseason agenda of endless tinkering. If Westbrook isn’t the right point guard for this team—despite his undisputed talent as a scorer—now is the time to move him and never look back.

If it’s financially impossible to retain the likes of Harden, Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins down the road, this offseason may be a good time to address those situations as well.

Otherwise, OKC should keep building on what’s proven to be a rapidly successful formula. Those calling for more drastic measures have fallen prey to the kind of short-attention spans that don’t make for effective roster management.

Fortunately for this organization, Sam Presti appears to know better.

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Brooklyn Nets merch surpasses NJ in one day

 Rumors  No Responses »
Jun 162012
 

Arun Morace
According to a report by CNBC’s Darren Rovell, it took one day for the Brooklyn Nets to surpass the merchandise sales of the New Jersey Nets for the 2011-12 season. This is not a joke.
On April 30th, 2012, the day the New Jersey Nets officially became the Brooklyn Nets, they sold more merchandise than their New Jersey incarnation did during the entire 2011-12 season.
As if that wasn’t enough, the CNBC report cites Nets CEO Brett Yormark, who said that in the first two days of the Brooklyn Nets existence, their total merchandise sales from those two days amounted to ten times as much merchandise sold in a typical year for the New Jersey Nets.
Looks like Nets fever has caught on well in Brooklyn. While the team may not the most promising squad in the NBA (they went 22-44 last year), it appears as though there is no danger of them playing in front of anything less than a sell-out crowd…at least for now.

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JR Smith Takes Twitter To Hint His Offseason Plan?

 New York  No Responses »
May 142012
 

I think I’m going to build my house in #NJ this summer! #random
@TheRealJRSmith
JR Smith

I’m not sure this is a good thing or a bad thing for Knicks fans. JR is from Jersey, but this may be a possible indication that he is thinking of picking up his player option.

After his struggles in the game 5, do you even want JR back? Let me know on Twitter @Brad_Wolff

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to relocating Nets: ‘Goodbye … good riddance’ (VIDEO) (Ball Don’t Lie)

 Orlando  No Responses »
Apr 242012
 

The New Jersey Nets played their final home game — a 105-87 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers — in Newark, NJ on Monday night , trotting out various ex-Net stars and semi-stars in a sold out event to top off an otherwise disappointing season. Fans of the team have certainly taken in more than their fair share of those over the years, but this one came with an added twist or two. The first came in the realization that the Nets, after moving to New Jersey from Long Island back in 1976, would be moving to Brooklyn for the start of the 2012-13 season. The second came in a series of pointed comments from outspoken New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who lashed out at the team for purportedly not enjoying the newish arena they were allowed to play in for two years in Newark, telling the team “good riddance” as they moved along.
The Newark native was in town to sign a bill, and it was clear by the applause at his news conference that his constituents more than approved of his message. Watch the video:

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