Late Run Isn't Enough as Nets Fall to Thunder
by NetsDaily on Mar 12, 2010 10:34 PM EST
in Game Recaps
27 comments
The Nets have just 17 games left to get those three wins they need to avoid making history. Friday's loss in Oklahoma City was another one of those games where a big run from the Nets' opponent basically decided the game. The Thunder took control with an 18-2 run in the first quarter and the Nets didn't threaten until late in the fourth. They went on a 18-7 run to cut the Thunder lead down to four with 1:32 left in the game, but they came up empty on their next two trips down the floor and Oklahoma City closed them out at the free throw line.
The Thunder shot 52 percent from the field and were led by Kevin Durant's 32 points and Jeff Green's 27. Devin Harris led five Nets in double-figures with 19 points, adding eight assists. Jarvis Hayes caught fire late and finished with 16 points, Keyon Dooling added 15 points and seven assists, and Terrence Williams finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Courtney Lee, suffering from a sprained thumb on his shooting hand, shot 2-for-9 and finished with six points.
- Boxscore - NBA.com
- Game Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- No style points awarded in Thunder's win over Nets - Randy Renner - NBA.com
- Durant sets franchise mark for 30-point games - AP
- Nets are swept down the plains in Oklahoma City - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Jeff Green leads OKC past New Jersey - Darnell Mayberry - Daily Oklahoman
- Thunder notebook: Close call against Nets; Kyle Weaver will get opportunity with James Harden out - Mike Baldwin - Daily Oklahoman
- Thunder barometer: Where they stand - Darnell Mayberry - Daily Oklahoman
- James Harden to miss up to four weeks - Darnell Mayberry - Daily Oklahoman
- Thunder cling to two point win over Nets - J.G. Marking - Daily Thunder
- Oklahoma City Thunder not your typical team - J.A. Adande - ESPN
- From the Booth (Video) - Marv Albert & Mike Fratello - YES Network
- Kiki Vandeweghe Press Conference (Video) - YES Network
- Devin Harris Interview (Video) - YES Network
- Nets' Comeback Falls Short Again - Al Iannazzone - The Nets Insider
- Despite fighting back, Nets earn another defeat - Julian Garcia - New York Daily News
- NBA Courtside Blog - Nets at Thunder - Susan Bible - HoopsWorld
- Assist of the Night - Russell Westbrook (Video) - NBA.com
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These close games do prove that we are not far away from being a playoff team. Just a few pieces
by Ryan243 on Mar 12, 2010 10:50 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I hear ya. But honestly didn’t really feel that close, even at the end.
by NetsJetsFan on Mar 12, 2010 10:51 PM EST up reply actions
Only watched pieces as mainly watching college next 2 weeks but this game really highlights our need for a legit starting pf. We really are getting nothing out of the forward positions but twill can play the 3 for us next season if we don’t upgrade the position in draft or free agency.
by Ryan243 on Mar 12, 2010 10:49 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Better we lose then win..at least we are closer to John Wall.
Our 3 and 4 are so weak, I sometimes wonder are these the worst in NBA history.
Boone, Hump (half season) Yi, hassel, simmons. Just terrible 3 and 4 guys. They can’t score or play defense.
No extra ping pong balls
…for being the worst team in history… Let’s win some damned games already… 10 wins… PLEASE!
by Paul G. B. (formerly Paul B) on Mar 12, 2010 11:24 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah he's a scrub
Yi is much better and if we are to trade one it must be Brook.
by Belarus4life on Mar 13, 2010 10:32 AM EST up reply actions
We're far from becoming a playoff team
@Ryan243
This is the NBA, every bad team can beat good teams on certain nights, not just come close. Take Golden State beating opponents like Portland/Dallas/Atlanta earlier in the season, and Minnesota beating teams Utah/Dallas/Denver earlier in the season. I don’t think they’re becoming serious contenders in the near future. So it’s most likely the Nets still have a long rebuilding process ahead with more losing seasons.
I tend to think we are not as far away as you think. We will have a real NBA coach next season which is worth 5 extra games minimum. We are going to land one of the top prospects come June so at the very least we will have more firepower in our starting lineup and a deeper bench (if wall or turner, lee becomes a bench player). We should get at least a rotation guy from one of our other two picks and bring in a second tier free agent. And the East is not ad competitive as the West.
by Ryan243 on Mar 13, 2010 12:05 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I know this is off subject but...
did y’all vote in the poll for which fmr NET we’d like to see win a title? Why is Kidd getting so many votes. He screwed us over at the end… Not saying he’s not one of the best ever, but shouldn’t we be rooting more for guys like RJ an Vince who never complained about being here and showed a desire to stay?
by Paul G. B. (formerly Paul B) on Mar 12, 2010 11:26 PM EST reply actions
Meh I understand Kidd didn't leave under the most amicable circumstances
but Ratner quit on the team before Kidd did. I can’t be mad at a player like Kidd at his age wanting nothing to do with a team who’s owner was drastically cutting costs and had 0 commitment or interest in winning. I imagine even the classiest NBA players at Kidd’s age in that situation would force themselves out if they had too.
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
Brook is tired
Brook has played in every game this season, I honestly think he is getting tired he’s been the focal point every game for teams getting beat up on every day. I think he just might be running out of steam my thoughts.
i agree....
brook has given all he could this season…and it though when all the effort doesnt result in wins.
Brook is tired...
…of not getting the ball when he sets up in the post, of not getting the lob on the fast break, of watching DH shoot 3’s with 16 secs on the shot clock. He’s tired of the 2009-2010 Nets.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then.
by John at the Jersey Shore on Mar 13, 2010 8:53 AM EST up reply actions
DH = shoot first, pass later.
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then.
by John at the Jersey Shore on Mar 13, 2010 8:55 AM EST up reply actions
I wonder if there's a way to see how many points a team has given up at each postion
I get the feeling that 3 and 4 players have career nights against us on a regular basis.
"We have a plan, and our plan, I like our plan'
it's Omar's world, we're just livin in it.
Our Forwards Are Awful
This says everything. Boone and Hassell have no game. THE HUMPH has tailed off. TWILL doesn’t play as a forward, but at least has something. Boy, did OKC get lucky in drafting Durant, he is one of the top five players in the league right now. IF OKC had the first pick, they would have taken “INJURED ODEN” and he’d be out, injured, again. *Unless we get the first pick, I want to pick Cousins. We need a PF. All things considered, this wasn’t a terrible game. Too bad LEE keeps getting injured with something, if he had shot better, we might have been in this game, and not just in the last two minutes. AND yes, I think Brook looks tired too. We have no backup center, another serious need for the off season. GO NETS!
Paul
Delray Beach, FL
by DelrayBeachPaulie on Mar 13, 2010 6:31 AM EST reply actions
Brook
My dad came to visit and maybe watches 3 games a year. He was NOT impressed by Lopez. 1-2 bad games here and there is one thing, but he’s hit the rookie wall! He shouldn’t be hitting the rookie wall! A forced fade away to start the game!?1?1?
My fav part, Brook was calling for the ball and when Devin passed to Hayes instead(rightly so, because Brook was covered)… Hayes shoots- meantime Brook now like shruggs, sulks, looks pissed and upset he didn’t get the ball, starts walking away. Then The ball goes in… everyone else gives some sort of fist pump or something, but there Brook is, still sulking.
Brook
I don’t think that Brook is tired, I think that teams are defending him better and taking away his strengths. OKC was great a fronting him and keeping him out of the paint. They can do that b/c we do not have shooters. When Lee is off, what do we have? I was amazed at how disciplined OKC’s defense was. They move together like a string (as Frank used to say: 5 guys on a string). We hardly react at all as the ball moves and we leave tons of people wide open. Brook needs to adjust and not force shots, but more importantly, Thorn has to surround him with shooters. Not streaky shooters. Lopez will be fine, but once again he and harris are not studs like Durant and the rest. They are solid players but not the center of the team. We can only hope we draft a stud b/c they ain’t comin here in free agency.
De'Sean Butler
A guy I have been continually impressed with is De’Sean Butler from West Virginia. Just knows how to play. I guess a knock is he doesn’t have top tier athleticism but coming off a screen on a curl he is money out to NBA three point range. Looks like West Virginia is poised to make a run deep into the tourney, which could elevate his stock – but I believe he is considered a late first rounder at the moment. Having a big time shooter with a history of big shots – and a guy who WANTS to take the big shot to help his team win coming off the bench for us would not be a bad thing. Oh, and he is good friends with Evan Turner…….Could be a possibility (remote) with the Dallas pick.
^Butler is from Newark
would be nice to have a Jersey guy like him on the team. :)
for the Mavs pick and our second rounder I also like Jarvis Varnado, Kyle Singler, Craig Brackins and Luke Babbitt. If we don’t keep KD, we should consider guys like Collins and Vasquez.
Thank you! I’ve been saying Da’Sean Butler since the old NetsDaily (as JB)… He plays for a top 10 program, leads them well, has good stats across the board, and he’s a senior, not some one-and-done freshman diva. But I have a feeling West Virginia’s gonna do fairly well in the NCAA tourney and he’ll raise his value in the draft. But I’m hoping we can get him.
by JohnFromLongIsland on Mar 13, 2010 11:01 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Yeah I really really like Butler’s game. I think the Nets need to take a 4 year senior from a big program with one of their 3 picks – if not 2 of their 3 picks. The reason behind this is that these guys know how to play the game, have developed basketball IQs, leadership skills, have played in numerous big games while having success and have solid fundamentals. Since this is such a young team – and regardless we are going to be developing and integrating so many young players – its imperative that we don’t have a bunch of 19 year old rookies.
Like I said earlier and John said as well – not sure he is going to be around with that Dallas pick, particularly if they have a deep tourney run, he might not be there in the end of the first round. But the good thing for us is that he is a senior and his athleticism is questioned – and athleticism and being a 4 year player seem to be two things that cause a player’s stock to drop. So could be beneficial for us.
As for that 31st pick – it will greatly depend on what we do with our earlier picks. But guys I think should be in the conversation there are Sherron Collins, Jarvis Varnado, Damion James and inevitably there will be a few guys you expect to be drafted in the 20s who fall into the second round.
Depending on how FSU plays there is a shot that Solomon Alabi falls into the second round. I realize this is a very small chance – but raw developing big men have a tendency to fall on draft day. And considering the struggles of Hasheem Thabeet this year (playing part of year in D League and now being 3rd center in Memphis) could very well impact how Alabi is viewed this year. Alabi struggled last night to establish position and his offensive game is still very raw. If there is a Thabeet effect this year – Alabi is the center most likely to be afflicted with this – regardless of what March mock drafts and “draft experts” are saying now.
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