A Time for Toughness, Mental and Physical

The Nets and their coach realize what they need if they're going to win this series, now tied at 1-1 and headed to Chicago: toughness, both mentally and physically. In comments Tuesday, there was a realization that the Bulls had treated them as fragile Monday night. A tight game turned into a debacle in the third quarter. No fight + bad shooting led to an 11-point quarter and a 12 point deficit going into the fourth.

"We didn't handle it as well as we need to," Carlesimo said in a conference call. "Matching or exceeding their physicality is always one of the things we talk about and one of the keys when you play the Bulls. We did a better job of doing that in Game 1 than we did in Game 2."

Deron Williams, who shot 1-of-9 against Bulls double teams, blamed himself and vowed he would never play that badly again, the implication being that he needed to be tougher mentally as well as better at shooting (although he played well otherwise --10 assists, two turnovers). "He’s way above average in terms of his feel for what’s working, what’s not working, who needs to be more involved, who hasn’t had a shot in a while, who’s got a favorable matchup to go to."

Meanwhile, Carlesimo said it's "easy" to block out talk of his future. The veteran coach didn't get a team out of the first round in Portland and missed the playoffs during stints in Golden State and Seattle. As for his counterpart in Chicago, there's renewed praise for Tom Thibodeau, whose talents including getting a team ready for tough battles.

• Nets vs. Bulls - On Call, Carlesimo Reviews and Readies for Game Three - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
• Bulls’ Defense, a Bruising Ballet, Throws Off Nets - Beckley Mason - New York Times
• Joakim Noah’s Gritty Effort in Bulls’ Victory Reflects a Lesson Learned - Harvey Araton - New York Times
  
• Brooklyn Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo gets set to take Chicago Bulls by horns - Tim Smith - New York Daily News
• Deron Williams looks lost in Game 2 vs. Chicago Bulls, takes blame as Brooklyn Nets hit road - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
• P.J. Carlesimo, Nets addressing issues they need to fix for Game 3 against Bulls - Rod Boone - Newsday
• Nets realize they must mix it up down low - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
• P.J. tries to box out job talk - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
• Back at home, Bulls look to slow down Deron Williams, Nets - AP
• Nets: Deron Williams says he'll adjust - Andy Vasquez - The Record
• Game Three Adjustments: Stagnant Offense Paralyzes the Nets - Justin DeFeo - The Brooklyn Game
  
• With Tom Thibodeau grinding away, Bulls even first-round series with Nets - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo! Sports
  
• Home-court advantage now in hand, Chicago Bulls must play better at United Center - K.C. Johnson - Chicago Tribune
  
• Nets: Deron Williams says he'll adjust - Vaughn McClure - Chicago Tribune
  
• Nazr Mohammed making big contribution to Chicago Bulls - K.C. Johnson - Chicago Tribune
• Thibodeau rights Bulls’ wrongs - Joe Cowley - Chicago Sun-Times
• Bulls have heart, guts in abundance - Steve Morrissey - Chicago Sun-Times
• Attitude, veteran leaders help to even series - Nick Friedell - ESPN Chicago