GT: Brooklyn Nets @ Washington Wizards 11/8/13 (7PM)

[bjack18]

This was our best win in how long?

Since Philly

When you are 0-3, every win is a big win. I actually expected them to win this one at home.

Its the next 3 that are going to be really tough. Hopefully they can win in Dallas and come out of it. Actually, they might actually match up pretty well against SA as well.

SA is one of those teams I instantly just count as a loss. That team just kills us.. every. single. time.

Maybe Pop sits Duncan, Parker, Manu and Leonard sprains an ankle in the 1stqtr and we steal a win...seriously though, getting a W in Dallas is what I expect, 0-3 would be disapointing

[nate33]

This was our best win in how long?

Since Philly

When you are 0-3, every win is a big win. I actually expected them to win this one at home.

Its the next 3 that are going to be really tough. Hopefully they can win in Dallas and come out of it. Actually, they might actually match up pretty well against SA as well.

SA is one of those teams I instantly just count as a loss. That team just kills us.. every. single. time.

We haven't beaten San Antonio since... wait for it... November of 2005! Jared freaking Jeffries was on the team back then.

http://bkref.com/tiny/U6Mp8

[DANNYLANDOVER]

Julius Randle with a 23 and 15 debut...

[GhostsOfGil]

Wow what a line from Gil. Forgot Chucky was on this team for a short time.

[Illmatic21]

Anyone know why the Nets went away from Lopez in the second half?

Not the first time I saw BLopez destroy a team in the first half, only to vanish completely in the second. I don't know what's up with that either.

Honestly I don't think the Nets care about the regular season that much.

I've watched a few of their games so far, it seems like their main priority is fiddling with minutes to save their older guys for the playoffs. They've been messing with their rotations a lot which doesn't really allow anyone to get in rhythm for an extended period of time. Kidd is probably in over his head a little bit. This is something a Phil Jackson or Popovich could pull off, but I don't know about a rookie head coach.

[Kanyewest]

Anyone know why the Nets went away from Lopez in the second half?
Why does Webster get no minutes? Why isn't he paired more with Wall?
Why does our offense look so great at times and so terrible at others?
Is the absence of Okafor really the only reason for our woes on defense?
Can a team get out rebounded by 15 and hope to win consistently?

This win left me with more questions than answers.

Anyone know why the Nets went away from Lopez in the second half?
- Would have to watch the game again but teams adjust and Gortat stepped up. Plus it was their bench that made the push. Lopez wasn't out there.

Why does Webster get no minutes? Why isn't he paired more with Wall?
- Rotations. They played good D on our SFs like we played good on theirs.

Why does our offense look so great at times and so terrible at others?
- The team is still developing with Nene and Gortat out there and they don't have any other ball handlers then Wall so they can only break a team down in so many ways when other team pick up the D

Is the absence of Okafor really the only reason for our woes on defense?
- Its a big reason.

Can a team get out rebounded by 15 and hope to win consistently?
- depends on when the rebounds happen. And are they offensive or defensive. And how many shot attempts and FTAs are you getting. Are you hitting threes. Getting boards is always go but there is a bigger picture so there isn't an easy answer to that.

Brook Lopez looked gassed tonight as the game wore on especially in the 3rd quarter. He was able to get a bucket or two after being subbed in the 4th quarter. Conditioning appears to be a major weakness for him especially since the Wizards were running up and down the court. Looked like Gortat got a lot from Wall's penetration and out hustling Lopez and Garnett.

I would also say Webster wasn't getting the open looks tonight as the Nets were respecting him- hence the open looks for Harrington. He probably got a bit of short leash from Wittman because at one point in the 4th quarter he took a contested 3 with a hand in his face - it was a bad shot to take.

I think the defense is getting used to playing together. Gortat didn't have training camp to work with the team. Harrington is not as good as Booker defensively or on the boards. Plus Temple/Price were better defenders as the Wizards are now relying more upon Beal/Maynor. On the bright side the Wizards defense improved in the 2nd half where they only gave up 41 points.

About the rebounding- Miami has provided the blue print on how to win without rebounding. A lot 3s, forcing turnovers leading to fast break points, good defense, and a lot of free throws. Still, probably this isn't going to be a formula for the Wizards given that they don't get the respect of the officials that LeBron/Wade do.

[bjack18]

Julius Randle with a 23 and 15 debut...

You never how a prospect will pan out but I think Randle is the type of PF this team needs, he would be a perfect fit, on the other hand and I very well could be wrong but Ive got two words for Andrew Wiggins...Harrison Barnes

[Illmatic21]

Julius Randle with a 23 and 15 debut...

Ehhh.. Beasley put up those numbers in college too. Randle is a great prospect but he's a tweener. Tweeners have had a less than stellar track record in the NBA lately.

Look at Anthony Bennett, a big dude but obsessed with playing on the perimeter trying to be a guard. I see a bit of the same thing in Randle.

[hands11]

Garrett Temple should be cut after this game just for that play alone.

No, Pierce traveled twice.

Why. Because PP traveled and the refs sucked for not calling it.

Hard to anticipate where I player is going to be when they don't dribble the ball and just move in front of you.

Temple was fine. I was actually happy Randy had the balls to make a move like that down the stretch. Its going to take more then 5 players if they are going to win a decent amount of games.

[pancakes3]

Anyone know why the Nets went away from Lopez in the second half?

I don't know about the entire half but for the last couple minutes of regulation it was because Wall completely locked down the perimeter, allowing Gortat and Nene to pack the paint. The turnovers and almost-turnovers Wall was able to create netted Nene 7 straight points and all of a sudden the Nyets had to play panicky catch-up basketball which meant open jumpers for the then-scoreless KG.

Why does Webster get no minutes? Why isn't he paired more with Wall?

Webster "Garrett Templed" himself and fouled himself out of commission tonight. 4 fouls in 16 minutes.

Why does our offense look so great at times and so terrible at others?

We look great in transition and when Nene/Gortat get good positioning with shooters to space it out properly. We look terrible when it's grind-it-out halfcourt basketball and the personnel isn't *just* so. Also, our bench is kinda terrible specifically in the playmaking department.

Is the absence of Okafor really the only reason for our woes on defense?

Yup. Aside from Okafor's individual defensive talents, I can't imagine Gortat equaling Okafor's playcalling presence on the defensive side. 1 - His IQ just isn't there. 2 - He's not familiar with the scheme/philosophy. 3 - He's not familiar with the players' tendencies.

Can a team get out rebounded by 15 and hope to win consistently?

I'm kind of at a loss of words for this factoid. We got outrebounded by 15 yet both teams took equal fga's and fta's (off by 2 on the free throws) so it doesn't seem like the rebounds mattered much. If we can somehow get rebounded by 15 yet still manage to get the same number of shots up, I don't see why we wouldn't be able to win consistently. There's nothing intrinsically good about a rebound other than it either gives you an extra possession or it doesn't let the other team get another possession.

This win left me with more questions than answers.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. We won and did it with a flourish. We got yet another reason to hate Kevin Garnett (that ridiculous hold on Terry's 32 footer at the end of regulation) and Nene pulled his weight. Beal had a blowout game - a similar one to the one that transformed him from an uncannily bad shooter to an uncannily good shooter last season (the 28 point win over Milwaukee), and nobody got hurt. Ride that wave rather than pick at the scab that is our potential house of cards roster.

[hands11]

I was a lil hard on Wall. Again, I never ripped him like posters rip regular players. He's a beast and can control a game without going beast mode but sometimes I think he just settles for not going beast mode. Wall was rusty last year but what got me so down was that he wasnt even trying to be a Superstar. We were winning games with him and he was playing well because he's that good but he flat out was not trying to be a dominant superstar and thats what you have to do if youre a #1 pick and now an 80mil dollar man.

Then he flipped the switch, started trying to be a Superstar and couldnt no one in this league touch him. Wall has that in him but sometimes he doesnt go for it. He plays hard but I want the aggressive, atacking Wall. With that being said, I didnt expect that tonight. For some reason he never really goes hard at Williams just like Gil never use to really go hard at Kidd. Just one of those things but he still went hard with the passing.

Now the next game will be fast paced against his friend and it will be strong intensity so I actually could see Wall trying to go for 25 next game "if" he isnt dead tired. Maybe Maynor will go off against his former team though. I think our style & lineup matches up well with OKC

opps

[hands11]

I was a lil hard on Wall. Again, I never ripped him like posters rip regular players. He's a beast and can control a game without going beast mode but sometimes I think he just settles for not going beast mode. Wall was rusty last year but what got me so down was that he wasnt even trying to be a Superstar. We were winning games with him and he was playing well because he's that good but he flat out was not trying to be a dominant superstar and thats what you have to do if youre a #1 pick and now an 80mil dollar man.

Then he flipped the switch, started trying to be a Superstar and couldnt no one in this league touch him. Wall has that in him but sometimes he doesnt go for it. He plays hard but I want the aggressive, atacking Wall. With that being said, I didnt expect that tonight. For some reason he never really goes hard at Williams just like Gil never use to really go hard at Kidd. Just one of those things but he still went hard with the passing.

Now the next game will be fast paced against his friend and it will be strong intensity so I actually could see Wall trying to go for 25 next game "if" he isnt dead tired. Maybe Maynor will go off against his former team though. I think our style & lineup matches up well with OKC

1) Wall is still affected by back spasms
2) He is more focused on the team gelling then getting his own. Had to get Beal going and Gortat.
3) Its a long season. See #2.
4) As Wall says. Wins are what define good PGs
5) His max contract doesn't kick in until next year. He is on his rookie deal right now. 7.5M

[dandridge 10]

Great game...well, at least the second half.

The defense in the first half was horrible again, but, with the exception of the end of the 3rd quarter when the second unit was in, the Wiz locked down.

Don't understand the criticism of Wall this game. Yes, he took some bad shots near the end of regulation, but most of the game he was running the team well, finding open men, and locking down on D. I'd rather see more of that than him shooting 3s.

Nene stepped up at the end of regulation and in overtime, but he was nonexistent the rest of the game. Would like to see him pitch in more on the boards.

Gortat was solid in the second half...was getting eatin' alive in the first half by Lopez.

Nice to see Beal's shot back.

Again, I'd like to see Webster get more run with Beal and Wall. I think his skill as a spot up shooter is getting wasted in the second unit because Maynor can't break down defenses.

[hands11]

Since Philly

When you are 0-3, every win is a big win. I actually expected them to win this one at home.

Its the next 3 that are going to be really tough. Hopefully they can win in Dallas and come out of it. Actually, they might actually match up pretty well against SA as well.

SA is one of those teams I instantly just count as a loss. That team just kills us.. every. single. time.

We haven't beaten San Antonio since... wait for it... November of 2005! Jared freaking Jeffries was on the team back then.

http://bkref.com/tiny/adkxc

So we are due.

Coming off back to back wins hopefully helps their confidence. But I expect Pops would run circles around Randy. He will though whatever look at them he needs to in order to gain the advantage. He goes 9-10-11 deep into the bench.

[dandridge 10]

Great game...well, at least the second half.

The defense in the first half was horrible again, but, with the exception of the end of the 3rd quarter when the second unit was in, the Wiz locked down.

Don't understand the criticism of Wall this game. Yes, he took some bad shots near the end of regulation, but most of the game he was running the team well, finding open men, and locking down on D. I'd rather see more of that than him shooting 3s.

Nene stepped up at the end of regulation and in overtime, but he was nonexistent the rest of the game. Would like to see him pitch in more on the boards.

Gortat was solid in the second half...was getting eatin' alive in the first half by Lopez.

Nice to see Beal's shot back.

Again, I'd like to see Webster get more run with Beal and Wall. I think his skill as a spot up shooter is getting wasted in the second unit because Maynor can't break down defenses.

[Jimmy Recard]

Again, I'd like to see Webster get more run with Beal and Wall. I think his skill as a spot up shooter is getting wasted in the second unit because Maynor can't break down defenses.

Amen

[stevemcqueen1]

They clamped down Lopez by disguising the double team. Wall, Ariza, and Beal all came in to help out and it worked almost every time. Lopez really only scored when he caught the ball moving towards the basket in the paint after that.

Wall, Beal, Gortat, and Nene all played great. Harrington played well. Nene was the player of the game, we lose if not for him.

[nate33]

Since Philly

When you are 0-3, every win is a big win. I actually expected them to win this one at home.

Its the next 3 that are going to be really tough. Hopefully they can win in Dallas and come out of it. Actually, they might actually match up pretty well against SA as well.

SA is one of those teams I instantly just count as a loss. That team just kills us.. every. single. time.

We haven't beaten San Antonio since... wait for it... November of 2005! Jared freaking Jeffries was on the team back then.

http://bkref.com/tiny/U6Mp8

Holy crap. I just took a closer look at those results. Not only have we been winless in the past 14 games against San Antonio, but we haven't even been within 10 points of them since 2008, 10 games ago. In our last 9 games, we have lost by an average margin of 19.2! With that point differential, if San Antonio played us 82 times in a season, they could reasonably expect to go 77-5

[GhostsOfGil]

Walls season stats including tonights game: 19.6 ppg 9.8 apg 3.4 topg

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

SA is one of those teams I instantly just count as a loss. That team just kills us.. every. single. time.

We haven't beaten San Antonio since... wait for it... November of 2005! Jared freaking Jeffries was on the team back then.

http://bkref.com/tiny/U6Mp8

Holy crap. I just took a closer look at those results. Not only have we been winless in the past 14 games against San Antonio, but we haven't even been within 10 points of them since 2008, 10 games ago. In our last 9 games, we have lost by an average margin of 19.2! With that point differential, if San Antonio played us 82 times in a season, they could reasonably expect to go 77-5

C'mon Nate. Just 14 data points?

We are a good mix of young talent and veteran leadership.

We have the best young backcourt in the game.

I'm lying to you.

Our urinals have the freshest little round cakes.

You gotta love our chances against the Spurs.

... Just kidding of course. But I do fondly remember the game that Jahidi White went off on them.0