GT: Nets @ Warriors 1/22- 8:30

[Stone]

Last night while our guys while out there fighting for a win on the second night of a BTB, the Warriors rested their entire starting lineup. We should not be using that as an excuse, but as motivation to show the league that we can do damage without KD. The Warriors have earned themselves a reputation as a brand name in the league. But, sometimes reputations and reality are not the same.

It is most likely going to take another Herculean effort to get the W but if we play smart, and by that I mean better communication, boxing out and team gang rebounding and better spacing. This one is within reach. We have the shooters. We have the defenders. Our players need to trust each other and also trust JV.

Prediction: Overtime

[MrDollarBills]

We need to continue to defend and move the ball. Kyrie needs to keep bringing the heat like he did last night

There is zero reason why this team can't compete every night, Durant or no Durant.

[Stone]

Also going to post mid term report cards. Feel free to critique mine and or post your own.

KD) A+ Nuff said, still a top 5 player in the league.

Ky) A There is a reason he is the league leading all star vote getting guard. He gets a lot of undue hate, but the reality is , he is one of the most gifted players of all time.

Ben) C + we know that Ben is capable of an "A" rating. But he still brings a lot to the table. Patience please

Yuta) Pre injury B+ post injury C. As the season goes on I expect him round out to a B overall.

Seth) C+ 22 minuets and 10PPG. 41% from 3. Money from the FT line.

Nic) A . Not only the leading shot blocker in the league also the FG % leader. Definitely a candidate for defensive player of the year and a lock for Most Improved player. The only knock on Nic is his FT % coming in a slightly below 50%. In the month of January he has been 14-28 from the line. He has had a 10 game stretch of shooting 60% and that should be a realistic goal to finish the season out with. He is also up there in all star vote getting and may get the nod like Big Jay did last season because of injury to others.

TJ Warren) C+ Shooting 50% and 35% from 3. Solid player on a bargin contract, he is another player that can and will improve as the season goes on. Really hope he signs with us again next season.

Joe) C 24 minutes a game and 8PPG. Honestly hoping for more than that from Joe. We are not getting the bang for our buck. But he has improved on defense slightly.

Royce) B- He basically knocked Joe out of the starting rotation and he getting paid half of what Joe is paid. He has a knack for timely buckets and stops. He stepped up and has exceeded expectations. 34 minutes 9 PPG 39% from the field and 40% from 3.

Sumner) C- Quick as lightning, but he can make bad decisions on both ends of the court. If I'm the Nets Nets coaching staff I would have him doing double time in the film room.

Cam) C+ In his 30 games he has averaged 14 minutes and 7 PPG shooting 42% from the field and 32% from 3. You could call him fearless or a blackhole and they would both be correct. He is only in his second season and to the point, he would probably be better suited on a team that he could get more minutes and grow than he is with a win now team like us.

Markieff, Patty, Day'Ron, Duke, Kessler- Incomplete

Jacque Vaughn) A I get the frustration with the 4 game losing streak, but we have to remember that playing without KD is a huge adjustment. Remember where we were at the beginning of the season and where we are now. Much of the credit goes to JV.

The Nets as a team.....overall a top 3 team in the East and a contender if healthy.

[OfficialRef]

Don't want to sound pessimistic but this is probably an L.

Playing a stacked Warriors team who want revenge for how bad we smacked them last game. We probably make this close but have a 4th quarter collapse since they have so many all-nba defenders they can stick on Kyrie to slow him.

[MGrand15]

Gotta give the team credit. I was annoyed in the first half of the Jazz game but they really stepped up in the second half. I don't expect Kyrie to drop 50 every game but he should be creating good shots for the team basically every single half court possession. 3s or layups for Joe + O'Neal. Dunks for Clax. Give it to Ben in space after a double.

Without KD, the Warriors are gonna be tough. I've always liked how we matchup with their system though. The way we switch at a high level really messes with what they want to do. And they don't have bigs to punish us inside.

[Papi_swav]

Hopefully Steph doesn't play but if he does it'll be tough. The Warriors turn the ball over alot so we must take advantage of that and we must knock down our darn 3s. Seph, Joe Harris and TJ has to show up. We should probably give Duke and Kessler Edwards some burn here. We need a boost of energy , it's the middle of the season and guys are looking tired.

[ecuhus1981]

It's gonna be a battle, they run a system that is difficult to game plan, especially in the regular season. I'm hopeful after last night's gutsy comeback that we've found our sea legs again.

[MrDollarBills]

We're gonna get cooked

[gigantes]

Also going to post mid term report cards. Feel free to critique mine and or post your own...

Nice work matey; really deserves its own thread IMO.

Gotta give the team credit. I was annoyed in the first half of the Jazz game but they really stepped up in the second half. I don't expect Kyrie to drop 50 every game but he should be creating good shots for the team basically every single half court possession. 3s or layups for Joe + O'Neal. Dunks for Clax. Give it to Ben in space after a double.

Without KD, the Warriors are gonna be tough. I've always liked how we matchup with their system though. The way we switch at a high level really messes with what they want to do. And they don't have bigs to punish us inside.

At the same time, I'm worried about the following--

In the five games in which Kyrie took over as primary passer & scorer, he's had a grand total of --ONE-- efficient game.

So now, after blowing a bunch of easier contests, we're stuck with some legit, foreshadowing challenges coming up... again being led by a player who still keeps looking for his shot above getting his teamies going, who's also a chronic defensive liability as an undersized SG.

Point is-- even if we steal a couple of these games and 'right the ship,' the fundamental problem will remain in to the playoffs, something which generally hasn't worked very well with this crew.

So... not sure what the right trade is to help correct all that, but one idea that occurs is: if the GM can get anywhere-near equal value for Kyrie & find a better team-fit, then please-please-please ship his arse out yesterday, Marks. Because the days of 'keeping KD happy' just haven't worked, and have arguably caused more harm than good at the end of the day.

Regardless, I tend to doubt we're going very deep even with Kyrie stashed at the #2 scorer position. Just as history has played out every season beyond a single miraculous comeback led by LeBron, which honestly was indeed quite awesome!

[sashaturiaf]

I feel Kyrie always gets up for Curry matchup, should be a fun game irrespective of the result

[Stone]

Kyrie continues his strong effort

[Stone]

Claxton does not look as aggressive so far

[NetsJets]

Ben is frustrating

[NetsWorld]

Ben is frustrating

We need someone else up front to mask his crap. Nets cannot continue with Simmons being a liability.

[NetsJets]

This lineup is bad. Good chess game by Kerr forcing Vaughn to take out Clax and Ben and disrupting our momentum.

[sashaturiaf]

Steph just tried to do a Kyrie game 7 shot on Kyrie and airballed it

[sashaturiaf]

Our bench is getting killed anytime Kyrie and Clax have to sit.

If KD was playing, being able to stagger one or two of those guys to play with the bench is huge and was a big part of our success.

[Stone]

Horrific officiating

[sashaturiaf]

Clax block streak is still alive

[Shark]

Only encouraging thing from this stretch of games after KD went down has been watching Clax flourish. Not much else to take away from this though.