Official game thread: Charlotte vs. New Jersey

[tigerman]

Three minutes of the 4th quarter has been played already but no game thread for this game?

Anyway, as of this post the Nets are down 78-72 with still 9 mins. in the 4th.

Let's go Nets!

[Adam1221]

Worst 4th qtr play calling ever its like Frank cant realise Charlote dont know how to adjust.
This loss belongs to him no one else.

[tigerman]

O boy we're gonna lose our 11th home game in 16 games and against Charlotte? It's like adding insult to injury.

[Da big3]

wow Frank is a bad coach...

[jaymeister15]

Harris has to start looking to make a pass on the fast break. He has missed so many open men because he goes in for the contested lay-up, and is screwed if he doesn't get the foul call.

He's been great this season, but that's one gripe with him I've had all season.

And yeah, some very questionable play calling from frank late in the fourth.

[vincecarter4pres]

Really?!

Did we really just lose to Charlotte at home, basically by double digits?!

Puke.

[St_Patrick_Nets]

this is so frustrating, i cant believe we really lost to the bobcats at home, just their third away win of the season

[tigerman]

If there's one good thing with this loss, its the fact that the two teams will meet again tomorrow but this time around at Charlotte's arena. I'm confident NJ will make it a 1-1 in this home and home series.

[tidbit]

When Yi started to gain points, Frank put him on the bench...

[NjNeTs1029]

i was at this game and it was frustrating to watch. I've come to a few conclusions

1. Bobby Simmons should never get the ball.. ever.
2. Keyon Dooling wastes way too much time dribbling aimlessly
3. Lawrence Frank puts the wrong players in at the wrong time.
4. Vince Carter needs to stop hiding in the corner on offense for stretches of the game at a time

[Birth of the Cool]

Nets not giving their local fans any incentive to go to games....Even if they are have a decent season so far if you're a season ticket holder or regular attendee this season probably feels like a huge disappointment to you.

Thought Nets would roll the Bobcats but their newcomers did well. Diaw was great at the top of the key finding front court teammates sealing off their man or cutters into the paint. Kinda envious to see all this off the ball movement from the Bobcats whereas the Nets iso and have guys planted around the court. Felton also hit some very tough buzzer beating shots. Okafor was a beneficiary of the soft perimeter & interior (any other type left...) defense of the Nets. Wallace & Bell hit those 3's. Just a good grind out win for the Bobcats. Kinda boring to watch though. Larry Brown did a solid jump controlling the tempo of the game and frequently using his timeout to ensure his team didn't allow the Nets to gain full momentum back. I know many Nets fans dislike Larry Brown but as a VC fan I always thought he was the perfect coach for Vince.

Vince was great 1st half, attacking the basket. Unfortunately he had good looks in the 2nd half but he went frigid & this time around Devin couldn't pick up the ball Vince dropped. I just wish that once VC was struggling in the 2nd half that they ran some plays for him on the low block (I think they did it once) just to give the Bobcats a different look.

Devin is still too one-dimensional. It's great that one dimension is off-the-charts but I dislike how he favours pulling up for the FT line jumpshot to avoid the paint packing double team instead of making the correct pass to his wide open teammates at the strong side corner. He's done it all season and there's no way he's not seeing that corner man - he just prefers to call his own number. Vince seems to find that guy all the time - trust in your teammates is what it comes down to. He seems to pass to the corner (weakside) only after he is at the rim with no possibility to lay it up. Edit: To be fair Vince has sometimes also held onto the ball too long looking to make the pass that leads directly to the score instead of trusting his teammates to make that 3rd/4th pass for the scoring opportunity. Like I've stated before I also think having Hassell in the starting lineup hurts Devin the most since Hassell's defender doesn't have to respect the corner 3 as much and can cheat more for help D on Harris drives. I still don't like Hassell at all as a regular rotation guy.

I like that they started by running post plays for Yi & Boone in the post. None of the first 3 plays worked but it's a good idea - Yi needs to learn to reset the offense & Lopez also - maybe they fear not seeing the ball again....Yi & Lopez are decent passers it's too bad the Nets cuts to the paint are rather predictable (either the baseline handoff with passer screen or basic roll to middle of paint..).
Those who think Anderson should replace Yi in the starting rotation are not so loud these days - sure he puts his nose out there a bit more in the paint but just like Yi he relies way too heavily on camping at the perimeter waiting to jack up 3's. He doesn't add any better defense as both he & Yi are terrible but Yi's ceiling is still far higher and Yi's potential to 'blow up' in a game is higher.

At some point maybe Frank has to just see this team as what it is. There's not much help at the PF position & just ride out Yi's mistakes on D and cross your fingers that given enough minutes he finds a hot hand on offense. The threat of Yi once again helps Devin & Vince penetration and just the spacing on the floor. I say Nets just realize they have to outscore guys and not try to fix their rotations to much to stop the opposing team from scoring because there's too many holes in the buckets dear Liza but this is one of Frank's greatest weaknesses imo - he always adjusts to opposing teams instead of forcing them to adjust to your team. They need to work on their zone defense - it seems everytime they try it they get burned by a 3. I notice Vince getting lazier on chasing over screens. Perhaps Devin & Vince are gassing out a bit or ate too much turkey...wrong today but I still see a win tomorrow.

[VCRJKidd15]

down the stretch Simmons was just taking the worst shots. Except that one open 3 he had but missed it

[Nets9]

When Yi started to gain points, Frank put him on the bench...

Yeah I've noticed that too tidbit... why Frank even start Yi ..if he's gonna benched him if yi miss 2 shots..and when yi start to scores he takes him out..

the Nets offense sux..all guard plays.. no pick and roll with yi anymore like in preseason..

[TJFordisGod]

OOOOOOOOOOOO DID U C VC!!!!!!! monster 1 hander

[hisairness]

I just hate Dooling running the point, he simply dribbles and dribbles, wastes clock and either ends up forcing his own shot or puts someone else in position when they have to take a rushed shot

[Adam1221]

Extremley good execution in overtime but really now we shouldnt have gone there, it took Frank WAAAAAAAAAAAY too long to take out Boone and that foul by Lopez was a major WTF moment but still a W is a W.


I still dont get how can a team be this good on the road and this bad at home?

[NetsForce]

Boone was solid though man some of those dunks he threw down were sweet. As this team grows I hope Boone is retained and less of the Dribble-Drive-Motion-Offense is used.

At times it seems a tad too gimmicky to me... I mention the above because I think Boone and Lopez could be a decent starting caliber combo in the future.

[Adam1221]

Boone was solid though man some of those dunks he threw down were sweet. As this team grows I hope Boone is retained and less of the Dribble-Drive-Motion-Offense is used.

At times it seems a tad too gimmicky to me... I mention the above because I think Boone and Lopez could be a decent starting caliber combo in the future.

Probably but I think its pretty safe to say that Yi's job as the starting PF is safe atm Im afraid, Thorn and Frank believe in this kid a tad bit too much.

[Birth of the Cool]

back-to-back, game thread within a game thread !

Nets pulled this win out by the seat of their pants ! Thank goodness for road court advantage.
Found Bobcats announcers to be kinda clueless about the Nets (ex. Nets need Devin to facilitate plays for teammates, Nets are a transition scoring team, etc). Bell stays in this game and Nets lose - Vince was totally confused by Bell all day biting hard on recovery and completely losing Bell on pump fake & drives. Wallace is relentless and I just like the way Larry Brown has used Bell and esp. Diaw in their offense.

Charlotte seemed to get most of the hustle plays. Nets have to execute better and try harder then the other team if they want to compete & win since they don't have the talent level of many other teams. It seemed they were doing this early in the season but it's starting to wane.

It's odd to write this but Simmons is the best FIT for the starting unit. He has 3pt range & therefore spreads the defense better for Vince/Devin iso's. Hassell allows teams to cheat better for help defense and Hayes seems to be well suited to come off the bench for that spark (along with Dooling) and basically he plays as much as Simmons these days anyways. I like Hassell was relegated back to spot minutes where his role belongs.

Yi & Anderson are a dreadful tandem right now & the PF spot is a big liability. Netsforce suggested a future frontcourt combo of Lopez/Boone. It would be a headache for opposing frontcourts on Nets offensive glass for sure as both those guys go after the offensive glass regularly and would shore up some of the defensive issues at the PF spot BUT it may negatively effect the iso game of Devin. Vince and Boone have a great feel playing off one another but for Devin that extra defender near the paint guarding Boone makes his life more difficult unless Nets set up Lopez on the high post & further, which Lopez has range from but then it makes it harder for Lopez to crash the glass which is one of his best strengths right now. One good thing out of it is it would force Frank to give Swift minutes as backup C - I think this guy can still be a solid positive for the Nets at either the C or PF position. Also having Boone at the starting PF would negatively effect Anderson's development unless they plan to give Anderson more burn at the SF position but I don't want him taking Hayes minutes.