Nets v. Hawks | 11.03.2021 @ 7:30 PM on ESPN/YES

[MrDollarBills]

This was an awesome win and super enjoyable game. We did it in all phases... offense, defense, transition, rebounding, threes, finishing, and communicating on all of those pick and rolls (we barely switched them). we withstood their runs and pulled away and held the lead. just great all around vs. a playoff team coming in playing well. my thoughts...

1) Joe Harris obviously found his shot, but I though his defense was unreal... and not like "good for joe" but good for anyone. he can switched on Trae multiple times, held his own, forced turnovers, deflected/blocked a shot and really helped on the glass in a few contested situations. Usually we want Joe to just hang in on D, but he was a huge boost defensively today.

I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who noticed how hard Joe was competing on defense. This was by far one of the best games I've ever seen Joe play on both ends. Someone got in his ear

Kustok actually caught it early after a solid string of defensive plays in the first.

Yeah I saw that. Joe was out there scrapping and hitting the boards.

That's what we need from Joe. Give us 15-18 points, 6-8 rebs a night and on defense just get your hands dirty. If he does that, we are going to be a tough team to stop. Joe should be all over the defensive glass, he's not some small dude

[MrDollarBills]

10+ assists from Harden a night is a minimum 20 points generated along with whatever he scores himself.

Regarding Kyrie, I don't want him to be given an exemption, but if the new mayor imposes strict testing for unvaccinated athletes prior to game time, I'm fine with that.

Meaning, hardcore q tip test up the nose into the blood brain barrier in the morning, and rapid test before every game.

If Kyrie can withstand that before every homegame, i will take my hat off to him, because he's truly crazy.

Did you get a brain tickle? I didn't find it too bad. Maybe I've got a big schnoz.

I haven't had to get the up the nose test yet. When I went in for lymph node surgery during the summer they did a throat swab which nearly made me vomit all over the poor nurse who was administering it but I'd rather that then a q tip up into the blood brain barrier

Of course, when I go to DR for my brother's wedding next summer I'm probably gonna have to get swabbed. Ugh.

[GTR11]

Kyrie is a freak. He'll be fine if he comes back. Still I have little confidence the team is willing to wait 2 months for a potential mandate change that might not come.

I also don't have much confidence in Kyrie even wanting to play if they make an exception. I have less confidence that he'll come back with a positive attitude if he does come back. This is a moody and difficult guy to deal with when things are great - imagine the attitude after being banned from the team.

Ugh this reads as a punch to the gut since I agree with all of this. The dream scenario is him looking at the team playing in those jerseys and him wanting to do the same and he gets vaccinated immediately, but that just won't happen.

Undeniable fact is that team played with more energy and joy today. If team is happy and it makes them better, I'll just enjoy the ride ( Y'all already know my opinion on Kyrie ). Nevertheless MGrand absolutely right

[MrDollarBills]

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[MGrand15]

The rule changes are funny because they make a player like Bruce Brown SO much better. If he defended Trae like this last year, Trae would've taken at least 14 FTs. Now he can actually be physical and contest shots without fear.

It also let's us play the drop scheme more effectively in PNRs. Drop became a lot less effective because they didn't let guards fight over screens. If you did, it was too easy for guys to draw fouls. Once they got over, they couldn't actually body up the offensive player. Then if somehow they navigated all that without fouling, any contact on a jump shot or floater was 2 FTs. Basically if you were savvy - you were getting 2 FTs, an easy walk into an open jumper, an easy floater, or a lob. This is part of why Harden is struggling.

I love that Patty Mills started a "hard hat and steel boots" celebration after charges. This team was so damn soft at times last year. When we signed Blake - he's not amazing - he definitely brought some physicality. Patty, Carter, Bembry, Brown, Blake, Millsap, Johnson, and even Claxton. The roster is so much more energetic and scrappy now. Our offense was awesome today but I thought we won this with defense.

I'm still worried about Harden. He was good last night. Really good. But we need him at All-NBA level to get to championship. I thought yesterday Atlanta had a bad gameplan and they were super undisciplined. Made it easy for Harden to pick them apart. Harden's IQ and stepback 3 has been there all season. He needs to prove he can get to the paint and finish again. He needs to destroy switches and weaker defenders. I think he'll get there but I can't get excited about a performance where he only hits 3s and gets 1 FT.

[DarkXaero]

Haven't been around much lately, but quality win last night. Our defense looks much improved this year early due to better personnel/more defense oriented lineups and certain players stepping up defensively (KD been fantastic on defense this year). Props to Joe Harris last night for a quality performance not only shooting from 3, but also defensively. Hopefully that is the start of the turnaround for him this season and gets him playing better on both ends. Still want to see more from Harden but he has been having his moments/stretches every game lately so hopefully we see him back in proper form soon.

Blake's shooting still a big concern but he still needs to keep shooting those open 3s despite the misses. Teams have been exploiting Blake and Bruce Brown in the starting lineup, and loading up on Harden/KD, so at least Blake needs to do more to make teams reconsider.

[MrDollarBills]

Haven't been around much lately, but quality win last night. Our defense looks much improved this year early due to better personnel/more defense oriented lineups and certain players stepping up defensively (KD been fantastic on defense this year). Props to Joe Harris last night for a quality performance not only shooting from 3, but also defensively. Hopefully that is the start of the turnaround for him this season and gets him playing better on both ends. Still want to see more from Harden but he has been having his moments/stretches every game lately so hopefully we see him back in proper form soon.

Blake's shooting still a big concern but he still needs to keep shooting those open 3s despite the misses. Teams have been exploiting Blake and Bruce Brown in the starting lineup, and loading up on Harden/KD, so at least Blake needs to do more to make teams reconsider.

Blake's shot has been horrible but on defense i have to give him credit. Dude takes a lot of punishment out there.

[DarkXaero]

Haven't been around much lately, but quality win last night. Our defense looks much improved this year early due to better personnel/more defense oriented lineups and certain players stepping up defensively (KD been fantastic on defense this year). Props to Joe Harris last night for a quality performance not only shooting from 3, but also defensively. Hopefully that is the start of the turnaround for him this season and gets him playing better on both ends. Still want to see more from Harden but he has been having his moments/stretches every game lately so hopefully we see him back in proper form soon.

Blake's shooting still a big concern but he still needs to keep shooting those open 3s despite the misses. Teams have been exploiting Blake and Bruce Brown in the starting lineup, and loading up on Harden/KD, so at least Blake needs to do more to make teams reconsider.

Blake's shot has been horrible but on defense i have to give him credit. Dude takes a lot of punishment out there.

He does and Blake remains one of the highest IQ guys on this team. He's the best in the league at taking charges and despite his physical limitations/broken body, he constantly puts his body on the line for the team. I'm sure his shot will return at some point (there were signs of it last night), he just needs to keep at it. It's pretty clear that Nash values Blake's IQ highly and has been giving him playing time despite the poor shooting.

[HardenGoat]

The rule changes are funny because they make a player like Bruce Brown SO much better. If he defended Trae like this last year, Trae would've taken at least 14 FTs. Now he can actually be physical and contest shots without fear.

It also let's us play the drop scheme more effectively in PNRs. Drop became a lot less effective because they didn't let guards fight over screens. If you did, it was too easy for guys to draw fouls. Once they got over, they couldn't actually body up the offensive player. Then if somehow they navigated all that without fouling, any contact on a jump shot or floater was 2 FTs. Basically if you were savvy - you were getting 2 FTs, an easy walk into an open jumper, an easy floater, or a lob. This is part of why Harden is struggling.

I love that Patty Mills started a "hard hat and steel boots" celebration after charges. This team was so damn soft at times last year. When we signed Blake - he's not amazing - he definitely brought some physicality. Patty, Carter, Bembry, Brown, Blake, Millsap, Johnson, and even Claxton. The roster is so much more energetic and scrappy now. Our offense was awesome today but I thought we won this with defense.

I'm still worried about Harden. He was good last night. Really good. But we need him at All-NBA level to get to championship. I thought yesterday Atlanta had a bad gameplan and they were super undisciplined. Made it easy for Harden to pick them apart. Harden's IQ and stepback 3 has been there all season. He needs to prove he can get to the paint and finish again. He needs to destroy switches and weaker defenders. I think he'll get there but I can't get excited about a performance where he only hits 3s and gets 1 FT.

I agree with you on everything. I think Harden is going to play tentatively for half the year with a couple surges per game that pickup after mid season but that's about it. Full on Harden is likely before the playoffs and certainly when they start, but overall he is saving himself this year. No worries, the goal is a chip.

[MrDollarBills]

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It matches the eye test. Harden is starting to round into form, Patty and LMA have been a mean duo off of the bench, and Brown and Bembry have been absolute animals on defense.

We need to give Paul Milsap more minutes imo.