Thoughts On Seattle
Worth staying up until after 1AM last night (this morning) to watch the ending of the Nets Sonics game.
Good win, not great, since the Nets had things under control (again) with 6 minutes remaining and yet it (almost) came down to the last shot. Once things started slipping away (and kudos to the Sonics backups, the vets who know how to get things done like Delonte West and Kurt Thomas), the Nets were able to attack the weakness of Seattle, the inside. It was all RJ, all the time, and Antoine Wright made the bucket the Nets absolutely needed to have.
And the defense was good, especially on Kevin Durant, at least until late, thanks to Wright (who had some early problems and was gone within 4 minutes of the first quarter) and Jason Kidd. With the lead down to one and less than a minute to play, RJ attacked the rim on an iso and was able to score, and then Kidd forced West into a turnover and hit the free throws. That was big.
With the Sonics still down by 3, Lawrence Frank chose to foul West before he could launch a game-tying three. West blew the first free throw, then purposefully missed the second, with was grabbed by RJ and led to the game ending free throws.
So it was Kidd, Carter and Jefferson that played better than the rest in the end game. That's what the Nets need against the teams they should beat - and make no mistake, this was one of them.
Richard Jefferson was the man again, with 30 points, 4 boards and 5 assists, and he was observant enough to see that the Sonics couldn't stop him inside. He carried the Nets in the fourth quarter
Vince Carter had another good game, at least in the first half with 15 points, but he seemed to hurt his other thumb and apparently rolled his other ankle, so that makes 2 thumbs and 2 ankles hurt in the first twelve games. But again, it helps to have him on the court.
Malik Allen was big early, as the Sonics left him open and he delivered his best game as a Net thus far, with 12 points and 6 boards. Josh Boone was again a contributor, too, and that's good to see.
Boki hit some big threes, but defensively he was a mess.
No Jamaal Magloire, though. That can't be good for his long term impact with these Nets.
Durant was definitely welcomed to the NBA by a tough Net defense. He did nothing until the last 5 minutes, and was schooled repeatedly by the Nets on both sides of the ball.
His rookie running mate, Jeff Green, however, was pretty great. He double doubled (14 points, 14 boards) and had a monster jam late, one of the few blown rotations the Nets had all night. Green was always around the ball, was the most active player on the boards, and seems to have a bright future ahead of him.
But back to the Nets - that makes 2 straight and now they're 6 - 7, which looks a helluva lot better than 4 - 7. They've at least clinched a 2 - 2 road trip, which is much more positive than the way it started on the Utah trip. Now, they need to make a statement and beat the Lakers tomorrow night. It's a winnable game (the Lakers lost to the Celts last night, and played 3 games in 4 nights).
The defense was good, the offense was consistent if not perfect (no long droughts against the Sonics, even after they fell behind 5 - 0), and the Nets got good performances from the starters and the bench.
We'll get a game review up tomorrow night, along with a review of the Portland game.
Joe
Good win, not great, since the Nets had things under control (again) with 6 minutes remaining and yet it (almost) came down to the last shot. Once things started slipping away (and kudos to the Sonics backups, the vets who know how to get things done like Delonte West and Kurt Thomas), the Nets were able to attack the weakness of Seattle, the inside. It was all RJ, all the time, and Antoine Wright made the bucket the Nets absolutely needed to have.
And the defense was good, especially on Kevin Durant, at least until late, thanks to Wright (who had some early problems and was gone within 4 minutes of the first quarter) and Jason Kidd. With the lead down to one and less than a minute to play, RJ attacked the rim on an iso and was able to score, and then Kidd forced West into a turnover and hit the free throws. That was big.
With the Sonics still down by 3, Lawrence Frank chose to foul West before he could launch a game-tying three. West blew the first free throw, then purposefully missed the second, with was grabbed by RJ and led to the game ending free throws.
So it was Kidd, Carter and Jefferson that played better than the rest in the end game. That's what the Nets need against the teams they should beat - and make no mistake, this was one of them.
Richard Jefferson was the man again, with 30 points, 4 boards and 5 assists, and he was observant enough to see that the Sonics couldn't stop him inside. He carried the Nets in the fourth quarter
Vince Carter had another good game, at least in the first half with 15 points, but he seemed to hurt his other thumb and apparently rolled his other ankle, so that makes 2 thumbs and 2 ankles hurt in the first twelve games. But again, it helps to have him on the court.
Malik Allen was big early, as the Sonics left him open and he delivered his best game as a Net thus far, with 12 points and 6 boards. Josh Boone was again a contributor, too, and that's good to see.
Boki hit some big threes, but defensively he was a mess.
No Jamaal Magloire, though. That can't be good for his long term impact with these Nets.
Durant was definitely welcomed to the NBA by a tough Net defense. He did nothing until the last 5 minutes, and was schooled repeatedly by the Nets on both sides of the ball.
His rookie running mate, Jeff Green, however, was pretty great. He double doubled (14 points, 14 boards) and had a monster jam late, one of the few blown rotations the Nets had all night. Green was always around the ball, was the most active player on the boards, and seems to have a bright future ahead of him.
But back to the Nets - that makes 2 straight and now they're 6 - 7, which looks a helluva lot better than 4 - 7. They've at least clinched a 2 - 2 road trip, which is much more positive than the way it started on the Utah trip. Now, they need to make a statement and beat the Lakers tomorrow night. It's a winnable game (the Lakers lost to the Celts last night, and played 3 games in 4 nights).
The defense was good, the offense was consistent if not perfect (no long droughts against the Sonics, even after they fell behind 5 - 0), and the Nets got good performances from the starters and the bench.
We'll get a game review up tomorrow night, along with a review of the Portland game.
Joe
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