Kidd shakes off LeBron and the Cavs
Nets 97, Cavs 82
Game 32
File
King James and company get crowned by
a second half Net surge led by Jason Kidd's near triple double, Kerry
Kittles and Richard Jefferson's offensive heroics and Kenyon Martin's
ferocity on both ends of the court. James is at times impressive, but
clearly needs more to work with then the bunch of Cavs he currently has.
• Box
Score
Nets Record: 18 - 14
Home Record: 10 - 7
Away Record: 8 - 7
Division Record: 5 - 0
Conf. Record: 11 - 6
Other Game Reviews
Nets High Men:
• Points: Jason
Kidd, 26.
• Assists: Jason
Kidd, 12.
• Rebounds: Kenyon
Martin, 13.
• Steals: Kenyon
Martin, 5.
• Turnovers: Richard
Jefferson, 5.
• Blocks: Kenyon
Martin, 3.
• FG Percentage: Kerry
Kittles, 72.7% (8 - 11).
Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 48.5%
• FT Percentage: 78.6%
• Rebounds: 41
• Rebound Differential: +2
• Turnovers: 15
• Turnover Differential: -1
• Bench
points: 10
• Bench
points Differential: -17
• Steals:
10
• Blocks:
5
• Points
in the Paint: 28
• Double-Doubles:
2 (Kenyon Martin: 16 points, 13 rebounds; Jason
Kidd: 26 points, 10 assists).
• Triple-Doubles:
0
The Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring:
4
• Nets Fast Break Points: 20
• Kidd's FG Percentage: 50%
(9 - 18).
• Scoring
Differential Kidd in the game: +24
• Scoring
Differential Kidd out : -9 (Pack at PG: -10;
Kittles/Harris at PG: +1)
• Double-Doubles
this Season: 10
• Triple
Doubles this Season: 6
• Career
Triple Doubles: 56
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The Jimmie Leg
There were the Nets, all twitchy and jerky as they stumbled their way in the first half with some awful shooting and generally inept play against LeBron "King" James and his Cavaliers, falling behind by seven points. But the second half was all Kidd (with help from Kerry Kittles, Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin) as he stopped acting like Kramer, shook off the Nets' collective jimmie leg and gave James an awful case of the shakes in another impressive, saved-by-the-second half win. Oh, the second teamers were awful once again, and there was too much needed from the starters (Kidd, Kittles and Jefferson would score 20 points or more; Martin would chip in with 16 points and 13 rebounds; the bench could manage just 10 points, 8 by Lucious Harris), but once the Nets settled down, solved the zone defense that bewildered them early and played some stifling defense of their own (the Cavs shot greater than 50% in the first half - they finished at 42%), it all came easy (and damned near a 100 point peformance, which the Nets have hit exactly 3 times all season). As for James, the future of the NBA - oh, you can see the tools are all there, but face it - he's still got a long way to go as Kidd (with some help) forced 'Bron into a 6 - 19 shooting night (and only 4 points in the second half). The Nets calm themselves, stop shaking and have now won 11 of their last 14. Now, can they stop themselves from getting all twitchy against the Knicks at the Garden come Sunday night?
All Shook Up
Battle Of The Network Stars - If you look at the point guard battle - James vs. Kidd -well, no contest. Actually, LeBron started off well, handing out 6 assists to go along with his 10 first half points, but he finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 turnovers in 37 minutes. Kidd? 26 points on 9 - 18 shooting (including 4 - 6 from three), 9 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 turnovers in 37 minutes. Kidd had the move of the night as well: another drive to the hoop on the break, faking a behind the back pass and switching hands for the left-handed layup. The big difference in Joe's eyes is that "Bron has to learn to trust his teammates, while Kidd already knows better. Then again, if "Bron had Martin, Jefferson and Kittles, I might not be saying that...
Shaken And (Certainly) Not Stirred - Despite the winning ways of the Nets, they still get next-to-nothing from the bench nightly. Tonight was no exception - the only player that you could say played well was Lucious Harris (3 - 6 shooting for 8 points). Scalabrine was like a bull in a china shop, Pack was as shaky as a Michael Jackson alibi, and Rogers? Well, Rodney Rogers played 4 minutes, and statistically, all he did was pick up 2 fouls and 1 turnover. Awful. If things don't improve, the Nets can't expect to go very far in the playoffs despite their very talented starting five.
More Martin Mayhem - The Nets attempted to hand the game to the Cavs in the first half with bad shooting and sloppy play despite the efforts of Kenyon Martin. Martin was all over the court defensively, leaving his mark with reckless abandon. Martin finished with the 16 points and 13 rebounds, but more important were his 5 steals, 3 blocks (two on James) and boundless energy as he patrolled the court. Don't forget his 5 assists as well.
Shake Your Money Maker - No better thing to a Netsfan as when Kerry Kittles is on. Tonight, it was catch and shoot - 8 for 11 (he was 0 - 2 from beyond the arc, so that means he was 8 - 9 in front of it. Impressive), 20 points, no messing around. When Kittles is smoking, it makes the rest of the game so much easier for the Nets. And let's give some major props to Richard Jefferson tonight for his 20 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and oops! 5 turnovers. Now, if he would only stop falling in love with the three point line...(ok, he did go three for five from three point land, and get fouled once while making one (but didn't make the free throw)).
Wait For The Shake
Jason Kidd shakes things up, for the Nets and for LeBron James, and another victory is secured despite many first-half attempts to keep the Cavs in this one. The Nets are looking more and more like the team we watched in last year's playoff run - confident, able to step it up when needed, and ultimately, having fun and winning. Now, to get that bench to stop fumbling and stumbling and start to contribute...
- Joe
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