The Nets reduced to rubble
Pistons 90, Nets 69
Round 2
Game 7
File
Jason Kidd cannot score a point, and
New Jersey gets completely dismantled in their first Game 7 ever. Turnovers,
bad-shooting, and excellent Detroit defense shutter NJ's season early.
There would be no historic comeback from down 0 - 2 in the series, and
there could be no comeback from going down by 25 points in the third quarter.
• Box
Score
Series Record: Detroit wins 4 - 3.
Nets High Men:
• Points: Kerry
Kittles, 18.
• Assists: Jason
Kidd, 7.
• Rebounds: Kenyon
Martin, 12.
• Steals: Kidd
and Kittles each had 3.
• Turnovers: Richard
Jefferson, 5.
• Blocks: Jefferson,
Martin, Rogers
and Williams each had 1.
• FG Percentage: Kenyon
Martin, 50% (6 - 12).
Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 35.8%
• FT Percentage: 72%
• Rebounds: 41
• Rebound Differential: -1
• Turnovers: 16
• Opponent's Turnovers: 9
• Bench
points: 15
•
Bench points Differential: +1
• Steals:
6
• Blocks:
4
•
Points in the Paint: 30
• Double-Doubles:
1 (Kenyon Martin: 17 points, 12 rebounds).
The Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring:
4
• Nets Fast Break Points: 14
• Kidd's FG Percentage: 0%
(0 - 8).
• Scoring
Differential Kidd in the game: -17
• Scoring
Differential Kidd out (Lucious Harris at PG: -4; Planinic at PG: even):
-4
• Double-Doubles
this Season: 25
• Triple
Doubles this Season: 10
Nets Media
Bergen
Record | Nets
Newark Star-Ledger
| Nets
Newsday
| Nets
NY
Daily News | NBA
NY
Post | Nets
NY
Times | Pro Basketball
YES
Network | Nets
Nets Team Pages
CNNSI.com
| Nets
ESPN.com
| Nets
NBA.com | Nets
The
Sporting News | Nets
Sportsline.com
| Nets
Pistons Media:
Detroit
Free Press
Detroit
News
Kidd Rocked
In the season's ultimate game, Jason Kidd and the Nets came up awfully small. With plenty of big game experience but no history of playing in deciding Game 7s, the Nets got manhandled by Hamilton, Billups and the Wallace boys of Detroit. Most suprisingly of all, their rock 'n' roll leader, Kidd, was shut out, posting a wretched 0 - 8, zero point, 7 assist evening. There will be no third Eastern Conference title for the boys of New Jersey (or is it Brooklyn?).
After the usual quick burst out of the gate to a 10 - 4 lead, the Nets flattened out and died, hitting another lonely road of broken down offense. The Pistons roared back to take a 7 point lead after one. It got worse, much worse, in the second. A lack of aggression, too much Piston defense, and the usual poor shooting doomed the sputtering Nets to a 12 point halftime deficit.
The American Bad Asses from Detroit weren't done, though. With Kidd obviously having no impact on this game, and only Kerry Kittles, Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin even remotely able to score on the Pistons, the Nets were all treble and no bass as they sunk to as low as 25 points under. The Nets were over and done – no miraculous comeback, no last run.
Clearly, something is up. I'm sure we'll spend all summer talking about it, from Kidd's zero to the lack of any sort of survival instinct in this one. Still, all things considered, it sucks to lose a Game 7, but given the 0 - 2 start to this series, the Nets should be proud they took the thing to 7 games.
Hilbilly Stomp
Empty Bottles - After the first eight minutes or so, the Nets went cold and lifeless and seemed to be looking for that lift from Jason Kidd. Kidd, utterly incapable of providing it, like he had so many times before, failed, and you could just see the collective fight leave the Nets. In such a big game, Kidd comes up with a zero? How badly injured is Kidd? It will be very interesting to read the post-game commentary.
Only Pam Anderson Could Make These Boobs Look Good - OK, so Kidd was out of the equation for carrying the scoring load. Where was everyone else? Kittles started off horribly but recovered to lead the team in scoring with 18. Richard Jefferson was the only one attacking the rim, but he had problems with free throws and was forcing things (5 turnovers). Kenyon Martin was once again trying to do too much, and dispite a double-double, probably didn't do enough. The rest of the group, aside from some late Rodney Rogers threes, was abysmal. Often it appeared that the Nets on offense were playing 4 on 5, as Jason Collins, Aaron Williams and Lucious Harris combined for, get this, 4 points. Tough way to lose, when you can't get your team to bring their best.
Rock N Roll Pain Train - The box score shows 16 Net turnovers (vs. only 9 for Detroit), 36% shooting (only 18% - that's 3 for 16 - from three) and not one 20 point or better quarter. Ouch. And the defense was often confused, having its best moment at the start while playing a zone. The rest of the night, Detroit got so many open looks that I wondered if the Nets were phased by Big Ben's blown-out afro...
Son Of Detroit - The Nets did do one of the things they needed to win this game – keep the rebounds close (they were outrebounded by 1) and keep their arch nemesis Ben Wallace, rebound king, to only 8 boards. So what does he do? He turns into an offensive juggernaut, scoring 18 points on 8 - 10 shooting.
Cocky - Larry Brown outduels Lawrence Frank. Hey, Frank certainly had his moments driving Brown to distraction, but clearly Brown's team was the more prepared team in this one. Here's to next year, when Frank will have a chance to prove from Game 1 just what he brings to these Nets. As for Brown, well, that cocky S.O.B. can prove it's real in the next round. Good Luck, Carpetbagger...
Brown Out
What did we learn tonight, Netsfans? Thanks to Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups and the old genius coach Larry Brown, there will be no third Eastern Conference title or trip to the NBA Finals. Vacations come a month earlier this year, and now the wondering can begin: Will Kenyon Martin be re-signed? Will Lawrence Frank sign an extension and prove that this year was no fluke? How will the roster change? What impact will Nenad Krstic have? The draft? So much to ponder, including what could have been in this wildly uneven season.
Stick around. We'll float through the rest of the playoffs, throwing around our thoughts, and yours. We'll continue the playoff picking contest. We'll starting looking toward the draft, and the possible replacements for next season's team. Oh, and we'll dive into this Brooklyn thing with more info about what can be done, and we'll follow any and all developments. We'll take a vacation, upgrade the site, have our annual pledge drive to pay for those upgrades, and most of all, we'll ask you what you think about the state of all things Nets.
For now though, I gotta catch up on 2 1/2 years of missed sleep. It's been a pleasure...stick around and we'll kick around the season that was over the next week or so.
- Joe
Archive | Backlash | Bio | Calendar | Champagne's Blog | Diatribe | Game x Game | History | Home | Joe Netsfan's Blog | Media | Opponents | Players | Playoffs | Search | Specials
© 2004 Shawn Belschwender and Michael Kozlowski
