Joe Netsfan Game x Game 25- Kings 106, Nets 101

Burnt to a crisp from the outside in

Kings 106, Nets 101
Game 25 File
Another home game, another sin. This time, the Nets perimeter defense is awful as the Kings connect on 12 three pointers, and the result is NJ's 6th loss in 7 games. Lack of defense and too many turnovers burn the Nets early and often, and no end game seals the deal.
• Box Score

Nets Record: 10 - 15
Home Record: 5 - 10
Away Record: 5 - 5
Division Record: 2 - 5
Conf. Record: 7 - 9
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Richard Jefferson, 36.
• Assists: Jason Kidd, 9.
• Rebounds: Jason Kidd, 10.
• Steals: Kidd and S. Williams each had 2.
• Turnovers: Richard Jefferson, 6.
• Blocks: S. Williams, 8.
• FG Percentage: Malik Allen 83.3% (5 - 6).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 50.6%
• FT Percentage: 73.1%
• Rebounds: 45
• Rebound Differential: +14
• Turnovers: 22
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 16
• Bench points: 23
• Bench points Differential:-5
• Steals: 7
• Blocks: 9
• Points in the Paint: 46
• Double-Doubles: 1 (Jason Kidd: 11 points, 10 rebounds)
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 6
• Nets Fast Break Points: 20
• Kidd's FG Percentage: 41.7% (5 - 12)
• Scoring Differential Kidd in the game: -1
• Scoring Differential Kidd out: -4 (M. Williams, Armstrong)
• Double-Doubles this Season:11
• Triple Doubles this Season: 6
• Career Triple Doubles:93

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
FoxSports | Nets
NBA.com | Nets
Sportsline.com | Nets

Kings Media:
Sacramento Bee | Kings

Game 25: Kings 106, Nets 101 – December 18, 2007
Ring Of Fire
All right, let's get this over with. The Nets were better at home, with the two young bucks in the starting front court. They seemed to have no problems offensively at all, really, especially considering where they'd come from. But what they didn't have (again) was defense - this time from the perimeter on in, as the Kings absolutely destroyed the Nets from outside, nailing 13 threes and putting the Nets down in the endgame. That makes two straight losses, six out of seven and frankly, the Nets are losing to teams they shouldn't be losing to, and it's starting to take its toll on everyone.

The Nets have been bad, routinely, throughout this stretch mostly because of the lack of defense. Tonight was no exception, as they again gave too much room to the shooters, and gave a short-handed Kings squad license to burn them like toast by not closing out on shooters. John Salmons, not to be confused with even Ron Artest, postiively tied the Nets up in knots. And by not getting enough stops, the offense, which was scoring regularly when they weren't turning the damned ball over, couldn't quite get enough going in the endgame to put this game away, and hence the Nets face yet another loss.

With Josh Boone and Sean Williams starting up front, there was more energy and less easy times inside (and a whole lot of blocked shots for Williams - 8), and so the Nets never found themselves trailing by double digits. But oh those threes, which put the Nets in a new hole each and every time, culminating in a four point play in which Richard Jefferson (who scored 36 on the night, 22 after the break) fouled Francisco Garcia (not to be confused with Reggie Miller) after Garcia stuck his leg out a la Miller and RJ ran into it while Garcia was draining a three (bad call). Those four points pulled the Kings out of a 85-all tie and set the tone for the failing endgame the Nets pulled off (turnovers and missed opportunities abounded, while the Kings scored on 4 of 5 possessions).

And so, lineup changes are a positive sign, the energy was better, the offense fine, but that defense is still charred. I'll be seeing open King shooters behind the three point line firing away in my sleep all week.

Smoke On The Hackensack
Burned By The Fire We Make – Calling out the defense, especially at home, is a regular fact of life in Netsland. They were much better inside with Josh Boone and Sean Williams starting and playing major minutes, so if they could only have kept up with the outside shooters, the Nets might have won this game, and easily. No, teams won't make 13 of 21 three pointers regularly, but if you give them enough time, NBA players will hit more than they'll miss. Contest the shots, really, is that so hard?
Burning Down The House – So the Nets are now 5 - 10 on the home court after 15 dates. That projects to about a 14 - 27 record for the season, which is beyond bad. And since they've played 25 games and had 15 at home, that means there are 5 more away games left than there are home (officially, there are 26 more home games, 31 more away), so the chances of the Nets getting into the playoffs is growing more remote by the loss. Of course, the Nets have actually been better (5 - 5) on the road, so who knows what is going to happen?
Freaky Fireman – How about the Freak, Sean Williams? Not much was expected of him before the season started (like lots of DNP's or benchwarming), but here he is in the starting lineup, perhaps permanently. As everyone has already said, he can do things no one else on the roster can do, from block shots (he tied the Nets rookie record with 8 tonight, seemingly from everywhere) and rebound to guard multiple positions with his athleticism and length. He can also score a bit from outside, and he makes free throws (unlike Josh Boone, who has also improved the starting lineup, but remains vulnerable to Hack a Huskie strategies to take points off the board for the Nets), so he's got to be a permanent, learn-as-he-goes man in the lineup.
Fire In The Hole – The Nets continue to confound with any many mental mistakes that they're still making, leading to tons of turnovers (22, many unforced). Richard Jefferson has been especially vulnerable lately, as has Jason Kidd. Both may have been trying to do too much, although lazy passes and dumb decisions are no excuse, especially in the endgame. Tonight's pathetic attempts to get close or get the lead where just that - pathetic - and they could not seem to do anything right after at least fighting their way back repeatedly all night. Get a stop, then turn the ball over? C'mon, this isn't high school. The Nets used to be money at the end of games. Come to think of it, they used to be money at home, too.
Smouldering Embers - You know that somewhere Jason Kidd has to be burning up about the state of the Nets. Even with Marcus Williams back in his first game of the year (got his feet wet, basically - no pun intended) and Nenad Krstic expected after the New Year, the Nets have done nothing to convince him they don't have that glass jaw. Even tonight, against what should be considered an inferior team talent-wise, a near triple double (11 points, 10 boards, 9 assists) couldn't pull the Nets over the hump.
Putting Out The Fire With Gasoline - So do we think that this lineup change will stick with Lawrence Frank? The whole Netsfan universe has had enough of Jason Collins, no matter what his intangible strengths are. But ol' Lawrence doesn't like new, because new makes mistakes, but since he's getting so little from the vet bigs, what does he really have to lose (except his team)? Go with it, Lawrence. Let go, and let them play, and see if your Big Three can help guide them to some wins.

Fire Starters
If I try to take a step back, I can rationalize this one as the start of the Sean Williams era around these parts. Yes, John Salmons, Ron Artest, Francisco Garcia and Brad Miller systematically tore apart the Nets defense, while at the same time the Nets were fumbing away enough chances to fill a Monopoly game, but perhaps all of this losing will give way to some new faces and new tinkerings with the team. So maybe in the long run, I'll be happy for the Nets 10 - 15 start after Jason Kidd is elsewhere, we've got some new point guard running the show, and Richard Jefferson is the go-to guy once and for all. Oh, and Sean Williams averages about 4 blocks, 8 rebounds and 10 points per, and things appear to be moving in a positive forward direction for this team. Well, I can dream, can't I?
- Joe