Joe Netsfan Game x Game 34 - Bobcats 115, Nets 99

Mutiny for the defense

Bobcats 115, Nets 99
Game 34 File
The Nets go to the well one too many times, falling behind by double digits early, but without any defensive stops, they can't get themselves back in the game in the second half. Bad loss, despite Jason Kidd's third straight triple double, but maybe they'll learn something and move on tomorrow. Maybe not.
• Box Score

Nets Record: 17 - 17
Home Record: 8 - 11
Away Record: 9 - 6
Division Record: 2 - 5
Conf. Record: 13 - 11
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Richard Jefferson, 25.
• Assists: Jason Kidd, 12.
• Rebounds: Jason Kidd, 11.
• Steals: Josh Boone, 2.
• Turnovers: Kidd and Jefferson each had 3.
• Blocks: Kidd, Jefferson and Boone each had 1.
• FG Percentage: Richard Jefferson, 57.1% (8 - 14).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 46.1%
• FT Percentage: 63.2%
• Rebounds: 36
• Rebound Differential: -6
• Turnovers: 10
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 13
• Bench points: 26
• Bench points Differential:-3
• Steals: 7
• Blocks: 3
• Points in the Paint: 50
• Double-Doubles: 1 (Jason Kidd: 13 points, 12 assists)
• Triple-Doubles: 1 (Jason Kidd: 13 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists)

The Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 5
• Nets Fast Break Points: 25
• Kidd's FG Percentage: 33.3% (4 - 12)
• Scoring Differential Kidd in the game: -1
• Scoring Differential Kidd out: -15 (Armstrong, M. Williams)
• Double-Doubles this Season: 19
• Triple Doubles this Season: 10
• Career Triple Doubles:97

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

Bobcats Media:
Charlotte Observer | Bobcats

Game 34: Bobcats 115, Nets 99 – January 8, 2008
Indefensible
Live by the sword, die by the sword. Going to the well once too often. If you can't get stops, you can't win. Pick your NBA statement of wisdom, and they'll all apply after the Nets horrible loss in Charlotte, one that breaks the five game winning streak.

Simply put - the Nets didn't defend anywhere near the level they need to defend at to win consistently in the NBA. And when you get behind by double digits early and you don't defend, not even in the second half, well, then you've got no chance at a victory. If the Nets thought they'd try something different and wait until the fourth quarter before showing any sign of defense, they blew that strategy to hell too. Nothing was working - no stops inside, no stops outside, and too many wide open jumpers, putbacks and layups for any team to survive.

That's what this game was all about - following the same pattern seen since the start of 2008, only this time they were in too deep, remained too unconvinced to defend, and couldn't make any sort of comeback happen. Give the hot shooting Bobcats some credit as well - a funky zone defense took the Nets out of rhythm several times, and they played enough defense to fluster the Nets offense, despite Jason Kidd's third straight triple double performance.

No sense in rehashing what was the same game, only with no turnaround in the second half to be found. Just reset the defense and play the Sonics tomorrow night back at home, trying to put things right. Of course, nothing short of a blowout is going to satisfy, but we'll address that issue tomorrow.

Indefensible, the Nets performance tonight.

Defense Mechanism
War Zone – It was an ugly night for the Nets' "D", inside and out. The 'Cats wound up shooting nearly 60% for the game, were almost never challenged on their shots, and had so many easy looks it's rather depressing. Perhaps we were more than a bit blinded by the last three comebacks to truly notice the Nets had been getting away with not defending the way they need to. Those 66 points in the paint weren't a fluke in Atlanta, because even though the Bobcats had "only" 40 points in the paint tonight, nearly every one of them was a wide open look. Gerald Wallace was allowed to waltz inside, Emeka Okefor was unocontested, Nazr Mohammed may as well have been escorted to the hoop, and Jason Richardson was alone often enough to be a Gilbert O'Sullivan song. Man, that's really depressing. Fix it and quick, or this whole little run of late will have been just a mirage.
Defending Your Life – Three straight triple doubles for Jason Kidd - how incredible is that. Unfortunately, he didn't have much help, especially after the first six minutes of this one. Kidd of course didn't shoot well, but that's to be expected. The bad news is without defense, and a poor night for Vince Carter (VC, -22 in the plus/minus,what's going on? Defend even a little?), there was little that Kidd could force his will upon. Even his defense was a bit substandard, sorry to say.
No Defense For Poor Free Throw Shooting – Oh, and it was contageous tonight. The Nets missed 14 of 38 free throws, and those 14 points, while they still wouldn't have won the game with the hot shooting 'Cats, certainly would have helped put some pressure on Charlotte. It's really amazing to see how up and down the Nets are from the line, but I guess any team that employs both Jason Collins and Josh Boone isn't going to be at the top of the free throw percentage listing (unless they get some DNP's).
Bunker Bomb - For a short time in this one it appeared that Boki Nachbar was going to shoot the Nets back into this one. Boki was fine offensively, with 14 points and two big threes, but he eventually cooled off, and his defense was well below par, and anything else the bench brought was quickly negated. Again, it all flows back to the lack of defense.
War Stats - Turnovers were low (only 10 tonight), 50 points in the paint, 25 fast break points (many beautiful leakouts by RJ early, but that was about the highlight reel offensively), 99 points scored (not too shabby for a team that couldn't throw it in the ocean as long as three weeks ago), and a 46% shooting percentage are all good numbers, good enough for a win. But the 'Cats made 9 more shots despite taking one less, which is the big, big difference maker tonight. Can you tell this one was all about the lack of defense?

No Offense, But That Defense
Couldn't stop traffic, couldn't stop a shopahaulic with a cancelled credit card, couldn't stop a church service with a fart, etc. etc. You get the message, right? If you hadn't seen this one, hopefully it's clear that it was all about the lack of defense being served up to the likes of Jason Richardson, Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, Raymond Felton, and the rest of the Bobcats tonight. Has this latest run really been for naught? The Nets can't seem to get ahead of anyone, and only have so many NBA-mandated comebacks in them. Hell, the law of averages tells us the Nets can't win the same way 50 times in a season, let alone 4 or 5. How about a nice, old fashioned blowout at some point, Nets? By winning as often as they have so far this season in the manner they've won (coming from behind), one has to wonder if this trend isn't corrected, and soon, is it really just fool's gold to think this team can really get somewhere come playoff time? There's a lot to decipher after this one - a lesson learned, or the start of another funk? So many questions come out of this one. The Nets need a good, winning effort against the struggling Sonics to convince everyone that they can play the game the right way.
- Joe