Joe Netsfan Game x Game 40 - Suns 116, Nets 92

No names have been changed to protect the guilty

Suns 116, Nets 92
Game 40 File
The energetic Suns jump all over the Nets in the first quarter, building a 13 point lead as this one becomes no contest early. The Nets continue to look lifeless while crashing and burning to their fifth straight loss.
• Box Score

Nets Record: 18 - 22
Home Record: 9 - 14
Away Record: 9 - 8
Division Record: 2 - 7
Conf. Record: 13 - 13
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Richard Jefferson, 24.
• Assists: Jason Kidd, 8.
• Rebounds: Boone and Carter each had 9.
• Steals: Jefferson and Wright each had 2.
• Turnovers: Jason Kidd, 6.
• Blocks: S Williams, Boone and Allen had 2 each.
• FG Percentage: Sean Williams, 75.0% (6 - 8).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 45.8%
• FT Percentage: 81.5%
• Rebounds: 38
• Rebound Differential: -10
• Turnovers: 17
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 10
• Bench points: 28
• Bench points Differential:+3
• Steals: 6
• Blocks: 6
• Points in the Paint: 44
• Double-Doubles: 0
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 4
• Nets Fast Break Points: 20
• Kidd's FG Percentage: 50.0% (3 - 6)
• Scoring Differential Kidd in the game: -17
• Scoring Differential Kidd out: -7 (Williams)
• Double-Doubles this Season: 23
• 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

Suns Media:
Arizona Republic | Suns

Game 40: Suns 116, Nets 92 – January 20 , 2008
Nolo Contendere
All rise for the honorable Joe Netsfan...

Will the defendant please take the stand?

Bailiff, please read the list of charges against the New Jersey Nets.

Your honor, the New Jersey Nets are accused of the following crimes and misdemeanors for the 2007 - 2008 season, culminating in a lousy no-show loss to the Phoenix Suns on January 20, 2008:

Charge #1: Lacking any sort of fire against one of the best teams in the NBA.
Charge #2: Aiding and abetting such team with an absolute no show performance on the defensive end of the floor. (the defense has allowed an average of 118 points in the last two games -that's beyond unfathomable)
Charge #3: A stagnant offense made putrid in the face of zone defense.
Charge #4: Failure to box out, especially when the Suns have the ball.
Charge #5: Unimaginative offense from a player now a shell of his former self, Vince Carter. No contest on the defense end.
Charge #6: Inducing a riot amongst Netsfans with their continued lackidaisical play.
Charge #7: Failure to perform services promised, in this case, a well-played game featured nationally on NBATV (while the Giants were getting the most out of their talent, winning in the bitter cold and moving on to the Super Bowl)
Charge #8: Failure to play with any kind of consistency, all the way down the roster, from #1 through #13.
Charge #9: Wasting the talents of Jason Kidd, who is quickly watching his window of opportunity to win a championship close tightly.
Charge #10: Failure of Coach Lawrence Frank to come up with a way to motivate their sorry asses and play 48 minutes a game.
Charge #11: Theft of service, as this collection of NBA players has promised to provide a service to the fans of New Jersey, one that promised a winning team featuring the Big Three and capable role players.
Charge #12: Failure to break up this team in a timely fashion, forcing Netsfans to watch the same horrors over and over again all season long.

New Jersey Nets, how do you plead?

No Contest, your honor.

Nets, from what I can tell, the biggest crime committed here tonight and in fact all season long has been the lack of energy and effort, at least for a full game. In this game against the Suns, one of the best teams in the NBA, it was obvious that motivation was an issue from the opening tip. A complete breakdown on the defensive end allowed the Suns any shot they wanted, open looks from beyond the arc, and far too many easy dunks for any team to have. And on offense, a simple zone defense and the lack of aggressiveness made this look like something out of the Princeton Offense circa 1988. Vince Carter has regressed to the point of painfulness, as in you are pained to watch him with the ball in his hands right now. Wasn't it just a few short years ago when he could take over games and dominate the opposition? Now he appears scared of his own shadow.

The Nets had no fight in them when suffering the initial body blows of the first quarter, and though they were able to hold their own statistically the rest of the game, they still lost by 24. Even when making a run, the confident Suns would simply kick the Nets aside like some stray dog and it was back to the races, while the Nets compounded their woes by playing well for a minute or two, then completely reversing course and acting like they had no business being on the court.

A tough game to watch, on the heels of a bad loss in LA the evening before, and you have to wonder what damage the Nets' collective psyche has suffered at this point. At 18 - 22, with Amare Stoudamire ripping though the Nets defense, Steve Nash shredding up a storm, and Raja Bell bombing from deep, the Nets now move on to a much-improved Sacramento Kings team, a team that already beat the Nets earlier this season without their best players on the floor. Kevin Martin and Mike Bibby are back now, so the Nets had better find a way to get their heads back into the game, and some fire in their bellies.

But enough about the game. Back to the judging.

This crime you keep committing has served to bring loss upon loss, many times in winnable games that end up anything but. The lack of desire, pride, passion or anything resembling a killer instinct has doomed this season, and leaves me no choice but to sentence this team to play out the string until changes, big changes, can be had.

Netsfans, I feel your pain. In fact, the hope is this pain forces you into action, with pens in hand. Tell the Nets you're mad as hell and not going to take these kinds of performances anymore. Tell them to have some pride and find the fire down below, for crying out loud. Most of all, tell them they are too highly-paid to simply mail in their performances more often than not this season.

If that fails, then let us know what moves you would make to break up this Nets team.

Let the record show that the Nets had no argument to any of the charges brought forth this evening.

I hereby sentence these Nets to play out the string, and Netsfans to watch at their own risk
- Judge Joe