Joe Netsfan Game x Game 73 - Pacers 123, Nets 115

Turn it around, Champy...

Pacers 123, Nets 115
Game 73 File
Three very large offensive droughts doom an otherwise entertaining loss for the Nets, throwing them further behind in the playoff race. The Nets are outplayed by the Pacers on both ends of the floor, and with an opportunity in the end game, the Nets fall flat.
• Box Score

Nets Record: 31 - 42
Home Record: 19 - 18
Away Record: 12 - 24
Division Record: 3 - 9
Conf. Record: 23 - 21
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Vince Carter, 33.
• Assists: Devin Harris, 9.
• Rebounds: Josh Boone, 16.
• Steals: Richard Jefferson, 2.
• Turnovers: Vince Carter, 5.
• Blocks: Nachbar and M. Williams each had 2.
• FG Percentage: Josh Boone, 75.0% (6 - 8).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 42.6%
• FT Percentage: 80.6%
• Rebounds: 50
• Rebound Differential: +5
• Turnovers: 12
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 10
• Bench points: 21
• Bench points Differential:-13
• Steals: 5
• Blocks: 6
• Points in the Paint: 46
• Double-Doubles: 1 (Josh Boone: 15 points, 16 rebounds)
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The (No) Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 5
• Nets Fast Break Points: 22
•Devin Harris' FG Percentage: 50.0% (10 - 20)
• Scoring Differential Harris in the game: +6
• Scoring Differential Harris out: -14 (M. Williams)

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

Pacers Media:
Indianapolis Star | Pacers

Game 73: Pacers 123, Nets 115 – March 28 , 2008
Tables Turned
The Nets had the tables turned in tonight's loss to the Pacers, and in the process, the defense slid clean off the table while the offensive lamp suffered a series of blackouts, dooming the Nets to what is quickly appearing to be playoff darkness. Now, with 9 games remaining, the Nets are 2 1/2 games behind the Hawks, and looking at a tough road schedule to finish up the season. Not the way we thought it would go, is it, Netsfans?

In this second game of the home and home series, the Nets and Pacers almost entirely switched roles from Wednesday night - the Pacers looked dominant offensively, while the Nets struggled to keep up and remember all the important defensive principles, like guarding the break, defending the paint, and finding the shooter. After a first quarter that was not nearly as exciting as the one from the other night, New Jersey was right in this one, but when Marcus Williams took control for Devin Harris (who had another brilliant first quarter with 7 points and 6 assists), it was a steady sinking offense as the Pacers went on a 13 - 2 run to go from up 4 to up 11. Give the Nets some credit, though - they battled back when Harris returned, and following some hot shooting (like three threes) from the new point guard, the Nets actually took a seven point lead into the locker room.

Well, easy come, easy go. The third quarter started off badly once again for the Nets, as the Pacers decided they could play defense after all, and the Nets were more than happy to stand around and throw the ball from here to there and back, but neglect going to the hoop. Troy Murphy, the missing link from Wednesday who was back in the Pacer lineup, canned two quick threes, the Pacers went on an 10 - 0 opening run of their own, and the Nets were scrambling. But Vince Carter steadied the ship, scoring 17 of the Nets 28 third quarter points on a variety of moves, and the Nets made it to within a point as the fourth quarter began. Surely a team desperate for a playoff berth would finally start playing some defense?

No such luck. The Nets started the fourth quarter horribly with who else but Marcus Williams at the controls, and they quickly fell down by nine points after getting only two points in the first six minutes. And defense was clearly not a priority for New Jersey, and things were looking pretty grim for the ending. Carter finally broke the schneid, and the Nets started attacking, making up the deficit and pulling to within two points with 3:35 to play. The Pacers, however, attacked the Nets weak spot on the floor, Marcus Williams, with Marquise Daniels, and the result was two consecutive back-down buckets in the paint to open up the lead to six. After two Carter freebies put it back at a four point deficit, the Nets suffered some serious vapor lock, allowing Kareem Rush to can a huge three from the corner after Mike Dunleavy missed a free throw and Murphy stole the rebound. That four point play put the Nets down eight with 1:19 to play, putting the final gouge in the table.

Here we have a team that can't make up its mind whether to be offensive or defensive minded, and the indecision usually shows up at key times in a game, especially on the road, and brings about a loss. The Nets are now down to hopes and prayers, because from here the road isn't getting any easier, and time is running out.

Table Games
Table Manners - Road woes continue. This inability to grab control of games, especially when the subs hit the floor, is also hurting the Nets big time. Defensive indifference doesn't help, but the Nets were faced with poor matchups thanks to their having to place players on the floor to deal with the run and gun Pacers. Trying to play their up and down game, the Nets thought they could outscore Indy, but when the shots don't fall like they did Wednesday night, and you run into some actual defense, well, here's your loss in a nutshell. Not good for the playoff situation, for sure.
Table That Thought - Anyone want to bet the Nets are disappointed in the performance of Marcus Williams? I know I am. Seems like anytime he enters the game for Devin Harris (who had another strong game, with 27 points and 9 assists), the Nets take a major detour from their offensive flow. The turnovers (granted, he's been better with the ball of late) and the confusion seen when he's trying to run the show are another part of this up and down play we've seen.
Let's Get It On The Table - Tough night for Richard Jefferson, who was thoroughly outplayed by Danny Granger. RJ had 19 points and got to the line, which the Nets need if they are to compete, but he had a poor shooting night, and at times seemed to lose sight of where Granger was or was going. Vince Carter continues to do things for the Nets big and small, but he too didn't shoot all that well, and the combo shot 15 - 39 for the game, putting them in a position to get more from the bench. Which of course, they did not, as Marcus Williams had 15 of the Nets 21 bench points (and no one really complains about his scoring ability).
Long Table - Another tough night for Sean Williams, who had less than 3 minutes of play (to be fair, Josh Boone was 15 points, 16 rebounds, so he was pretty good up front, and matchups dictated the Nets go smaller to try and stop the run and gun of Murphy and Dunleavy). We've had a hard time getting a handle on anything positive from Williams lately, since he sees such few minutes, but we hope he's still in the Nets plans for next year (and why wouldn't he be? Only because Lawrence Frank is the coach do I worry he won't get enough play to develop).
Off The Table - The Nets finish March 5 - 11, with a 1 - 8 record on the road. That's not how you get into the playoffs, folks, so I'm afraid this might be a permanent playing-out-the-string whether the Nets realize it or not...

Running The Table
Basically, with nine games to play, the Nets need to seriously think about running the table now that they've dropped another winnable game to the Pacers. Troy Murphy was big, Danny Granger bigger, and the support staff for Indiana played a whole lot better, especially defensively, than they did on Wednesday night. The Nets are starting to fire blanks at a time they need spot-on aim, and this confusion over whether to outscore or outdefend teams is really starting to hurt. They cannot win every game in a shootout, they just don't have the makeup for that (perhaps next year, but not this year). They cannot seem to remember all of those defensive principals they've been taught over and over again by little Lawrence Frank, either, so what's a team to do? Start getting wins by any means necessary, or it'll be a very long, non-playoff-season off season.
- Joe