Joe Netsfan Game x Game 78 - Cavs 104, Nets 83

Dying of embarassment after the fourth quarter

Cavs 104, Nets 83
Game 78 File
Up 14 points in the third quarter and getting the best of the Cavs, the bottom suddenly drops out for the Nets, as they get outscored 51 - 16 over the last 18 minutes to take a winnable game and trash it. This was one of the worst quarter-plus basketball we've seen from the Nets in a long, long time. The magic number to be eliminated from the playoffs stands at one, but we sure know after this effort the Nets aren't going anywhere but early summer vacation.
• Box Score

Nets Record: 32 - 46
Home Record: 20 - 20
Away Record: 12 - 26
Division Record: 4 - 10
Conf. Record: 24 - 24
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Vince Carter, 19.
• Assists: Vince Carter, 6.
• Rebounds: Gana Diop, 9.
• Steals: Jefferson, Krstic an Carter each had 1.
• Turnovers: Vince Carter, 3.
• Blocks: Gana Diop, 3.
• FG Percentage: Bostjan Nachbar, 66.7% (4 - 6).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 33.3%
• FT Percentage: 92.3%
• Rebounds: 40
• Rebound Differential: -6
• Turnovers: 16
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 10
• Bench points: 27
• Bench points Differential:-14
• Steals: 3
• Blocks: 5
• Points in the Paint: 14
• Double-Doubles: 0
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The (No) Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 3
• Nets Fast Break Points: 7
•Devin Harris' FG Percentage: 25.0% (2 - 8)
• Scoring Differential Harris in the game: -4
• Scoring Differential Harris out: -17 (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

Cavs Media:
Cleveland Plain Dealer | Cavs

Game 78: Cavs 104, Nets 83 – April 9 , 2008
Death Rattle
With a cough and a wheeze in the fourth quarter tonight against the Cavs, the Nets season went to the great beyond. And with that goes the end of six straight seasons of playoff basketball, and an off-season of (one hopes) changes. Yes, technically, they still have a mathematical chance, being 4 out with 4 to go, but it’s time to face reality – the patient likely died on the operating table not long after the now-imfamous migraine of ex-Net Jason Kidd back in December.

What do you want me to say about this one? In terms of a post-mortem, the Nets took a 14 point lead in the third quarter before the sky fell right on top of them. The Cavs raced back, thanks to the Nets’ ineptitude, and the ol’ prevent offense. Taking advantage up to that point of LeBron James’s bad back, the Nets outplayed the Cavs by a lot before, well, the affliction set in. Picking up the transition game thanks to Daniel Gibson, and following LBJ at every turn, the Cavs went on what we’d call a tear – going 51 – 16 from about the midpoint of the third on, with the Nets turning the ball over 9 times and getting 1 field goal in the fourth while turning the ball over 9 times. They shot (get this) 1 – 20 in the final frame, bringing a perverse pride to the ineptitude on both sides of the ball. The Nets missed so many shots from close in, while cowering away from the tall frontline of Cleveland, that you would have thought flu shots were being applied down there. And all the while they were making it easy, very easy, for the Cavs to score at will.

If you had seen this game from the third quarter on (like I did), you would have thought the Nets were battling the Heat for worst in the league. That’s how bad/sad/comical it was, with the Nets thinking they might have had a playoff berth on the line, no less. At least they knew they had to run the table to have any shot. Now, they’ll likely be eliminated Friday night after their game against the Raptors.

A sad, pathetic ending to a sad, pathetic season that flatlined so quickly Netsfans never had a chance to even entertain the possibilities. Let’s end this thing already, throw the funeral in their honor, and move on to a summer of change.

Sick Of Feeling Sick
Sick Bay - Yikes, this is a really bad Nets team right now. How many times have we said that this year? No amount of newfound offense could mask the fact that this team is merely a collection of parts, non-working parts at that. The defense has been horrible, but at least there was offense over the last 20 or so games. But now, the offense seems to have hit the crisis point once again, and it's not a pretty thing to watch. Must be even more difficult to coach...
No Guts, No Glory - Are the Cavs that scary of a defensive front line? The Nets had 14, yes 14, points in the paint tonight. They complained they weren't getting calls (and really, by their play do they deserve them?), but they seemed to totally lose it in the face of Ilgauskas, Varajao, Wallace and anyone else over six feet tall. It was really sad (and comical, really) to see them turn to wallflowers when meeting the front line, flubbing what should have been easy shots or turning away entirely.
Oh, Those Doctor Bills - Think Lawrence Frank will need to see a shrink after this one? "Doc, I swear, I thought we would win this game"...this team is weak mentally, doesn't have that mentality to get physical when called for, and seems to shrink at the sight of any sight of dirty work. Not very becoming of this team, but then again, the guy who led that way by example is now in Dallas. Time to break up this bunch.
Bury The Dead - Even though it's not final mathematically, you can bury this year's Nets out in the back along with some of the more interesting Net teams of yesteryear. At this point, Derrick Coleman or Micheal Ray Richardson wouldn't have been out of place with the play on the court of late...
Finality Of It All - Boy, that sure was a fun fourth quarter, yes? Sort of fits in with the overal inconsistency theme we've seen all year long, but at the extreme. What's happened to Richard Jefferson, by the way? He seems to be a shell of his former self. Determined to play all 82 games, but at what price?
(Dead) Body Swapping - Anyone want to start the conversation about possible moves for the Nets to make in the off-season? Can we start with getting Elton Brand somehow, some way (I'll give you Richard Jefferson, Marcus Williams, a # 1 pick and we'll even throw in Mo Ager or Hassan Adams (oh wait, he's gone, right?). No idea if that would work against the cap (then again, I think Brand might have some free agency coming his way), but that's what I'd like to see... email Joe with your thoughts, or post them on the blog when I get to that section.

No Saving This Patient
Time has run out on our sick, sick patient – the 2007 – 2008 New Jersey Nets. Yes, there are 4 games left on the schedule, but after what LeBron James and co. did to them tonight, they are dead men walking. Or perhaps more accurately, dead men laying dead on the court, with no chance for revival until next season. Who knows what the off-season brings? Who knows who stays and who goes? After the ineptitude that was shown on both ends of the court, it’s likely to be a blow-it-up-and-start-again scenario, especially when you consider that Kiki Vanderweghe is hanging around, just chomping at the bit to get his hands on things ( of course, that is assuming that he’s sticking around…). Let’s run this thing out, and get on with life, already…
- Joe