Joe Netsfan Game x Game 79 - Raptors 113, Nets 85

This is the end

Raptors 113, Nets 85
Game 79 File
A repeat of Wednesday's debacle has the Nets up 14 early vs. the Raptors, but poor play in the second half officially ends the Nets playoffs hopes. This season will go down as one massive disappointment, a body of work so inconsistent it was at times unwatchable and the Nets could easily finish with 50 losses.
• Box Score

Nets Record: 32 - 47
Home Record: 20 - 20
Away Record: 12 - 27
Division Record: 4 - 11
Conf. Record: 24 - 25
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Vince Carter, 21.
• Assists: Jefferson and Harris each had 2.
• Rebounds: Diop, Carter, Harris and Swift each had 6.
• Steals: Jefferson, Harris and Nachbar each had 1.
• Turnovers: Nenad Krstic, 3.
• Blocks: Carter and Swift each had 2.
• FG Percentage: Stromile Swift, 75.0% (3 - 4).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 42.0%
• FT Percentage: 63.6%
• Rebounds: 39
• Rebound Differential: -8
• Turnovers: 11
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 9
• Bench points: 21
• Bench points Differential:-32
• Steals: 3
• Blocks: 6
• Points in the Paint: 30
• Double-Doubles: 0
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The (No) Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 4
• Nets Fast Break Points: 2
•Devin Harris' FG Percentage: 43.8% (7 - 16)
• Scoring Differential Harris in the game: -17
• Scoring Differential Harris out: -11 (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

Raptors Media:
Toronto Star
Toronto Sun | Raptors

Game 79: Raptors 113, Nets 85 – April 11 , 2008
The Worst Kept Secret Is Out
Now the Nets have absolutely nothing to play for, perhaps not even pride, as the Raptors took the script from the Cavs game on Wednesday night and followed it to a tee. And with that, the worst kept secret in the NBA is officially out - the Nets are not headed to the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Oh, and they stink on ice.

After a good start against the indifferent Raptors, the Nets were able to take a lead and notch it up, mostly behind the work of Vince Carter, to get as high as 14 in the second quarter. But it wasn't to be for very long, as the Nets let Carlos Delfino get right from behind the three point line, and after last seeing those 14 points of a lead at the 10:44 mark of the second, in another five minutes plus the Nets lead was down to a point. Suddenly confident, the Raptors kept attacking, and though the Nets would battle to keep a two point lead at the half, it was all changing for the worse.

It was TJ Ford who put the pedal to the metal and got the Rapts running and gunning to start the third, and before the Nets knew what hit them, the Raptors were in the lead. At 60 - 56 and eight minutes to go in the third, Toronto started to pour it on, and it finished up with a 23 - 11 run to take a sixteen point lead at the end of the third. The Nets were fouling in frustration, griping about non-calls on their end of the court, and unable to stop anything the Raptors were doing. In essence, this was the Cavs game from Wednesday night all over again, except the intimidation wasn't nearly as strong. But the Nets, those weak-kneed Nets of 2007 - 2008, wilted like a daffodill in the spring rain, and it was all over for this year.

Sure, there are three more games remaining, but now nothing matters, officially, except starting the off-season rebuilding. Quickly, we hope. Because we'll have to sit through all the playoff rounds without any sort of idea of what comes next. Empty lives for the next six months or so, Netsfans...empty lives. Good thing there is the draft, trades, and the summer league.

Don't Keep Secrets
Whispers And Lies - There was nothing that came out of this game that hasn't been said already - the Nets can't take a punch, can't defend with any kind of consistency, can't make shots when they need to, and certainly can't find ways to weather the storm without coming unhinged. Richard Jefferson has proved he can score and defend as well as play in every game, but he's starting to leak oil and his ability to get things done seems to be in question as he runs out of juice. Vince Carter has carried the team as far as he can in the last 20 games or so, but with little help from the bench, and no strong second banana on most nights, let alone a third, he's been too often the bright spot in a dismal offense. Devin Harris appears to be a keeper bu needs a new bunch of teammates around him, ones that play hard and physical, run like the win, defend with a purpose, and don't accept mediocrity. Josh Boone was good, but now he's hurt again, probably not serious but he can at least contribute next year. Nenad Krstic has not shown the form he needs to, and isn't a lock in my book to be resigned and coming back. Boki Nachbar is hurt, but still wasn't nearly as consistent as he was last year, and he might get a better offer. Same for Gana Diop, who needs to play more in the middle if he sticks around. Marcus Williams is still a hard nut to crack, and seems to have regressed in year two after returning from the broken foot. Sean Williams is either unable to grasp what he needs to or else is just not Lawrence Frank material, but either way he needs to learn and grow in the offseason and play more next year. Everyone else has not impressed or is on the bubble for returning, and that is Trenton Hassell, Mo Ager, Darrell Armstrong (who would do well to retire) and Stromile Swift.

In short, changes need to be made, the Nets need to get longer and more athletic, get at least one if not two shooters, and make a ton of defensive adjustments to be able to defend and run the break. The Nets of current do not force turnovers (it seems like the last 10 games or so, every game they've had 3 steals, which is pathetic) and do not protect the paint or find the shooter with regularity, so it'll come down to personnel and coaching once again.

Will any of this happen? Clearly, it must if the Nets aren't into accepting mediocrity...

Tell It Like It Is
So the suffering, the anguish of the 2007 - 2008 Nets is officially over, tonight courtesy of TJ Ford, Carlos Delfino, Chris Bosh and the rest of the playoff-bound Raptors, as they take their dislike of the Nets and their national hate of Vince Carter out on our boys from New Jersey. With the loss, the Nets are officially out of a playoff race we knew they were out of a long time ago, if not actually then spiritually and otherwise. Like a bunch of spoiled children who just couldn't or wouldn't pull it together for the sake of the team, the Nets played a lot like a collection of parts and not some well-oiled machinery. Offensive woes have always been present, but this year the defense came unhinged, and with no saving grace on either side of the ball, the losses piled up to the point where this team might hit 50 on the losing side. The Jason Kidd fiasco is a large part of the undercurrent of disharmony on this club, but there were a whole lot of other issues and mistakes that had been masked for awhile, but became painfully obvious when the Kidd situation exposed itself. But, it's over, we can all go in peace, wherever we need to, to start to heal and recover from the disaster this has been. Netsfans, pray for a better future.
- Joe