Joe Netsfan Game x Game 82 - Celtics 105, Nets 94

It's really the end

Celtics 105, Nets 94
Game 82 File
Playing the last game of an 82-game string of inconsistency, the Nets fall behind early, battle back to take the lead, the collapse to the Celtcs B team in their 48th and final loss of this long, strange season. Good bye and good riddance to the 2007 - 2008 season...
• Box Score

Nets Record: 34 - 48
Home Record: 21 - 20
Away Record: 13 - 28
Division Record: 4 - 12
Conf. Record: 26 - 26
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Richard Jefferson, 24.
• Assists: Devin Harris, 7.
• Rebounds: Nenad Krstic, 12.
• Steals: Stromile Swift, 2.
• Turnovers: Vince Carter, 4.
• Blocks: Gana Diop, 2.
• FG Percentage: Richard Jefferson, 66.7% (10- 15).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 43.7%
• FT Percentage: 80.0%
• Rebounds: 36
• Rebound Differential: -8
• Turnovers: 15
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 13
• Bench points: 34
• Bench points Differential:-41
• Steals: 7
• Blocks: 4
• Points in the Paint: 22
• Double-Doubles: 1 (Nenad Krstic: 13 points, 12 rebounds)
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The (No) Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 3
• Nets Fast Break Points: 5
•Devin Harris' FG Percentage: 40.0% (2 - 5)
• Scoring Differential Harris in the game: -3
• Scoring Differential Harris out: -8 (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

Celtics Media:
Boston Globe | Celtics
Boston Herald | Celtics

Game 82: Celtics 105, Nets 94 – April 16 , 2008
End Of The Run
The perfect ending for this inconsistent Nets team was played out tonight against the he-man Celtics, as NJ goes from bad to good to bad one last time, ultimately being handed their 48th loss of a long, disappointing season. And it marks the end of the Jason Kidd, playoff-era Nets, replaced by a team in flux, 48 loss albatross that should cost Rod Thorn, Kiki Vanderweighe and Lawrence Frank many sleepless nights this off-season.

Oh, the game was a microcosm of the Nets entire 2007 -2008 model year, a terrible start, work to catch up and take a lead then a fourth quarter collapse and another loss on the scoreboard. Of course, with the 66 win Celtics doing little but getting extra practice before their first round series against the Hawks, their B-team was the team on the floor when they made their move at the end. Someone named Leon Powe, who hardly ever figures in the C's rotation normally, outplayed Richard Jefferson and his rag-tag band of ballers to bring home a win.

But none of that matters, since the Nets lost all hope last week. What they find themselves with now is not only a 10th pick in the draft (to go along with their pick from Dallas at 21), but an entire roster full of potential trades, plus the obligatory free agent signings that never seem to go the Nets' way. What they also have is Rod Thorn, who rebuilt this team from ashes in 2001 (moving Stephon Marbury, drafting Jefferson, Collins and the long forgotten Brandon Armstrong) and Kiki Vanderweighe, Rod's likely longer-term replacement.

So it's finally ended - perhaps not a moment too soon, because far too often this Nets team was unwatchable, unpredictable, and downright unpleasant. Let's put this one to rest, get a summer of fun under our belts and try to come back strong in September for the (hopefully) new-look Nets.

Running On Empty
Walk, Don't Run - Big, big off-season for the franchise and Rod Thorn. The money's already drying up, making it harder for the continually-delayed Nets to get to Brooklyn and rake in those giant corporate dollars, which in turn makes it hard for the Nets ownership to keep putting up with losses in the tens of millions (try $40 million, at least). Attendance peaked last season and was down this season, no doubt because of the Kidd conundrum that played out on the back pages of our local papers, but also because the quality on the court wasn't anywhere near up to snuff. Fans in general tire of the same old thing, and like a burst of lightning that occurred when Kidd showed up and blasted the Nets to Princeton offense and fast break heaven of two Finals appearances, the Nets again need something (and someone) new to capture the fans' fancy.

Of course, it's not just about the marketing (which seems to have taken over the Izod Arena), but the play on the court. Rod Thorn needs to catch that lightning in a bottle a second time, but at this point in time, doesn't appear to have any easy or obvious ways to get there. The best players in the draft will be gone by the time Trader Rod gets to pick, so he'll have to be creative with his picks, or use trades to shake up the moribund roster of his own creation. We'll get to handing out final grades soon enough, as well as a further discussion on who should stay and who should not, but we admit frankly that we have no idea how this is going to shape up, since we have no idea what Rod wants to do (or more likely, what he'll come up with).

As we wrap up another year of basketball (the worst kind - non-playoff), we'll start trying to put the pieces in their proper place. Or at least where we think Rod and Kiki and Lawrence Frank might be leaning.

Runaway Season
That's that, in a nutshell. Tonight, the final loss on a long, losing season, it wasn't the likes of Garnett, Pierce or Allen that helped the Celtics defeat the Nets, but Leon Powe. Go figure. Actually, you would have expected that a 65 win team would be motivated to win number 66, no matter what they circumstance, and they should be ready to represent the East come NBA Finals time. As for the Nets, well, RIP to the 2007 - 2008 season of hell, where inconsistency was the only consistent theme and the lack of energy, effort, enthusiasm and defense were appalling (as was the long stretch of bad offense). Too many long losing streaks, too many gimme games that were anything but, too many losses to the likes of the Knicks and Grizzlies, and perhaps worst of all, uninteresting basketball through most of the season. We can accept losing with effort, but when it's missing more often than not, and the losses keep piling up, well, then it's time for change. And that, friends, will be the theme of the off-season. Stay with us, we'll attempt to dissect the season that wasn't, take a long look at the draft, trade possibilities, and free agent signings, and generally hang around while the playoffs are going on without us. Thanks for being around this season, and hopefully there will be more and better to come in 2008 - 2009!
- Joe