Joe Netsfan Game x Game 31 - Bulls 100, Nets 87

Time to move to Newark, and call them all road games?

Bulls 100, Nets 87
Game 31 File
Falling behind early at home (where else), the Nets make a game of it against the Bulls in the third quarter. Then, with the score tied and less than five minutes to play, the Nets utterly collapse, handing a Bulls team that had lost seven straight on the road the victory.
• Box Score

Nets Record: 15 - 16
Home Record: 5 - 12
Away Record: 10 - 4
Division Record: 3 - 2
Conf. Record: 9 - 11
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Vince Carter, 31.
• Assists: Harris and Simmons each had 5.
• Rebounds: Bobby Simmons, 10.
• Steals: Devin Harris, 3.
• Turnovers: Devin Harris, 4.
• Blocks: Brook Lopez, 2.
• FG Percentage: Vince Carter, 57.9%.(11 - 19).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 40.0%
• FT Percentage: 76.9%
• Rebounds: 41
• Rebound Differential: -2
• Turnovers: 10
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 10
• Bench points: 16
• Bench points Differential:-28
• Steals: 5
• Blocks: 4
• Points in the Paint: 40
• Double-Doubles: 0
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The Harris Report:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 2
• Nets Fast Break Points: 9
•Devin Harris' FG Percentage: 40.0%
• Scoring Differential Harris in the game: -26
• Scoring Differential Harris out: +13 (Carter, Douglas Roberts)

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

Bulls Media:
Chicago Sun-Times | Bulls
Chicago Tribune | Bulls

Game 31: Bulls 100, Nets 87 – December 29 , 2008
Woe Is Home
This is getting seriously pathetic, Netsfans. Battling their way back into a game in the second half, the Nets looked like a team poised to capitalize on a fellow sad sack team (on the road, as opposed to home) with a closeout, grind-out, it ain't pretty but we'll take it win. But, in keeping with both the spirit and the tenor of this season, the Nets come up empty - completely empty - after tying the game at 86 and watch almost helplessly as the Bulls take home the victory. So much for the comforts of home this year...

This game was again a microcosm of how things have gone for New Jersey at the Izod. With a stagnant offense and a defense that had trouble keeping tabs on terrific Bulls rookie Derrick Rose, Chicago took an early double digit lead. Only the heroic efforts of Vince Carter (18 first half points) kept the Nets anywhere near the Bulls, and as usual aside from a few contributions here and there, there was no help for VC again. Playing without the injured Keyon Dooling would also prove problematic, ratcheting up the playing time for Carter and Devin Harris while forcing Lawrence Frank to try some different combinations on the floor just to give them some breathing room. The Nets made a game of it in the second quarter, however, and it was only a five point hole at the break, which could be considered a minor miracle.

And the troubled third quarters for the Nets turned into a charm tonight, as Devin Harris decided he'd had enough of being shown up by Derrick Rose and off he went to work. In a sign of things to come, Harris (12 points), Carter (8 points) and Brook Lopez (3 points) scored all the points in the third, as the Bulls suddenly had trouble putting the ball into the basket and the Nets ended up two points. Looking for the closeout at home, NJ battled back and forth from there until they got below five minutes to play, and the Bulls (with help from the Nets, certainly) pulled the chair from out under the Nets. Landing with a thud, finishing up by going 0 for their last 8 from the field, managing one point after the Bulls had gone on a 14 - 0 run to end it.

With the last home game of 2008 in the books, and a 5 - 12 home record thus far, it cannot get any easier in 2009 for the Nets, especially if they want to make some noise in the Atlantic, unless they close 'em out at home. That doesn't seem likely in the short run...

Home Rule?
The Way Things Are - Feel like we've been around this topic before - without Vince Carter and Devin Harris, the Nets would not even compete in most games, since they get so little from the rest of the team. With defense suffering horribly already, the Nets need offensive production from the rest of the squad or else they'll sink like a rock. Brook Lopez has shown that he can be that guy some day, but not quite yet. Yi (2 points, only 16 minutes of game action), Bobby Simmons (3 points) are giving next to nothing lately as starters, and the Nets only received 16 points from the bench (missing Keyon Dooling, who coincidentally often is one of the five closing out games). Unless that changes, the Nets can't possibly hope to be more than a .500 team. Look for Rod Thorn to look into tinkering with the roster up to the February trading deadline.
Home Defense - We see the lousy home record. We know the Nets are caught between a rock and a hard place, with Brooklyn unable to get off the ground and the Izod unable to support basketball life. But should it really make that much of a difference in the Nets' play on the court when the building is half-empty night after night? The economy sucks, but also knowing the team is going to be moving doesn't exactly motivate the average fan, nor does the price of things like parking and food. So, the Nets will need a better excuse for the poor play at home than the lack of support...
Alarming System - You have to wonder about the Nets defensive system when players like Joakim Noah, Andres Nocioni, and Larry Hughes are able to beat the Nets and find their spots to score time and time again. Without any defensive specialist in the lineup, the Nets are too often caught out of position, a step slow or just plain blowing assignments, something that this young team can expect now and again. Problem is, it's killing them when they get no offensive production to counter that, and no important stops at the end of games (or often any time in games...).
Over-reliance On Long Distance Dialing - The Nets shot 3 - 19 from three point range tonight - not only is that not getting done, but that's also an offense doomed to fail. If Carter and Harris are making the right reads and finding the open shooter, said shooters have got to make shots. No one has been doing so lately...
Miscellaneous Post-Game Analysis - The Nets need to find another backup point guard, just in case. Hell, bring back Eddie Gill if need be. With Dooling out, it's asking even more of Harris and Carter, whom are being asked too much already. That Derrick Rose looks like a player, huh? When does playing the youngsters like Yi for development start to wear on Lawrence Frank's nerves? You can see Ryan Anderson and Yi playing less and less, and Jarvis Hayes and Eddie Najera playing more and more.

There's No Place Like Home?
Not sure how you can continue to play so badly on your home court and expect you can make it up on the road. With Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon picking apart the Nets like a hot knife through butter, the Nets were unable to make plays when they needed to, and still can't get stops to save their lives. Tonight's game is disappointing on many levels, but most of all because they continue to find new and exciting ways to lose on their home floor. Time is starting to slip away, and with a 5 - 12 home record, the wins need to start piling up now, or else the entire season's success will swing on road victories, which isn't something anyone should base their strategy on.
- Joe