Perimeter Pain

Vince Carter’s absence unmasked a weak offensive underbelly without the only bona fide scorer on the floor. Blaming the recent six-game losing streak an offense struggling to reach 80 points most nights hid another major problem the Nets have struggled with all season, perimeter defense. The statistics prove it, the boys from The Swamp are dead last in 3-point percentage against, yielding 42% shooting. Each game Nets opponents torch them from beyond the arc, Memphis to the tune of 50% shooting for 33 backbreaking points on Tuesday night.

The scenarios are all too familiar. Jersey double teams a strong post player or provides help defense on the blocks, a kick out and swing pass along the perimeter later an open shooter buries a three with a Net defender running at him late. Second, a Net guard get beat off the dribble, the interior defense collapses in the paint to stop the penetration, kick out open three from the wing. Finally, as Memphis accentuated on Tuesday night, off a Net miss, the opponent goes in transition, the Nets do not get back on defense, someone pulls up for an open 3. Professional players will not continually miss wide open shots. The latter scenario plays out when the Nets go into a malaise, the other team makes a run, they start taking bad shots, get lazy on defense, show that “glass jaw” Jason Kidd referred to, and allow leads to grow quickly from 6 or 8 points to 15 or 18 points. Grant it, Memphis, New Orleans, and Boston are Top 5 3-point shooting teams, but Miami, Orlando, and Portland, to name a few, also torched them.

On the flip side, the Nets take too many three pointers, particularly early in the shot clock. They are fourth from the bottom in 3-point shooting, yet they fire almost a quarter of their shots from downtown. Without a knock down long-range threat, say an Eddie House, the Nets need to focus on running sets and getting easy baskets. The big first half runs where the Nets continue to fall behind by double-digits go from bad to worse because the Nets get flustered and start to hoist three’s, or down by a few points late in the game, someone tries to go for the jugular with a three. Lawrence Frank needs to instill the old baseball axiom, you cannot hit a three-run homer with nobody on base. The Nets need to stop swinging for the fences, take the ball hard to the basket, run the motion offense, and settle for 10-12 foot jumpers if lay-ups are not there.

Despite including the recent three-game win streak, the Nets have allowed over 100 points in 4 of the past 5 games with those three point shots adding up. With the offense shaping up since VC’s return, it’s time buckle down on D.

Quick Notes:br />
Sounds like Marcus Williams is still a few weeks away. Reports this week say he cannot run on the injured right foot two days in a row, and he continues to experience soreness, common during the healing process. Still no timetable, but mid-December may even be too optimistic. Hopefully he returns at 100% before the calendar turns, then we have to see how rusty Marcus is.