Posts tagged ‘Atlanta Hawks’

Desperate for a win, who better to play than the New York Knicks, the laughingstock that Isiah built. In recent years that meant an automatic win for the Nets, sporting an impeccable record during the Jason Kidd era, then that nasty migraine hit in December. This season, the Knicks have given the Nets headaches, sweeping the three meetings thus far. Monday night the Knicks look to sweep the season series for the first time since the strike shortened 1998-99 season, and the first four-game set since 1994-95.

Back to back weekend losses combined with Indiana and Atlanta win streaks leave the Nets tied with the Pacers, 1 ½ games behind the Hawks, in the race for eighth in the East, and a date with the Celtics in the playoffs. Following the Knicks, New Jersey has a home and away with Indiana to end a critical seven game stretch against lesser opponents before navigating the playoff heavyweights. So far, not so good - dropping three of four last week leave the Nets in a precarious position. Given the lighter schedule facing Atlanta and Indiana, a poor performance in the next three games could end the Nets chances.

Outside of Miami, who barely fields a team these days, the Knicks are the worst team in the NBA at this point in the season. Entering action tonight at 19-50, riding a four game losing streak, the last two against Minnesota and Memphis, teams with a combined 36-102 record, by double-digits. Toss in the daily Isiah Thomas-James Dolan soap opera, open rumors about possible replacements, and half the team on the bench with injuries, New York has lost 11 of its last 12, only beating the aforementioned Heat in that span – and barely at that. The Knicks are an utter disaster.

With only four wins away from home in the new year, the Nets need to take advantage of this cupcake to get their feet back under them away from Izod heading down the home stretch. Unfortunately the Knicks depleted active roster still includes Jamaal Crawford and Zach Randolph, two guys that tortured the Nets in the losses earlier this season. Surrounded with the likes of Randolph Morris, Fred Jones, Wilson Chandler, Malik Rose, and Reynaldo Balkman, coach Lawrence Frank must force anyone but Crawford and Randolph beat them. Saturday in Philadelphia, the Nets defense showed improvement, holding Philly to a sub-40% shooting night and 91 points, the lowest total in the past six games. Now they need the offense to get back on track quick. Consistency has eluded New Jersey all season. If they intend to turn the ship around, the Nets need a complete effort on both ends of the floor for the entire four quarters, night in and night out. Call it judgment week, call it must win, call it what you want, the Nets have no excuses for losing to this Knicks team tonight.

Two critical wins against playoff caliber teams prove the Nets are capable of great things, however now is not the time to rest on those laurels. Tuesday starts of four games in five nights, 25% of the 16 remaining games, including the next two against the teams battling New Jersey for the final Eastern playoff spot.

Following Monday’s action, the Nets head to Chicago in 9^th place, two games ahead of the Bulls and ½ game behind Wednesday’s opponent, Atlanta. The next seven games, particularly these two, may well determine the Nets playoff fate. Six of seven against sub-.500 teams, five against teams outside the playoff picture, and five against the group battling for the final two playoff spots, if we stretch to include streaking Philly in that group. Besides taking advantage of the last weak portion of the remaining schedule, these head-to-head match-ups may have tiebreaker implications.

To earn a playoff berth, New Jersey needs to win some road games. The Nets dropped seven straight away from the Izod Center since the Kidd trade, and are 2-16 dating back to mid-January. Tomorrow is the perfect chance to get on track, against a Bulls team playing back to back nights after blowing a double-digit second half lead in New Orleans on Monday, and that the Nets beat twice already this season. Opening night seems like an eternity, two teams with high hopes battling into overtime. Looking back, that game was more April Fools for both teams, than it was Halloween.

Offense, Offense, Offense. Coach Frank raved about the improved passing the past two games, as Devin Harris finally took control of the offense, pushing the tempo whenever possible, setting up his teammates with open looks, and taking better shots himself. The Nets shot over 50% from the field two straight games for the first time this season, and they attacked the rim, scoring 48 and 62 points in the paint in the respective contest along with a season-high 50 free throws on Saturday. It adds up to two 100+ point games, a key barometer for success this season with a 17-7 record when they crack the century mark.

Two players to keep an eye on are Vince Carter and Boki Nochbar. Carter is the lone Net regular to struggle offensively the past two games. Despite the point total, VC has shot often, and shot the ball poorly. Though he did play aggressive Saturday getting to the line 14 times, a knock on him most of the season, Carter needs to become more selective when he’s misfiring and look to pass.

Meanwhile, Boki needs to get involved earlier. He provided the spark the Nets needed off the bench in the 4^th on Saturday, following up a solid 21-point effort against Cleveland. Similar to the Nets, Boki’s capable of great things, but consistency continues to allude him. With a contract on the line, and nobody else on the Nets bench stepping up, Boki can really give the Nets a lift with 15 points a night, and earn a few dollars in the process.

One farewell, one long awaited return, one rumored departure – after two straight wins, the Nets looked distracted last night. Jason Collins started his final game with a thunderous dunk on a back cut off a Jason Kidd assist. From there the Nets appeared old, slow, and disinterested.

Atlanta used a 9-0 run in the first quarter to jump ahead, and an extended 20-7 burst against an apathetic second unit to start the second quarter, to blow the game open. Richard Jefferson came out shooting duds, leading the brigade of Nets settling for long jumpers. While Vince Carter, slowed by foul trouble, made his biggest impact by picking up a technical foul in the second quarter, then sitting the final 9+ minutes of the half.

Meanwhile, the Hawks athleticism and speed overwhelmed the Nets defense. Atlanta, known for its transition offense, scored 23 fast break points and finished with 58 points in the paint, thanks to 15 offensive rebounds, and countless drives to the basket.

Jefferson showed up for the second half, opening the third with five quick points. However, the lack of transition defense killed the Nets, each time the Nets showed a surge Atlanta struck back with easy baskets on the other end, beating the NJ down the floor. Jefferson finished with 23 strong points, and got the Nets within nine points early in the fourth before Atlanta capitalized on the offensive glass with a putback.

Boki Nochbar was the only Net to provide offense in the first half. Following a dreadful offensive outing in Miami, Nochbar buried his first shot and took off from there. He mixed aggressive moves to the basket with touch from the outside to finish with 16 points. More disconcerting, Nochbar and Antoine Wright were the only Nets to visit the foul line in the entire first half – a sign of the lack of aggressive play and offensive rhythm. The second unit had no flow, with Marcus Williams struggling to setup the offense or trigger the transition game.

If you blinked, you missed Nenad Kristic’s return. Kristic played 2:45 late in the first quarter before icing his knee on the bench the rest of the night. If Kristic is not ready to play 20 minutes a night, he should not play at all. If he is, Frank should use him, the Nets have nothing to lose. Atlanta poses a tough defensive assignment for Curly, but nobody else contained Marvin Williams or Josh Smith last night, why not have Kristic try to get into the flow?

Kidd slid into second on the All-Time rebounding list for guards, moving past Clyde Drexler. Lost in his 10 rebound, 7 assist performance was a woeful shooting night, 2-9 from the floor for only five points. You can sum the night up with two plays, Josh Smith pinned a Carter layup – later appeared to be goaltending – then ran the floor for an easy dunk on the other end. While earlier in the fourth, Kidd went to swing the ball around the perimeter and threw what appeared to be a simple pass to Carter into the first row. Lack of concentration, lack of energy – double digit loss.

Note: If Atlanta had 18,102 fans in attendance, I must have won the lottery last night. The building looked almost as empty as most nights at Izod, yet still had more energy.