New Jersey Nets: Breaking Down Their Week 3 Performance
It was an interesting week of NBA basketball for the New Jersey Nets.
They played well while shorthanded, but fell short twice in very close games.
The running theme of this season for New Jersey is improvement. Are they getting better game-to-game and week-to-week?
For the most part they are, which I will get in to shortly.
First, here's a quick recap of the week:
The Nets were 1-2 on the week, are 3-6 overall and sit at second in the Atlantic Division.
Avery Johnson put an emphasis on improving toughness and aggression in games. He was particularly upset with the play of Brook Lopez and what he termed the center's "tissue paper" defense.
There was some drama surrounding Lopez when he was on the sideline during the final minutes of their game in Cleveland. Johnson also called a timeout less than one minute into the game when hosting Cleveland, specifically to yell at Lopez.
The young center responded against Orlando by posting 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting. He did not back down or appear intimidated by the Magic, as he did in their first meeting.
He established his outside shot early in Saturday's game, which had been missing for most of the season. As a result, Lopez was much more aggressive than we have seen him, making strong moves to the basket and playing much tougher on defense.
Lopez deserves credit for not wilting under the glare of his coach. If he can play the way he did against Orlando every night, the Nets will be in every game they play.
The team as a whole played better this week, increasing many of their stats from last week.
They improved their field goal percentage (43.8), three-point shooting percentage (40.5), free throw attempts per game (24) and rebounds per game (41, 10 offensive).
They also decreased their turnovers per game (11.3), opponent field goal percentage (43.2), opponent free throw attempts (23.3), opponent rebounds (42) and averaged more than five blocked shots a game.
Opponents did shoot better from three this week at 43 percent, but that can largely be attributed to Cleveland's 9-for-17 night on Tuesday. In the other two games, their opponents were under 30 percent from three.
As said earlier, the name of the game this year is improvement, and the team is getting better every week.
It needs to be mentioned that the team was without Terrence Williams all week and Troy Murphy was extremely limited with a foot injury.
Murphy has not played well to this point, so there's no guarantee that the team would have been better with him in there. It is highly likely that the team would have won all three games had Williams been active.
Johnson and the team will surely not accept any excuses about losing the two close games they did, but it is something to keep in mind.
As far as individual accomplishments go, Devin Harris is playing like the All-Star he was two years ago.
On the week, he averaged 25 points on 49 percent shooting and 7.7 assists, including a 31 point, nine assist outburst in Cleveland. He also averaged less than three turnovers a game and his defense has been above average.
If he keeps this up, he'll find himself playing during the mid-season break again.
Travis Outlaw finally displayed some semblance of consistency by going over 20 points twice, making some clutch shots and flashing some rebounding ability. He did have one no-show in Cleveland, but it's a good sign that he was able to put together two solid games. Maybe he can start to earn that contract he got this summer.
Kris Humphries had a monster game against the Cavaliers when he grabbed 18 rebounds and scored 13 points. He found himself starting with the injury to Murphy and is currently giving the team more than anyone could have dreamed of.
Among others seeing regular minutes, Anthony Morrow was inconsistent, scoring 20 points once, but struggling mightily twice. The team is still waiting for the night when him and Outlaw play well at the same time.
Jordan Farmar seems to have mastered the clutch three-point shot on a night when he is struggling, with his late-game three against the Magic nearly sparking a comeback victory as was the case in the Nets' two previous wins this season.
Derrick Favors is still being eased into the NBA, playing limited minutes. He looks decent, especially on defense. Favors has been trying to establish an elbow-jumper and it is clear that, once he is able to consistently knock down that shot, he will be a force both offensively and defensively.
The Nets will now embark on a four-game road trip that will pit them against the LA Clippers, Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets.
2-2 will be a great success this coming week, but it would not be shocking to see them steal one from Utah or Denver and go 3-1. They already beat Sacramento earlier this year and have looked better than Los Angeles.
One thing is for sure, this season is shaping up much better than last year. Let's not get our hopes too high and just be happy that the Nets are capable of competing night in and night out.
It's much better than starting 0-18.
