Nets fight to stay alive in the playoffs

[Henacy]

Facing the prospects of going down 0-3, the Nets really came out & dictated the tempo in game 3. The Nets had 11 fastbreak points in the opening quarter. The Nets recievied alot of opprtunities in the open court due to their defense & the way they controlled the backboards. But of course it is only so long that you can keep running & gunning against Ben Wallace & that Pistons defense.

In the 2nd quarter Ben Wallace really made his impact felt all over the court. It seem like he single handedly stop the Nets fastbreak. He dominated the backboards in the 2nd quarter. And he created a few turnovers by blocking shots & also playing the passing lanes. The Pistons led by Ben Wallace was able to cut a 21pt early 2nd quarter lead down to 9 by the half. The Pistons had to be happy with their position going into half time after being seriously out played for a large part of the 1st half. The Pistons were in great position for another 3rd quater run.

In games 1 & 2, the 3rd quarter had been the death of the Nets. In game 2 the Nets seen a half-time lead of 12 quickly turn into a deficit of 5 going into the 4th quarter. So going into game 3, the Nets knew they must match the energy of the Pistons coming out of half-time. Things look like they were headed down the same path as games 1 & 2, when K-Mart picked up his 4th foul on the Nets 1st offensive trip of the 2nd half. The 4th foul sent Kenyon Martin to the bench for the rest of the quarter. With Martin down in foul trouble the Nets need Richard Jefferson to step up big time.

Jefferson carried the Nets most of the 1st half scoring a game high 17pts in the opening 24 minutes. Jefferson once again step up in the 3rd quarter scoring 11 of his career playoff high 30pts in the quarter. Its seem like RJ mixed a perfect combination of open court play & half- court perimeter shooting thru out the game & especially in the 3rd quarter. The Nets defense also picked up right where it left off in the 1st half.

In the 3rd quarter the Nets defense limited the Pistons to only 14pts. The Nets were able to use the offense play of RJ & spectacular defense to push their half-time lead of 9 to 14 headed into the 4th.

The 4th quarter was kind of a weak. Both teams really struggled to put any points on the board. The Pistons only put up 12pts in the quarter, which led them to scoring a franchise playoff low of only 64pts. The Nets didnt produce much more than the Pistons in the 4th, only scoring 16pts in the quarter. But sitting on a double-digit lead going into the quarter.And the Pistons unable to produce any points to mount a serious run, the Nets were able to cruise to a 18pt win. Final score Nets 82-Pistons 64.

A few things that should be credited is the adjustments Lawerence Frank made in game 3. He took Jason Kidd off of Pistons guard Chauncey Billups. Kidd who is playing with an injured knee seemed like he was having a hard time keeping up with Billups off the dribble in game 2. Billups killed the Nets in game 2, scoring 28pts & handing out 13 assist. But Franks made the adjustments for game 3. Putting the long-armed Kittles on Billlups, seem to disrupt the Pistons point guards' game. Billups was held to 2pts on 1-10 shooting from the field.

Kidd sifted over to guard Pistons mid-range jump shooting specialist, Richard Hamilton. Franks made the adjustment hoping Kidd's frame could push Hamilton lane. By pushing Hamiton out of the lane as he came off screens, Frank was hoping it would disrupt Hamiltons' flow & shooting rythem. And it did, Hamithon was held to 4 for 15 from the field. And finish the game with only 15pts. The 15pts was a considerable down grade from Hamiltons' 28pts in game 2. The Backcourt cross matching move by Franks held the Pistons guards who combined for 56pts in game 2 to only 17pts in game 3. Great move by Frank in my opinion.

But overall the Nets won because they dictated the tempo off the game on both ends of the court right from the start. They played excellent team defense. And made a decent amount of shots in the half-court when the Pistons' stopped their running game. The Nets need to come out with the same type of energy & intensity in Game 4. And hopefully this series will be tied at 2 games a pieace headed back to the Palace.

 

[InNETSweTrust]

I agree. The change in defensive assignments was our key to the game. The offense was actually looking for Big Ben because the other guys couldn't get a decent shot. Great move by Frank.

Veal also made a great effort off the bench. He pumped up his team and the fans in the quality time that he was in the court.

Great offensive game by Jefferson. He made a lot of threes and some tough jumpers to go along with his slashing moves. After he was humiliated by Tay during game 1, it seems that he's showing that he still owns the SF matchup.

It's a bad thing that we didn't get to see much KMart vs. Sheed. But during the time they were in the game, you can actually see how bad these boys are trying to outposition one another. KMart is winning this matchup regardless of both their foul troubles. The simple fact that he's forcing Sheed to take mindless threes proves this.

Game 4, they need to do something about Big Ben and his 24 boards. They can't let him go berserk again.

The Nets are showing that they're not intimidated by the Bad Boys of the NBA. This should remain a very physical series.

 

[Henacy]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting InNETSweTrust:</div><div class="quote_post">

It's a bad thing that we didn't get to see much KMart vs. Sheed. But during the time they were in the game, you can actually see how bad these boys are trying to outposition one another. KMart is winning this matchup regardless of both their foul troubles. The simple fact that he's forcing Sheed to take mindless threes proves this.

Game 4, they need to do something about Big Ben and his 24 boards. They can't let him go berserk again.

The Nets are showing that they're not intimidated by the Bad Boys of the NBA. This should remain a very physical series.</div>

Yeah, like Larry Brown said the refs are really cheating us out of a good matchup by keeping K-Mart & Rasheed in foul trouble like this. But like he said these two arent the refs favorite players, so it seems like they hold a little bit of grudges toward the 2. Its sad Refs can dictate tempo & play the way they did in game 3. The Nets are a fast break team that needs to build tempo, And if you keep calling cheap fouls that doesnt allow you to build that tempo. But we got the win so its all good.

As for Ben Wallace, Iam not really for sure what we can do with him right now. He is just a beast, he doesnt give up on any rebound. So right now I just say all we can try to do is keep him boxed out. But mostly we need to make sure that we limit what everybody other Piston does on the boards. If we keep Rasheed, Williamson, Prince & the pistons guards off the boards, then we can over come the fact that Ben is going to kill us on the boards.

We have to make the Pistons be a one man rebounding team like they were against us last year.

 

[throwback]

fun game for us. rj was taking nice buzzard beating shots. one with two guys on him for three and a nice fade away shot with 2sec on the shot clock. he is showing how good of a player he can become and he is only in his 3rd year and his 2nd yr as a starter. everyday is a learning experience for him and thats why it is important for us to get as far into the playoffs as we can to gain experience for our players.

they dont call him big ben for nothing. the man cannot be stopped. you can maybe stop him for 4shots in a row, but he is going to get his 12-15reb. but 20+reb is a little toooo much. we rebounded good, and with ben's 24rebs, they still were out rebounded which shows that nobody else besides ben really hit the boards hard.

game was extremely physical, which i like. i understand the refs want to be in control of the game, but i think they might have made too many uneccessary calls,expecially when kmart and sheed were posting each other up. i really enjoyed the whole...2min that the refs seemed to let those two play. on that one play where kmart got in front, then sheed got infront then K got back infront was exciting and fun for me to watch. i love a physical game where you have two stellar athelets going against each other, but i guess the refs didnt get the memo about everyone wanting to see sheed and kmart on the block.

prince has done really nothing since game1. while watching the game, i honestly didnt even realize he wasnt in the game or if he was, i don't recall hearing his name. he's a young kid so he will be fine, all part of learning. rj used to fade away at times last year and you see what he has done this yr.

 

[Ice]

Well it was do or die for the Nets, and they just took care of business.

In regards to the Nets/Pistons series, I don't see how the Nets will walk away victorious against Detriot in a 7 game series.

The Pistons have the deeper team, stronger front court, and defense to win games. Over the years defense has proved to win games, and championships. This series won't be any different.

 

[InNETSweTrust]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">expecially when kmart and sheed were posting each other up. i really enjoyed the whole...2min that the refs seemed to let those two play. on that one play where kmart got in front, then sheed got infront then K got back infront was exciting and fun for me to watch.</div>

Hahaha. Yeah it was fun. It was a silly call made by the refs. Let the boys play!

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Over the years defense has proved to win games, and championships. This series won't be any different</div>

Last time I checked, the Nets are also a defensive minded team. It may be true that the Pistons are better defensively but the Nets are the better offensive team so that pretty much evens it up.

 

[mike18946]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">but the Nets are the better offensive team so that pretty much evens it up.</div>

Actually thats not totally true, both teams scored around the same in the regular season and Pistons are doing a better job scoring in the post season. When Nets aren't allowed to get out and run they struggle to score 80-85 points per game. They infact struggle just as much as Detroit do getting shots to fall.

I don't like the fact that the refs keeping calling bogus fouls on Martin and Sheed which causes them to miss at least 15 minutes of court time. Fans don't want to see to of two of the top forwards in the eastern conference on the bench for most of each half of every single game.

It's not good basketball.

 

[InNETSweTrust]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">Actually thats not totally true, both teams scored around the same in the regular season and Pistons are doing a better job scoring in the post season. When Nets aren't allowed to get out and run they struggle to score 80-85 points per game. They infact struggle just as much as Detroit do getting shots to fall.</div>

But the thing is, they have someone who'll take over when you need offense. That's the advantage of the Nets. When the game is tied with around 2 minutes to go, the Nets will have at least 2 players who can take over the game offensively. Players who has done it before and made it. Detroit? That's their problem. No one to take over the game offensively when it really counts.

 

[mike18946]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting InNETSweTrust:</div><div class="quote_post">But the thing is, they have someone who'll take over when you need offense. That's the advantage of the Nets. When the game is tied with around 2 minutes to go, the Nets will have at least 2 players who can take over the game offensively. Players who has done it before and made it. Detroit? That's their problem. No one to take over the game offensively when it really counts.</div>

Pistons have 3 main guys who can take over games when the game is on the line. Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace can and have made big time plays to win their team games. Why do you think Detroit have done so well the past two seasons? It may not be the case as much this year but last season Pistons had played at least 33 games where they won by under 7 points and had 8 overtime periods and won 7 of those. So your point doesn't really add up at all.

Pistons have 3 scorers who can take control of games but that hasn't really been the case the past two months.

As nearly every game has been a blowout in their favour. Their game 3 loss was only their 8th in 36 games and 75-80% of those wins were won by over 15-20 points.

 

[throwback]

imagine if kidd was able to push off with a healthy knee and make jumpers. this series might be more in Jersey's favor. but that isnt the case and we are playing all right with him dishing out 12dimes instead of being able to score 12-18pts. good thing he isn't going to the olympics or else he would get no time to heal up for next yr. iknow bills was hurt last yr and ppl dont wana hear about kidd being injured, but when you see kidd missing wide open shots that he can make (go ahead say he was never a good shooter, but he can make shots and have made big shots over the yrs so i dont wana hear it cause its a lame reason to bust on jk) you can tell he isn't 100% so people who criticize jk for his shooting these playoffs and this series are idiots. jason should drive more to the basket and get more layups or try to and get some fouls called b/c you know one of these games kerry is going to give us like 2pts max and our backcourt is goina be in trouble. thats what separates kidd from other guards, when he cant score he still impacts the game and takes control of the game my pushing temp and dishing out assists.

 

[Henacy]

Rasheed Wallace can not take over late game situations. He is the far from clutch, most of the time he doesnt even want the ball in late game spots. And when he does get the ball in late game, he does something stupid like take a 3(down by 2) or lose the ball out of bounds(like he did this playoff season), get call for an offensive foul, after foul, & then get called for a tech(like he did in the Lakers/Blazers series a few years ago). Rasheed Wallace is an excellent talent but far from clutch.

 

[mike18946]

He still has the abilty to win games, many times he has come up huge for Portland but the point was who can take over games late in games.

That was Trust's whole point in this disussion, that Pistons don't have guys to step up when the game is tied but infact they do. It may not happen but they have guys who can step up.

There is just as much a chance that Billups, Hamilton or Wallace wins close games than Jefferson or Martin. Has Jefferson ever hit a game winner? It's all moot.

Which was the whole point behind my reply.

 

[Henacy]

Well K-Mart has come up big in big spots alot of times, whether its a late game tip or getting the ball on the low block even his defense at time is extremely clutch. Rj doesnt hit game winners because the ball isnt going to be in his hands most night with the game on the line, thats what Kidd is for. No matter how bad Kidd has shot threw 3 quarters in big situations in the 4th, he going to be the go to guy in big spots in the 4th.

I give Billups credit, he is a guy on that team that I would say can come up big on the offensive end in big situations. He mades big shots from the perimeter. And he also gets to the basket & draws fouls alot in big spots.

And Ben Wallace has been big in late game situations on the defensive end on the low block when teams go to their go to scorer. I remember his late game defense against Tim Duncan in December, when he got the 2 straight spots against him on the post. There have been more but thats just the one that jyumped out at me right now.

 

[InNETSweTrust]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">He still has the abilty to win games, many times he has come up huge for Portland but the point was who can take over games late in games.

That was Trust's whole point in this disussion, that Pistons don't have guys to step up when the game is tied but infact they do. It may not happen but they have guys who can step up.

There is just as much a chance that Billups, Hamilton or Wallace wins close games than Jefferson or Martin. Has Jefferson ever hit a game winner? It's all moot.

Which was the whole point behind my reply.</div>

I'm not saying that it has to be a game winner. But imagine a tied game with 5 minutes to go in the game. Everyone is hustling in defense and it pretty much evens up things. I'd take Kidd, Jefferson and KMart over Rip, Billups and Sheed anytime. Sheed disappears during playoffs. Just like this series. Kidd over Billups during crunch time any day and KMart has the capability to take over games both on the offensive and defensive end.

 

[throwback]

out of pistons three that you've mentioned, i think rip has to take that responsibility of becoming the deciding factor in a game. he has the stroke to hit the mid-range jumper and three's. sheed can do it, but i think it would be more effective if rip took that role b/c he can penetrate and kick out to bills or whoever, if rip wants to instead of taking a jumper. i think it just comes down to the nets 3 have more experience than detroits 3. we've been to the finals 2yrs in a row and have gone through tough series against indy and boston over the years and our guys have the confidence. eventually det will have a #1 shot maker when the game is on the line, consistantly