Assorted thoughts on the game (C's vs Nets preseason)

[Ed Hollison]

Some random impressions, as always I'm curious to hear people's thoughts...

- RJ Hunter can ball. I really have nothing more to say that hasn't been covered on this forum as well as countless news stories this morning, but wanted to acknowledge it. If Hunter along with that 3-point stroke learns to pump fake and drive to the hoop and finish/dish, look out.

- Everybody calm down on James Young. Especially when it comes to comparisons to Hunger, who's about two years older. Scalabrine on the broadcast yesterday made the point that there has been real progress in Young's defense, which he showed to some extent last night. And the guy has clearly worked on his body. Send him back to the Red Claws and give him some time.

- Mickey needs a lot of polishing on the offensive end. There was one particular possession late in the game where he drove to his left on a defender, only to realize he had no ability to finish with the left hand. That's totally understandable given his age and experience, and that's what the D-league is for. I still believe eventually this guy can play center in today's pace-and-space, small-ball NBA.

- Anyone still miffed by that Amir Johnson signing? He's really the perfect fit for this team, a guy that defends down low, is mobile covering pick and rolls on the perimeter, and has a decent offensive game including some 3-point range. The only issue was his failure to defend Thaddeus Young on post-ups on a couple of occasions. Amir and Lee should start in my opinion, especially given the fact that there are so few big, bulky centers in the Eastern Conference, the types of bigs that would give that frontcourt pairing trouble.

- Imagine a train filled with flaming garbage derailing and killing everyone on board. That, in a nutshell, is the Nets. I seriously can't wrap my head around the fact that some people believe they'll make the playoffs this year. Even if Lopez plays 82 games, this team will be awful. They've got a couple of nice young players, but they've got no sign of life, no leadership, no defensive talent or intensity, and poor ball movement. I would be shocked if the C's didn't end up with a high lottery pick next summer.

[Evantime34]

Watching the Nets last night made me think they might not be as terrible as everyone is expecting (including myself). They showed stretches of solid defense and when they got the ball into Lopez or Young in the post they scored at a high rate. There is a path for them to win games, they just have no margin for error.

The problem with how they need to win is it involves consistently feeding Brook Lopez in the post, since I believe giving him 20-30 post touches a game will cause him to break down over the course of the season. If he gets injured that team will go on a tailspin.

[TA9]

Watching the Nets last night made me think they might not be as terrible as everyone is expecting (including myself). They showed stretches of solid defense and when they got the ball into Lopez or Young in the post they scored at a high rate. There is a path for them to win games, they just have no margin for error.

The problem with how they need to win is it involves consistently feeding Brook Lopez in the post, since I believe giving him 20-30 post touches a game will cause him to break down over the course of the season. If he gets injured that team will go on a tailspin.

TP!
I don't get why everybody thinks that our Nets pick is bound to be in the range of #1-#8 in the upcoming draft. The Nets could potentially play some good basketball this season (they showed good stretches last night) and they have a decent squad as well.
Most likely, the pick will end somewhere at the end of the Lottery unless Brook Lopez gets injured again this season.

[Rosco917]

What's nice about this years team is the balance of talent, 1-10.
If everyone buys in, this is going to be fun.

I like the way the defensive rebounder pushes the ball up the floor with the outlet pass, to an attacking offense. Everyone gets a touch on offense too. Not one guy looking for the assist. Good ball movement is difficult, and tiring to defend.
Push the pace and space, substitute often, and defend aggressively. No lead will be safe against the C's.

RJ looks like a steal, he looks like much more that just a 3 point weapon. He defends, and passes well, The question is where will his minutes come from...who will play less in order to let him develop quickly.

Kelly Olynyk looks confident on offense, he's showing nice ball handling, passing, and better conditioning. His chest got broader, his arms are showing definition, his feet don't look like they're filled with cement any longer. His defensive technique is much improved.
He accomplished all this without electronic fanfare through out the off season too.

Sully looks like he did last year, a step behind the pace, on both ends of the floor.
Many teams don't play with the pace of the Celtics, Sully may fit with one of them. I'm not sure exactly what you'll get for him at this point.

Agree on Amir...perfect fit, good NBA citizen.

The Nets look like they will not make the playoffs, even if they all stay healthy. A few injuries, and they're a lottery team for the next few years. The Russian owner must want to put Danny in the Gulag.   

[Evantime34]

Watching the Nets last night made me think they might not be as terrible as everyone is expecting (including myself). They showed stretches of solid defense and when they got the ball into Lopez or Young in the post they scored at a high rate. There is a path for them to win games, they just have no margin for error.

The problem with how they need to win is it involves consistently feeding Brook Lopez in the post, since I believe giving him 20-30 post touches a game will cause him to break down over the course of the season. If he gets injured that team will go on a tailspin.

TP!
I don't get why everybody thinks that our Nets pick is bound to be in the range of #1-#8 in the upcoming draft. The Nets are actually playing good basketball and have a decent squad as well.
Most likely, we wont even get a high pick unless Brook Lopez gets injured again this season.

I am hoping for 1-8 and I think it is realistic if Lopez gets hurt which imo is likely.

[slamtheking]

Watching the Nets last night made me think they might not be as terrible as everyone is expecting (including myself). They showed stretches of solid defense and when they got the ball into Lopez or Young in the post they scored at a high rate. There is a path for them to win games, they just have no margin for error.

The problem with how they need to win is it involves consistently feeding Brook Lopez in the post, since I believe giving him 20-30 post touches a game will cause him to break down over the course of the season. If he gets injured that team will go on a tailspin.

TP!
I don't get why everybody thinks that our Nets pick is bound to be in the range of #1-#8 in the upcoming draft. The Nets are actually playing good basketball and have a decent squad as well.
Most likely, we wont even get a high pick unless Brook Lopez gets injured again this season.

I am hoping for 1-8 and I think it is realistic if Lopez gets hurt which imo is likely.

I think 1-8 (top 5 actually) is definitely more likely than the playoffs for that team based just on how they played last night -- we were missing 3 starters that are arguably bench players and yet we still jumped out on them last night and never trailed.  they made a few runs to close the gap but also consider that the only players making any shots were Amir and IT.  if KO, Sully or Zeller were hitting shots they'd normally make, this wouldn't even been close.

I saw no reason for the Nets fans to have any hope other than to continue to belief "it's only the preseason"

[SHAQATTACK]

C's were way more dominate than the final score .   The C's relaxed , ET provided the spark Nets needed to get back in the game.   

[slamtheking]

my take from last night's game thread:

tonight's takeaways:
- Nets will be bad this year.  very bad.
- C's are playing better D in spurts
- was an Amir fanboy before this year and becoming a bigger fan each day
- was getting behind the idea of IT as a starter for the first 5 minutes and then, not so much.  way too much jump passing, losing dribbles and passes that were more difficult than they should have been
- C's will be tough to beat if more than IT, Lee and Amir get hot in a game
- Like Sully's hustle and rebounding.  Liked KO's passing
- Hunter and Mickey look like pretty solid picks so far
- Jerebko has got to make more of an impact when he's in the game
- Turner will keep a roll on this team if for no reason than when the offense is in the toilet, he can still work his midrange game until someone else gets untracked

[colincb]

Watching the Nets last night made me think they might not be as terrible as everyone is expecting (including myself). They showed stretches of solid defense and when they got the ball into Lopez or Young in the post they scored at a high rate. There is a path for them to win games, they just have no margin for error.

The problem with how they need to win is it involves consistently feeding Brook Lopez in the post, since I believe giving him 20-30 post touches a game will cause him to break down over the course of the season. If he gets injured that team will go on a tailspin.

TP!
I don't get why everybody thinks that our Nets pick is bound to be in the range of #1-#8 in the upcoming draft. The Nets could potentially play some good basketball this season (they showed good stretches last night) and they have a decent squad as well.
Most likely, the pick will end somewhere at the end of the Lottery unless Brook Lopez gets injured again this season.

You should read their fans' comments then. They have zero belief in Nets not being a bad team:

We are one Lopez injury away from having a "12-70" conversation

http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2015/10/comments-from-other-side-nets-101415.html

[PhoSita]

I still question the big-picture wisdom behind the decision to trade for Lee and sign Amir, but I think our big man rotation, with Lee and Amir playing most of the minutes and Zeller and Olynyk playing the rest, could be pretty good.  The best we've had in quite some time.

My belief in the ability of Thad Young, Brook Lopez, and Joe Johnson, if healthy, to drag the Nets to 30ish wins is unwavering.  But if those guys spend a lot of time on the bench or out entirely due to injuries, that team will be "bad, very bad," no doubt about it.

[sofutomygaha]

I don't think the Nets are in the cellar; I just don't think they'll make the playoffs. The exaggerations are going to far about how bad they are. They are not comparable to, say, the Sixers or last year's Knicks.

Lopez, though, can change their season. His projected WAR is 8, but I think that in this situation he's worth literally twice that. With Bargnani starting at center, I bet they'd win 20 games. With Lopez healthy, 36.

[sofutomygaha]

- Imagine a train filled with flaming garbage derailing and killing everyone on board. That, in a nutshell, is the Nets. I seriously can't wrap my head around the fact that some people believe they'll make the playoffs this year. Even if Lopez plays 82 games, this team will be awful. They've got a couple of nice young players, but they've got no sign of life, no leadership, no defensive talent or intensity, and poor ball movement. I would be shocked if the C's didn't end up with a high lottery pick next summer.

The best thing about the Nets is that Thomas Robinson and Andrea Bargnani are going to play for them. A lot. From everything we've seen so far, that will clamp down and lower the level of play of their already mediocre teammates.

[droopdog7]

The Amir Johnson signing pretty much just prove that fans no nothing really.  When you look back when he was signed, fans were pretty much railing DA.  Guys like Johnson are obviously under-appreciated by fans because he isn't flashy.  But it is clear to me that Johnson is probably underpaid.

[PhoSita]

- Imagine a train filled with flaming garbage derailing and killing everyone on board. That, in a nutshell, is the Nets. I seriously can't wrap my head around the fact that some people believe they'll make the playoffs this year. Even if Lopez plays 82 games, this team will be awful. They've got a couple of nice young players, but they've got no sign of life, no leadership, no defensive talent or intensity, and poor ball movement. I would be shocked if the C's didn't end up with a high lottery pick next summer.

The best thing about the Nets is that Thomas Robinson and Andrea Bargnani are going to play for them. A lot. From everything we've seen so far, that will clamp down and lower the level of play of their already mediocre teammates.

I actually like Thomas Robinson as a rebounding specialist.  Not a guy you want playing more than 10-15 minutes a game, but he's not horrendous. 

Bargs, though, I don't know why he's still in the NBA.

[footey]

The one factor that should make the Nets better than they appear to be on paper is this:  They can't tank, because they have no first round pick.  So unlike other bad teams (especially owners, coaches or GM's) who, consciously or unconsciously, are motivated to lose when they know their season is going bad, the Nets will have none of that. For that reason I think they will battle hard for a play-off spot. Not saying they have talent to do it, but will try like heck to get in.