<div align="center"> @ Utah Jazz (3-1) @ New Jersey Nets (2-2) Date: November 9th, 2005 Time: 7:30pm ET Place: Contential Airlines <u>Nets Starters</u> <font size=""2"">Kidd - Carter - Jefferson - Collins - Krstic</font> <u>Jazz Starters</u> <font size=""2"">Mcleod - Giricek - Kirlenko - Okur - Ostertag</font> <u>Team Outlooks Going into the Matchup</u></div> [imgl]http://www.justbball.com/images/avatars/nets_av.jpg[/imgl]: The Nets enter the Matchup with the Jazz with a somewhat dissappointing record of 2-2. They are wheeling off a close game loss Monday night to the Shaqless Heat, as their bench continues to produce less then what is expected. The Nets and Coach Lawerance Franks are still trying to find the player rotation that will allow them the most success. The Nets will once again look for their bench to produce anything to go alongside the big three. But hope maybe running out early on players 7, 8 and 9 in the Nets rotation. [imgl]http://www.justbball.com/images/avatars/jazz_av.jpg[/imgl]: The Jazz on the other hand, enter the matchup on a much higher note; a 95-91 victory against the Bobcats, stretched the Jazz's record to 3-1 on the short season. And even though Utah Coach Jerry Sloan has been quoted as saying he is yet to be impressed with the current squad. He must be happy to see what they are accomplishing without go to bigman Carlos Booozer, who has yet to suit up for the Jazz this season. The Jazz are being led by the offsense of starting Forward/Center Mehmet Okur and the energy of wing forward Andrei Kirilenko. They hope their win(is a win), whether it looks good or not style can carry them to a W in Jersey. <div align="center"><u>Spotlight Matchup</u> <font size=""2"">Kirilenko (10.7ppg/10.0rpg/4.3apg) -vs- Jefferson (27ppg/10.7rpg/4.7apg)</font></div> The Spotlight matchup between the Jazz/Nets features to of the league more well rounded Small Forwards. Kirilenko most noted for his ablity to defend the basketball can also produce points for the Jazz when called upon. So that makes for an exciting matchup against Richard Jefferson, who is coming off three straight games of 20+ points (37 vs Toronto, 28 vs the Bulls and 20 vs the Heat). Jefferson is on of the league best at running the floor and slashing to the hoop..but the size and lenght of Kirilenko may be quite a task for Richard Jefferson to shed on his way to the hoop. So it will be interesting to see who gets the edge in this matchup Kirilenko's D or Jefferson's off the dribble O. <div align="center"><u>Inside the Starting Point Guard Matchup:</u> <font size=""2"">Keith Mcleod (3.0apg) - Jason Kidd (8.0apg)</font></div> On paper this look like a clear cut edge for the future hall a famer Jason Kidd, but as we all know the game isnt played on paper. And while Kidd's overall floor leadership gives him an edge against even the most elite of the leagues point guards, there are still things a guy like Mcleod can exploite. Kidd and the othe Nets PG's have had a terrible time of keeping the league's smaller quicker guards in out of the lane. TJ Ford tore Kidd and the Nets defense apart off the dribble opening night and Kirk Hinrich of the Bulls once again exposed the weakness in Kidd and the rest of the Nets defense. So a small quick guard like Mcloed can give Kidd some trouble when Mcloed is looking to make things happen off the dribble. Also look for Kidd to be matched up against rookie Point Guard Deron Williams. Some say williams shares alot of Kidd like attributes mainly in size and the way he ran the show for one of the leagues top college basketball programs last year illinios. Williams has already been reported saying he is very much looking forward to his 1st matchup against the 7 time all-star. Kidd may have a lesson or 2 in store for his league's understudy, hope the kid brings his notepad. <div align="center">The Benches:</div> [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/jeff_mcinnis.jpg[/imgl] The Nets bring to the table a Veteran bench spearheaded by key offseason perimeter aquisition Jeff McInnis. The combo guard will be joined in the 2nd unit by 17th year veteran forward Cliff Robinson, who missed monday's trip to Maimi as he stayed in New Jersey with his wife who recently gave birth. Also Wing men Zoran Planinic and Lammond Murray look to add scoring punch to the Nets 2nd unit. [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/matt_harpring.jpg[/imgl] The Jazz bring much more or a mixture between veteran and youthfulnes to their bench. Matt Harpring provides the team with a veteran wing scorer off the bench, while rookie standout Deron Williams provides youth to the backcourt. The Jazz also added championship/playoff expereince in the still somewhat youthful form of offguard Devin Brown. And they have supplied their frontcourt 2nd unit with one of the scrappy Collins' twins Jarron and inexperienced forward Kris Humphres <div align="center"><u>Nets' Keys To A Win:</u></div> Bench Wake Up Call The Nets are going to need someone on that 2nd unit to step up and give them a spark..they cant just rely soley on the play of the big three, Murray McInnis and Jaskson were brought in to take some of the pressure and scoring load off the big three..time to start proving their wealth. Take Care of the Basketball The Nets have not valued the basketball the way they should to start the season...alot of sloppy turnovers looking to create the spectacular instead of opting for them simple..against a team like Utah that can be a killer. The need turnovers they need to make the game sloppy, they dont have the offensive weapons to win in other ways.Sloppy games always gives the Jazz a opportunity to win. Gang Rebounding The Jazz are killers on the board specifically their frontcourt forward combination of Kirilenko and Okur. The guard have done a solid job of helping out on the boards so far this year, but this will be the true test. Are they willing to get dirty with the Utah forward combination to help out Krstic and Collins on the boards. <div align="center"><u>Jazz's Keys To a Win</u></div> Bout To Get Ugly The uglier this game is the better it is for Utah..they dont want this game played in the 100 point range, they win by keeping the game in the 80's and holding their opponents in the same range. So they want to see lots of saloppy ball handling and turnovers by the Nets along with alot of whistle stopages. They dont want to see the game build up with New Jersey momentum in the opencourt. Strong Game From Okur No Boozer and Kirilenko being a guy that gets most of his points thruogh hustle plays, it puts alot of pressure on Okur to be that go to guy for Utah. He has done a nice job so far averaging over 21 a game and coming of a 30 point game against the Bobcats. But the same trend must continue for Okur, if Utah is going to get a W in Jersey. Take one of the Nets two big scoring weapons out of the equation There is no way to shutdown both Jefferson and Carter, but you do stand a chance slowing down one of the two if you focus your defense on him. Kirilenko, along with a solid Utah defensive plan can slow down one of the two..but it will take belief in what you are doing. This method is kind of like pick your posion..if Sloan focus on Carter and Jefferson gets hot then he has to stick with the game plan of stopping Carter, shifting focus is what leads to trouble in my opinion. Pick one guy to hold under 20 and game plan on how the team will defend him and dont switch mid stream cause the other is having some sucess. I guess its easier said then done but that how I would game plan against the combo of Jefferson and Carter. Anyway all game opinions in this thread, Enjoy the game
Don't forget about Kirilenko's shot blocking. I think that this part of his game will cause a lot of trouble for the Nets when they attempt to bring the ball inside. However, if the Nets get hot from the outside, there is nothing that the Jazz will be able to do. Therefore I would add an additional key to the game for the Nets: outside shooting.
Great Preview Henacy, Im sure the Nets will come out playing well. They lost a heartbreaker so Im sure they will try to get revenge on the Jazz. Seeing the bench not preform is startng to really annoy me. BTW, this isnt really important but Im wondering why isn't Kidd averaging like 12 apg. His assists seemed to went down for now.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting NbaBaller:</div><div class="quote_post"> BTW, this isnt really important but Im wondering why isn't Kidd averaging like 12 apg. His assists seemed to went down for now.</div> I would attribute this to the fact that Jefferson and Carter are also very good passers and share with Kidd the play-making. Although Kidd is still the main playmaker, Frank has designed Carter and Jefferson to pass out of double teams to set up other teamates.
^Yes, Kidd is getting alot of the lead passes to start breaks but Carter and Jefferson are being as much playmakers as they are finishing, so it will reflect that Kidd's assist #'s look a little off. But alot of the times he is geting the assist that leads to an assist, it isnt a offical stat. But that first Kidd pass is what puts Jefferson and Carter in the position to create the 2nd or 3rd pass and get the assist. And yes X, you are right Kirilenko as a weak side shot block will have an effect on what the Nets are able to do penetrating the basket..But it looks like Jefferson and Carter are in full attack mode every night going to the hope, so they are definately going to test AK's ablity to defend around the rim. I think its going to present itself as a very interesting test for both sides.
Great game! Very exciting and I hope we keep it up for games to come. That Planinic shot was incredible. I didn't think it had a chance of going in. The Kidd of backboard to Jefferson, and Kidd to Carter ally-oop were great too. Still some problems with the bench. Jackson played better but the Nets expect more from him.
Coach Franks is really shortening the rotation right now, once again no minutes for Murray, Padgett didnt play either. And I am loving Coach Franks decisions on the rotation right now...those guys are doing nothing to make them worthy of stepping out on the floor. You know its got to be killing Murray cause he came here pretty much expecting legit minutes..but oh well, he hasnt earned them. Anyway, Jefferson continues to impress...the way he broke Kirilenko down off the dribble at will was very impressive. In my opinion he is the best all-around player in a Nets uniform right now. Krstic is playing decent but for some reason I just keep looking for more. I dont know, its probably because my expectations are too high for him right now...but it seems like Iam always noticing on the what he is doing wrong on the court rather then what he is doing right...like right now, I feel he is not good passing the ball out of the post....it seems like every time the guards dump it down to him down low...he is looking to make a move to quick instead of being patient and letting the play come to him or pasing the ball back out. Right now Krstic is sort of like the black hole of the team...once you dump it down dont expect to get it back. Anyway, I guess I should just be hapy to have a halfway decent option to get the ball in the paint too...because without Nenad the only points in the paint would come from the guards. Anyway, solid W, the Jazz are a decent team but they dont have the offensive players to stay with us for 4 quarters.
I think that it was impressive that the Nets kept Kirilenko with zero blocks. I am sure that that was part of Frank's game plan going in. Henacy, you mentioned that Kristic does not pass the ball out of the paint...I think that Frank is telling him not to do so, and just try to get the ball in the basket instead. I also do not think that Krstic is forcing the ball in there either. He is shooting .481, which is very good in my opinion. The thing is that the other teams are guarding the big three so much that, it does not make sense for them to guard Krtic as much. Frank wants to get him scoring as much as humanly possible (and get him used to scoring) so that the Nets have a "big four", which for other teams is even more though to guard.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting xpehbamxyu:</div><div class="quote_post">I think that it was impressive that the Nets kept Kirilenko with zero blocks. I am sure that that was part of Frank's game plan going in. Henacy, you mentioned that Kristic does not pass the ball out of the paint...I think that Frank is telling him not to do so, and just try to get the ball in the basket instead. I also do not think that Krstic is forcing the ball in there either. He is shooting .481, which is very good in my opinion. The thing is that the other teams are guarding the big three so much that, it does not make sense for them to guard Krtic as much. Frank wants to get him scoring as much as humanly possible (and get him used to scoring) so that the Nets have a "big four", which for other teams is even more though to guard.</div> Nah he forces it...his shooting % is still decent dont get me wrong...but I think that the forcing of things is more reflected in the cheap offensive fouls he picks up at times. Also you might be right on the Coach Franks thing, he probably tells him to look for his own offensive game right now as a method of keeping things simple for Krstic..since this is really still just an extension of his rookie year..because he didnt play all that much at the start of last year. But honestly Krstic inorder to get better as a bigman, he is going to add the ablity to pass out of the post and make plays for us from the post into his game.
