Quick one liner thoughts: Bobby Simmons hasn't really shown me much on either end of the floor. Surely he's eating his words that he's "better than RJ" . Brook Lopez had another great game and seems to be in the groove of things.Tries really hard on defense, great on offense. The team does great when they run their offense through him. Yi- still no defense from him last night. Had a few aggressive moves to the hoop but otherwise it's no different than having Kristic on our team- settling for 17 footers. Then again, he's still young. Devin doesn't look like he's changed a bit since the first game of pre-season. Could score and get to the hoop, but his defense was poor, his decision making was worse, and he tries to get too flashy which often results in completly missed shots or turnovers. Ager looked like he tried hard on defense and did have a nice block at one point, and hit a 3 or two. Hodge had some bad passes again, Gill was nothing spectacular. Sean- maybe had a block or two, but otherwise, S.O.S. (same ol Sean) Anderson- really really happy to have him on the team. He knew where to be on both ends of the floor- was able to have some nice rebounds, a few off the glass put backs, and hit a 3 or two. That's about what comes to mind. Really want to see what Dooling, Najera, and Hayes can do.
Pretty much my thoughts, other than Simmons didnt play badly. He has lost some athleticism, but he is automatic from the corner. Yi has better range than Krstic. Yi hit a three. Krstic had one three in the NBA. Anderson is such a smart baller for someone so young. Ager is a MUCH better basketball player than Hodge, but neither one is very good. Lopez was very good early defensively on Brand, very good late offensively (a lot of his points were in garbage time, however). He and Yi can both pass well for seven-footers. They'll be fine, but maybe not this year. Defensively, they were an absolute horror.
My observation is that the same ol problem all preseason long - Defense. Can't let a team hit that many threes. Just can't.
Also, they put Sarah Palin on the jumbotron, and the crowd booed loudly. Which is saying something for the normally library-like atmosphere in a Nets preseason game.
During the time-outs, they play music and cut to people in the crowd dancing. They'll usually intersperse it on the jumbotron with clips of people dancing from movies/TV shows (i.e. Borat, Family Guy). They used a clip of Palin raising the roof on SNL, which drew out the boo-birds.
did you guys hear the boos the other night when the dudes from Brooklyn won the tug of war contest. I swear, those were some of the loudest boos I've ever heard at the arena!!
Hey soul driver, NI, rory. From the play by play, it looked like Brook wasn't getting many touches until the 4th quarter (like the game before). Is this true, or did he just not attempt to score in the first 3 quarters? I'm wondering because it seems like when he's getting touches and they run the offense through him, he does quite well. Also there have been reports by beat writers suggesting Frank needs to run the offense through him more, instead of just using him as a weak side distraction in the dribble drive (handoff) motion offense. Thanks!
Couldn't watch the game last night, but everything I've seen of Brook going back to summer league suggests he has the ability to be a big time low post anchor on offense. It's retarded to not utilize that. Yes he will commit some turnovers. Yes he will sometimes make poor decisions out of double teams. But that's all the more reason to go to him early in the season, so that by January/February he has some decent experience making those decisions in game situations. I understand the desire not to overwhelm him or put too much pressure on him in a way that might hurt his confidence irreparably. And I'm not suggesting that he be the "go to" guy or that we run the majority of offense through him late in games. But giving him 4-5 postups per half can't be too much pressure. He looks like he's up for it.
That was hilarious! It just goes to show the support the Nets have from Jersey fans on the Brooklyn move.
I agree. Frank has talked of giving him 3 or 4 postups per game. I think he is more talented than many of us realized. He's big and strong, with a nice touch and good post moves AND he also has an 18-20 foot jumper!
He's got a season and a half to develop those skills. He's gotta show he can be part of a team that could lure a major FA to the Nets in the summer of 2010. -Petey
I didn't see Brook get TOO many touches earlier in the game (he did get some) , it looked like they were trying to get Yi going, but Brook did go for the first shot IIRC.
Nets have the players to be a pretty decent team and possibly a 7th or 8th seed but it wont be easy at all. They have to take care of the ball and try not to turnover the ball as much and defend. By defend, I mean team defense..help defense...talk and rotate. they arent doing that at all and as a result, they look awful. work on those 2 things and we are a whole different team. it can be done but it is easier said then done. I question Franks coaching too. We should start: Harris Carter Anderson Yi Brook
