NETS VS SUPERSONICS TIME: Tonight 7:30pm Arena: Continental Airlines Arena Team Records:Nets 9-11 Sonics 9-8 OVERALL TEAM OUTLOOKS Nets outlook going into the game : The Nets come into tonights game on a 2-game win streak(both home games). The Nets win streak has come against some of the NBA's lower class. The Nets beat the Suns(8-13) & the Bucks(9-12). The Nets home current home winning streak couldnt have came at a better time. The Nets went into Friday's game vs the bucks on a 4-game losing streak. But the streak was snapped with a 93-86 win over the Bucks. The winning continued the following night with a 99-88 victory over the Suns. The Nets look to continue their winning ways tonight at home vs the Sonics. Sonics outlook going into the game:The Supersonics come into tonights game totally opposite to the Nets. Lets just say the Sonics have been everything but "Super" as of late. The Sonics are on a current 2-game losing streak. The Supersonics suffered loses to the new look Raptos(108-98) & the East leading Pacer(101-94). The Sonics,who got out the gates fast this season, have been on a recent down slide. They have lost lost 4 out of their last 6. They Sonics look to get back on the winning track at the expence of the defending Eastern Confernce Champions. PROJECTED STARTING MATCHUPS PG: JASON KIDD(Key stats:9.2apg, 39%FG) VS BRENT BARRY(Key stat:.51%FG) SG: K.KITTLES(Key stats:11.5ppg,.32%3PT) VS A.DANIELS(Key stat: Only 4 games started) SF: R.JEFFERSON(Key stats:15.3ppg,.46%FG) VS R.LEWIS(Key Stats:20.5ppg,41%3PT) PF: K-MART(Key Stats:17.7ppg,9.7rpg) VS V.RADMANOVIC(Key Stat:14ppg) C: J.COLLINS(Key stat: 5.1rpg) VS JEROME JAMES(Key stat 1.08bpg) KEY MATCH UP RJ VS RASHARD LEWIS- This is a match of young athletic forwards. Exspect alot of scoring in this matchup. Lewis is the Sonics go to scorer.So Jefferson will have his hands full trying to guard him. Also exspect Kenyon Martin to spend sometime matchup againt Lewis. Lewis will have to keep up with RJ & Martin in the open court. KEY BENCH PLAYERS SONICS- RONALD MURRAY(Key stat: 18.9ppg) Murray has been a go to option for the Sonics, but has seen his starting job gone away & his minutes cut down as of recent. Nets- LUCIOUS HARRIS(Key stat:38%FG)The only bench player on the Nets capable of off setting Ronald Murray, output if he go for points in the mid to high teens. NETS KEYS TO THE GAME Defense: 1) Guarding the Perimeter -The Supersonics generate most of their offense from their perimeter players like Murray,Barry,Lewis. These players shoot alot of 3-pointers. The Nets must make sure get a hand up on all perimeter jumpers. Sonics are one of the best three point shooting teams in the league(Sonics Rank #2 in the league in 3pt shooting). They shoot a top notch .38% from 3Pt range. 2)REBOUNDING-The Nets have had trouble rebouding the basketball,so far this season. But the night can not afford to have these troubles this evening. The Nets most dominate the defensive boards, to limit the Sonics second chance points. Second chance points/attempts usually means 3pt baskets for them. 3)CREATE TURNOVERS -The Nets should pressure Antonio Daniels, when he is handling the basketball, esecially early in the first quarter. He has only started 4 games this season. It is a big adjustment going from the bench to being a starter. Sometimes you end up being on the court with players you never teamed with in practice. The Nets should use his possible confusion to create turnovers & get out on the break. If they do this early they can dictate the tempo in which the whole game is going to be played. KEYS TO THE NETS OFFENSE 1) JASON KIDDAs usual everything must start with J.KIdd. Jason must do his usual job.Get the Nets into a open court style of play.In the half -court set kidd will be guarded by Brent Barry. Barry is a long defender. Barry likes to use his lenght to deflict passes & prevent opposing point guards from setting up thier teams offensive sets. J.Kidd might have to pull back on some of his high risk passes. 2)OTHER PERIMETER SCORERS BESIDES KIDD MUST STEP UP- The Sonics are exspected to hit their fare share of perimeter jumpers. So the Nets perimeter shooters (Kittles/Harris) must hit their open jumpers to off set the Sonics shooters 3)GET MARTIN THE BALL IN THE POST- The Nets need to get K-Mart the ball deep in the post. The Sonics dont have post defenders that can really stop k-mart. The Nets dont need k-mart hanging around the perimeter taking 20 foot jumpers. SUPERSONICS KEYS TO THE GAME DEFENSE: 1)KEEP THE NETS FROM FASTBREAKING-Everybody knows the Nets game plan run,run,run. So with the Sonics being mostly a jump shooting team this opens up even opportunity for the Nets to run. To prevent this the Sonics have to keep at least 2 players around the foul & 3 point lines to prevent the Nets from running off of long rebounds. The Sonics cant use their usual team appoarch to rebounding because they need their guard back to prevent fastbreaks, 2)DEFLICT PASSES -J Kidd tries to pull off some of the craziest passes I have ever seen. The Sonics have to get their hands up & try to tip some of those wild passes. If they do then Kidd will have a high turnover game. Kidd tends to turn the ball over by attempting passes he shouldnt when the Nets are struggling in the half court set. SONICS OFFENSIVE KEYS TO THE GAME 1)MUST INCORPERATE RONALD MURRAY INTO THE OFFENSE-Murray going 0 for 5 from the field(his #ers for the lost against the Raptors) wont be exceptable against the Nets. Especially if the Sonics allow the Nets to play an open court game. Murray is one of the few Sonics who can score in ab up & down can with the Nets. 2)SECOND CHANCE POINTS -The Sonics inside players have to find away to offensive rebound without the help of the Sonics perimeter players. If the Sonics post players can offensive rebound then they will create second cance opportunities & prevent the Nets from running at the same time. It will be hard for the Nets to run if they keep taking the ball out. I personally predict that the Nets will win a close ball game 90-85 Feel free to discuss your keys to the game, Hope you all enjoy the game. It should be a good one.
Very nice Henacy. I was about to make one but it looks like you have everything covered. But I don't agree with you on one point. This won't be a close game. Finally, Nets are running like a well oiled machine and Murray's numbers are dipping. The Nets have an answer to each and every SOnics' player but it doesn't apply vice versa. Nets by 10+ points.
Well the game over now & it was like the Nets followed my Keys to the game both on offense & defense. Coach Scott must be a justbball member cause he had to have read my preview.
Great game by Richard Jefferson (31 points) <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Henacy:</div><div class="quote_post">Well the game over now & it was like the Nets followed my Keys to the game both on offense & defense. Coach Scott must be a justbball member cause he had to have read my preview.</div> Are you implying you are Byron Scott? lol.
Richard Jefferson led the way for the Nets with a season high 31 point night. He outplayed Rashard Lewis on both ends of the court. The Nets actually faced a team with a weaker front line than their own, and K-Mart had another huge game against the Sonics. The Nets outscored Seattle 50-24 in the paint and shot an impressive 55% from the field. Interesting factoid:This was the Nets' second straight blowout against the SuperSonics and their first season sweep since the 1988-89 season. They posted a 93-70 win in Seattle on Nov. 25, a game in which New Jersey limited the Sonics to a franchise-low 25 points in the second half.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ObieCent:</div><div class="quote_post">Great game by Richard Jefferson (31 points) Are you implying you are Byron Scott? lol.</div> of course not, I was just pointing out the accuracy of my preview.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The New Jersey Nets are slowly getting back to being a great team at home. Richard Jefferson scored a season-high 31 points and Kenyon Martin added 25 as the Nets dominated the third quarter in a 101-88 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics. New Jersey was 33-8 in each of its previous two years at the Meadowlands but had lost six of its first eight games here this season. The Nets completed a four-game homestand with three straight wins and looked the like the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions on Tuesday. "We are not there yet, but we are getting better," New Jersey coach Byron Scott said. "As far as the last game is concerned, we got better. That's what we're trying to do each and every game. If anyone thinks that we've arrived and we're there, they're wrong. We got some thing to improve on."</div> Full Story Box Scores Weehoo another blow-out! They scored 31 points in the third. Their great shooting helped them win the game. K-Mart was 12 of 18, Jefferson was 10 of 13 and Kittles 6 of 8. Kidd was only 4 of 11 but his 10 assists gave way for easy baskets by his teammates and he was 2 rebounds shy of another TD.
