GAME THREAD: NETS @ BLAZERS - FEB. 26, 2014, WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM (PST), CSNNW

All I know is if Claver could shoot worth a damn, he would get time. He just hasn't been able to. He has very good BBIQ, does a ton of things that don't show in the stat sheet, can pass, rebound, defend a little and play multiple positions. Didn't he even play some SG last year? SF, PF and C so far this season.

It's nice to see the bench get some run. That will be huge going forward in terms of experience and confidence.

 

I don't care about last year's stats. Players improve. Barton was part of that train wreck of a bench last year as well. All I know is Clavers impact is greater than his stats suggest, and even letting him play backup C is fine with Joel out. He should definitely be playing over Meyers.

 

Fun game. Lopez was the best player in attendance and set the tone early. Claver looks like a chicken with it's head cut off the way he runs circles in the paint waving his arms above his head, but it was surprisingly effective in disrupting the Nets offense.

Violet Palmer swallowed her whistle and seemed to be enjoying the game,but the other refs both made a few bogus calls early on trying to prevent a blowout.

The Nets need a coach, a real coach. Kidd seemed to just give up on his team after halftime. I don't fault him for playing his bench so much, but I don't think they learned much since he wasn't calling plays or trying to change the tempo or even applauding when they did something right.

I did not get to meet Vanilla Gorilla because he sold the ticket.

 

Who's a good comparison for Barton?

I think a JR Smith type -- can pass when he wants but plays with blinders on when looking to score.

 

Claver is not even close to being able to play center. He's too scrawny even against most PF's. He's a SF/SG.

 

Haha! What are you talking about? Fortunately, the Nets don't have a center right now, unless you consider the gimmick Jason Collins, but Claver wasn't even playing center tonight.

 

He's been playing PF and C in the last couple of games since we had no big. He and Trob were basically the interchangeable with all the switching going on.

 

He played center when Lopez was out of the game. Unless you think Barton was playing C....

He did fine against Blatche and Plumlee.

 

I Agree with you, mike and mike said during game claver is one of best shooters in practice, I think once he gets game confidence he will be a great piece. Id be ok sending cj Leonard and crabb to d league for a bit, let claver get some confidence

 

It would be great if Claver could keep shooting well; but he probably would need a regular 20 minutes a game, and that's not going to happen.
I know this was only one game but with Leonard and Robinson out, it certainly supports the theory that you are always better off with basketball players than with athletes.
Also, this game sure made me feel a lot better about not making any trades at the deadline. I think some of the guys further down on our bench are undervalued around the league, so if we couldn't get value back, so be it.

 

Will was outstanding tonight. I think his confidence barometer increased just a tad which is probably good news for the bench.

With that said, has the Blazers D improved or is it just the caliber of the opponent in the last few?

 

Will plays better with the regular rotation guys. I think it checks him a bit. When he plays with the scrubs, I think he believes he needs to take over the primary scoring role. When he's playing with the starters or the main rotation guys, he defers and plays within the system. Will is definitely at his best when he plays within the system.

Similarly, CJ does't seem to play well with Mo. He plays at his best when he is controlling the ball and calling his own number. He had his best games when Mo was out. I'm not sure what we do with that knowledge. At this point, I would give CJ's minutes to Barton.

 

I agree, if only because it seems we get a little small when CJ is in there.

 

Interesting analysis and prob lots of truth to it. I think as the year goes on, the bench and team will need what CJ has to give and I know you know this just based on reading some of your past material, but because he can play and be very effective

 

I think it hurt CJ to not have training camp or the first half of the season to integrate himself into the offense.

It just seems like he is trying to find his place in the offense. When he was playing for the Stampede, it was so simple. He was the #1 option. He controlled the ball. On the Blazers, he is shooting primarily three pointers, which I don't think is his main strength. He is at his best when he's driving, pulling up, and getting to the rim. Maybe he is having a hard time doing those things at this level. My hope is that he'll have a much better season next year after he gets a full summer league and training camp.

 

The view from the other side:

http://nypost.com/2014/02/27/listless-nets-blown-out-by-trail-blazers/

http://nypost.com/2014/02/27/nets-rewind-andray-blatche-was-worst-of-the-worst/

 

I just checked the box score and we had seven players in double figures last night. I can't remember the last time that happened.

When you have that many guys on, you're a tough team to stop.

 

Not sure how KG got 7 rebounds last night. The guy can barely move. I guess if you plant yourself under the basket you can still rebound.

 

FOr a while there, we had no player taller than 6'8" out on the court. Even Oden on crutches could get rebounds against that lineup.

 

For those that want to dismiss what we did to the Nyets, they demolished the Thuggets last night 112-89, and that was with Denver outscoring them by 10 in garbage time.

That was a good team we took to the woodshed. And we did it with scrap, hustle, transition defense and will. We outworked them. Looking at our lineup, we had no business beating the Nets. I hope we fans can appreciate the accomplishment.