Grizzlies at Nets – Tonight 7:30 – YES; WFAN (660 AM)
Well, so much for momentum. Not like you need to be Einstein to figure this out, but the 2006-07 Nets stink so far.
Oh, they get points for style and creativity. The defeat to Phoenix, a classic in every sense, really uplifted the spirits. The loss to Boston on Saturday, when Paul Pierce scored from 22 at the buzzer, left them dazed and numb. It’s not every day you blow leads of 20 points or 18-0. The last time the Nets wasted a 20-point lead was Jan., 2001. But it’s still early, right?
“We’re 20 games into the season. We should all be comfortable by now,” said Cliff Robinson, whose defensive presence is missed as he rehabs from knee surgery.
The Nets, who face Memphis in the Meadowlands tonight, can’t hold a lead. Fourth quarter execution is a mirage. They have absolutely no inside offensive presence.
At 28th in the NBA in blocks, they don’t exactly terrorize around the rim defensively. Just ask Al Jefferson (career night Saturday with 29 points and 14 boards). Or Kwame Brown, Zach Randolph, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Wilcox or any of the seemingly endless parade of folks who already dominated the Nets inside.
“We can’t just turn it on and off,” said Jason Kidd. “We felt coming out of the Phoenix game that we could springboard and go forward.” They did, for nine minutes. After an 18-0 start – which should have been much more but the Nets shot like near-sighted geeks – they were outscored 92-72. Great start, then stinkage ensued. They claim the contrary, but they are playing with zero confidence of late. Guard Antoine Wright was talking about the Boston game, but it can be applied to the whole season.
“I feel like we just lost something, we lost our edge a little,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say confidence is wavering, but we have to find ways to finish games. We’re not doing what we need to, to keep the game in our advantage,” Robinson said. “We start a game off extremely aggressive then we back off and we start settling for jumpers. We don’t get to the basket. We’re not playing the right way for 48 minutes.”
The ridiculous results pile up. This Boston gem was classic in its own way. Even in Phoenix, they had a 3-point lead with under five seconds left, causing Frank to verbally blow his own brains out for horrid personnel management. You know of the blown leads. Right now, two magic words save the Nets, losers of three straight: Atlantic Division.
They began yesterday tied for first with Toronto at a heart-pounding 7-12. They would be 5 ? out in the Central, 6 out in the Pacific; 6 ? out in the Southeast and 7 ? out in Southwest and Northwest.
“We’ve got to stay together and fight through this,” Kidd implored.
“Just come out and get the job done,” said Vince Carter. “No sense hanging your head. We’re too good, we have a lot of veterans, we make sure we support each other. Easier said than done, yes. But it’s imperative.”