Brooklyn Nets at Phoenix Suns November 15th 9:00pm Game Thread

[niko]

http://www.nba.com/nets/sites/nets/files/imagecache/slider_image/content/images-topstory/2013/11/allstar-670-111513.jpghttp://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/simgad/10683789433298707521

The Brooklyn Nets had title aspirations in mind when they acquired some big-name veterans in their offseason makeover.

The Phoenix Suns went through one with an eye on the future, bringing in younger and less-heralded players, but theirs has worked a whole lot better.

Maybe no team has been a bigger disappointment than the Nets, who will share the Eastern Conference's worst record if they fail to get their first road win Friday night against a surprising Suns team which is perfect at home.

The blockbuster trade that brought Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry -- all over 35 years old -- to Brooklyn in July has been a major bust thus far. Pierce is averaging a career-worst 13.4 points -- 5.2 lower than last season -- while Garnett and Terry are combining for 11.9 per game on 34.7 percent shooting.

Plus, star point guard Deron Williams is off to a poor start, averaging 11.1 points, and the Nets (2-5) are only a half-game ahead of idle Washington for the East basement.

Brooklyn has lost three straight and looked particularly uninspired Wednesday to open a three-game road trip, falling 107-86 to a Sacramento team which had lost five in a row. The Nets were never closer than nine points in the second half.

"I hope this was a wakeup call to start the trip," said Pierce, 10 for 29 from the field over the past three games.

First-year coach Jason Kidd has seen his team shoot 40.8 percent on the road while going 0-4.

"It's unacceptable," Kidd said. "We don't score, we hang our heads and then they score on the other end."

Kidd's counterpart is having a much better start to his NBA head coaching debut. Jeff Hornacek has Phoenix (5-3) within a half-game of the Pacific Division lead after it finished with the West's worst record last season.

Even when they don't win, the Suns put up a good fight. Their first two defeats were to title contenders -- Oklahoma City and San Antonio -- by a combined 10 points.

Their last game was another close defeat, as they fell 90-89 in Portland on Wednesday on a basket with 6.5 seconds left. Eric Bledsoe was off with a layup attempt before P.J. Tucker and Markieff Morris missed tip-ins to end the game.

"We're a young team. This is a very good team," Hornacek said. "They've been playing extremely well and for us to have a couple missed tips at the buzzer to win it, our guys are battling, and that's what we hope for at the start of the season, getting those chances."

Bledsoe was the most significant player acquired by Phoenix during the offseason, and he's averaging a team-leading 21.1 points after scoring 23 on Wednesday.

He was rejoined in the starting backcourt by Goran Dragic, who came off the bench in Sunday's win over New Orleans after missing three games with a sprained ankle. Dragic had 14 points but took 13 stitches above his left eye after a fourth-quarter collision, though he should play Friday.

Reigning West player of the week Markieff Morris will look to bounce back, having scored eight points Wednesday after averaging 24.7 in the previous three games.

Second-year Suns center Miles Plumlee, coming off his fourth double-double of the season, could battle brother Mason Plumlee for the first time in the NBA. Mason is a rookie for Brooklyn who has appeared in four games.

The Nets have won three straight over the Suns behind Williams' averages of 23.3 points and 10.3 assists.

Starters
PG D. Williams 11.1 E. Bledsoe 21.1
SG J. Johnson 12.7 G. Dragic 13.4
SF P. Pierce 13.4 P. Tucker 8.1
PF K. Garnett 6.0 C. Frye 6.1
C B. Lopez 19.6 M. Plumlee 11.5
AK47 still out. Not sure about Suns injuries.

My 2 cents: Suns are no joke, if the Nets come out half assed like last night they'll lose this game. Personally I don't think (despite what he says and the yelling) that Garnett is in love with his teammates. There is something off there, whether it's Deron or just not enough intensity.

This looked like a layup on the schedule at one point, now it's a very interesting game.

[andremiller07]

Suns should be able to blow them away with there speed, the Nets could not stay in front of anyone on the Kings and they are not even 1/2 as athletic as the Suns. Also why don't the Nets use Joe Johnson more? The Nets have to post him and Lopez up more if they want some sort of success. They got a huge size advantage on the inside this game have to use it.

[statman32]

Don't see how the Nets keep up with the Suns or Bledsoe/Dragic.

[veilside23]

the team that was supposed to tank vs the team that is supposed to win it all... looks like we will have a role reversal on this one :)

[niko]

Deron Williams with his roll around moment for this game. Even money he comes back fine.

[Mrofir]

Dragic with a very Nashty pass -- he learned a lot from Steve.

Glad he's back with the Suns.

[Heavincent]

Deron Williams with his roll around moment for this game. Even money he comes back fine.

Seems like a daily occurrence these days.

I honestly enjoy watching my Jets much more than Brooklyn. Obviously hard not to be disappointed with this team.

[LakersForlife]

suns will rout the old ass nets

[Mrofir]

Is this Suns team headed for the playoffs?

[Mrofir]

hilarious how every time they mention Shaun Livingston, they only can talk about how they're not going to talk about his horrible horrible horrible knee injury.

[Mrofir]

Dragic for 50? :D

[b1imtf]

Paul and Kevin would have a better chance at contending with the Celtics :oldlol:

[Pacquiao]

Paul and Kevin would have a better chance at contending with the Celtics :oldlol:


If they had this lineup with the Celtics - Championship

Playing in New York will make you a total joke, trash and the laughing stock of the NBA. That's how New York would be for this entire century.

[Mrofir]

Nets offense looks better with Shaun Livingston running the point.

[R.I.P.]

Small victories for Dolan. How far did that Knicks team go that cost like 100 mil in luxury tax? First round? Looks like Prok might pay 200 mil for the lottery. Who has their 2014 1st round pick? The Celtics? Can

[niko]

Has no one figured out that Livingston has no jumper? He has literally like a 10 foot jumper? People play him so tight.

[It's A VC3!!!]

i have a great feeling that the nets will be great in the third and fourth quarter because shaun livingston meshes with the team much better than deron and he should create some great looks and emulate his second quarter performance. other than that, the nets will possibly go down as the biggest failure in NBA history. being dead serious..they might make the playoffs but as an 7 or 8 seed and be a first round exit, hence, the biggest failure in nba history according to money wasted and expectations.

[It's A VC3!!!]

what did i say. deron is shit. SHIT. and shaun makes this starting unit go.

[ZHAKIDD532]

It's 6 minutes into the quarter. The Suns have 0 points...

[alwaysunny]

Just got home. Seems like nets are rolling. Summary of the first half?

[The JKidd Kid]

what did i say. deron is shit. SHIT. and shaun makes this starting unit go.

I completely agree with you now. I'm done defending him. Trade him to a team that needs an offensive PG. Livingston is out there playing lock down D, running the pick and roll to perfection and scoring in the lane at will.

[It's A VC3!!!]

Just got home. Seems like nets are rolling. Summary of the first half?
Shit. I got home with four minutes to go in the second quarter. Nets really good in third quarter. Suns have yet to score.

[niko]

Shaun Livingston replacing Deron though is not a plan, it's wishful thinking. If you played him starter minutes he'd break down (guaranteed), and if you scheme on him he's much less effective because he has no jumper. As a change of pace, or spot guy when teams are not expecting him yes, but he's not a solution. They need to get Deron to mesh if this team is going to be very good in any real way.

[tpols]

Da fuq is up with dwill? Guys game has gone off a cliff

[niko]

Just got home. Seems like nets are rolling. Summary of the first half?
Deron did his rolling around the floor hurt but was actually hurt. Nets played with shit energy but fortunately this suns team is lost if they don't hit threes so Nets stayed in it.

[niko]

BTW, Nets can't let Suns back in this. Nets need to go up 10, cruise it out. Losing at this point would be a really tough thing to take when they are so clearly better.

[Mrofir]

BTW, Nets can't let Suns back in this. Nets need to go up 10, cruise it out. Losing at this point would be a really tough thing to take when they are so clearly better.


I know they're better on paper, but so far in this game, the Suns have looked better except for last 5 minutes of the 1st half, and so far in the 3rd quarter.

Game looked like a Suns rout early on.

[It's A VC3!!!]

i am sick and tired of jason retarded kids' subs. he takes shaun out and the suns on 11-2 run..

[Mrofir]

i am sick and tired of jason retarded kids' subs. he takes shaun out and the suns on 11-2 run..



:oldlol:

yep..

[niko]

i am sick and tired of jason retarded kids' subs. he takes shaun out and the suns on 11-2 run..

Do you want his knee to snap and his career to end by playing him 40 minutes in game 8? You are aware it's surprising he's still in the league, right?

[Mrofir]

Channing Frye has at least one unforgivable defensive play per game.

There it was

[The JKidd Kid]

Do you want his knee to snap and his career to end by playing him 40 minutes in game 8? You are aware it's surprising he's still in the league, right?

I've never heard anything about his knee being weak. Where are you getting this?

[Mrofir]

Do you want his knee to snap and his career to end by playing him 40 minutes in game 8? You are aware it's surprising he's still in the league, right?


Dude seriously knees don't snap from playing basketball for 40 minutes.

That was a freak accident.

Kidd definitely needs to play him big minutes in the 4th if they want to win this game.

[It's A VC3!!!]

Do you want his knee to snap and his career to end by playing him 40 minutes in game 8? You are aware it's surprising he's still in the league, right?
no but put in taylor instead of having alan and terry as our pg and sg.. that's such a ridiculous backcourt that not even a two year old would do..

[It's A VC3!!!]

just retire jason terry you suck. you ****ing suck.

[It's A VC3!!!]

gosh. just disband this worthless piece of shit franchise. i'm literally sick and tired of them. defense is shit and they all deserve to retire.

[It's A VC3!!!]

oh so shaun is in now you ****ing idiot head coach. good thinking.

[Mrofir]

take livingston out!

He's going to snap his knee

[It's A VC3!!!]

Can The Nets Defend The ****ing 3 Point Line. Holy ****.

[The JKidd Kid]

oh so shaun is in now you ****ing idiot head coach. good thinking.

You want him to play the entire 3rd and 4th quarters? Relax man he rested for like 4 mins.

[niko]

Dude seriously knees don't snap from playing basketball for 40 minutes.

That was a freak accident.

Kidd definitely needs to play him big minutes in the 4th if they want to win this game.
His body broke down from normal usage. Do you remember? He landed wrong, his frame is just very think and everything went SNAP. He missed almost half the games in his career prior to that with leg problems.

That's not a guy you want to play 35 minutes a game.

[niko]

Did the Net fans never watch Livingston play before? He was one of my favorite players to watch. He got hurt if you sneezed on him though. He'd twist an ankle, 10 games. a knee, 10 more. look it up.

[niko]

I can't recall JJ even playing before that basket.

[Mrofir]

His body broke down from normal usage. Do you remember? He landed wrong, his frame is just very think and everything went SNAP. He missed almost half the games in his career prior to that with leg problems.

That's not a guy you want to play 35 minutes a game.


These guys, all of them, even the most injury prone, subject the bodies to intense vigorous activity for hours and hours every day.

Bad luck plays a role in injuries. I don't really think injury risk should play a huge factor in Livingston's minutes -- he's not old. He's just had some bad luck. I would make decisions about his minutes based on how he's playing, and how tired he is, but we can agree to disagree.

and yes I remember.

The accident wasn't normal usage -- that was a freak accident.

[niko]

These guys, all of them, even the most injury prone, subject the bodies to intense vigorous activity for hours and hours every day.

Bad luck plays a role in injuries. I don't really think injury risk should play a huge factor in Livingston's minutes -- he's not old. He's just had some bad luck. I would make decisions about his minutes based on how he's playing, and how tired he is, but we can agree to disagree.

and yes I remember.

The accident wasn't normal usage -- that was a freak accident.
Prior to that he got hurt all the time, his ankles and knees. He's never played big minutes. Coming back all the way from what he did and becoming a 20-25 per minute role player and all of a sudden putting him out there for 40 minutes would be short sighted, sorry. It's game 8.

[niko]

Great game. Everyone is exhausted.

[DuMa]

Livingston funny stuff

[tpols]

Lopez garnett and dwill all sprain ankles godamnit:facepalm

[niko]

Livingston funny stuff
He's more aware than anyone else out there, took everyone else five seconds to figure it out.

[It's A VC3!!!]

Paul killed us in the fourth. every loss seems to be because of one net suffocating the life out of the game and this time it was paul in the fourth. 0/5 in the fourth by paul. this is ****ing disgusting. another close loss by the nets. and why the **** is joe heaving a shot up when he had 4 seconds to get a better shot.

[tpols]

JJ regular season clutch king:bowdown: :bowdown:

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Joe Cool. :pimp:

[The JKidd Kid]

This is why I have no problem with the Nets paying Joe 20 mill. :lol

[JimmyMcAdocious]

What was Tucker even doing? :facepalm

[Droid101]

Yikes, shaky. I guess the foul took place after the clock expired?

[It's A VC3!!!]

wow. thats not a foul ****ing BULLSHIT.

[niko]

Nets wants refs to check what? No foul was called. You don't check replays and call fouls.

[che guevara]

:biggums:

What the ****? No foul? That was as blatant as it gets.

[It's A VC3!!!]

PJ intentionally fouled him. how the **** do you not call an intentional foul...

[Young X]

Why wasn't that called? SMH.

[Mrofir]

lol -- definitely a foul.

Really odd play..

Great game, I can only assume this is the game of the night

[niko]

Poor Nets, did a call go against you? Harden got 493 free throws last night, doesn't matter. Still have 5 minutes to win this.

[Mrofir]

bahhhhhh looks over.

Suns looking shaky in the clutch.

Too soon to bestow mr 4th quarter on eric bledsoe

looks like a young team that doesn't know how to close yet..

[ZHAKIDD532]

Lopez didn't really make a lot of contact on that play...

[niko]

Did they ever update on Deron? I'm watching with no sound.

[It's A VC3!!!]

Lopez didn't really make a lot of contact on that play...
None at all and that's not a ****ing call you make if your a ref. Stupid ass refs dictating who wins the game.. That should not have been called but it should teach brook a lesson on how not to be the worst pick and roll defender in the entire history of the damn league.

[Mrofir]

Did they ever update on Deron? I'm watching with no sound.


nope not that i noticed

[Bobcats2013]

The Lob The Jammmm

[Bobcats2013]

Joe Johnson!!

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Joe Cool again. :bowdown:

Clutch gawd

[DirkNowitzki41]

suns!!!!!

[Droid101]

Cool Joe.

[tpols]

Hahaha so nonchalant :bowdown: :bowdown: straight pimpin JJ

[niko]

Wow the Suns ****ed that up. They acted like the game would end once they shot.

[Brook(lyn)Lopez]

Joe Johnson!

Clutches players in the League!

[DuMa]

joe cool wow

[Young X]

Johnson :bowdown:

[alwaysunny]

Joeeeeeeeeee!!

GNITE PHOENIX

[DirkNowitzki41]

Joe Johnson!

Clutches players in the League!

thats probably the smartest thing you ever said, and it's still wrong :oldlol:

[ZHAKIDD532]

Joe is so clutch...

[Mrofir]

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

[The JKidd Kid]

That's what we pay him for. :bowdown:

[niko]

Good win Net fans, have fun tomorrow. :D

[It's A VC3!!!]

is that the first fast break buzzer beating shot in the history of the league? joe is a bad, bad man.

[ZHAKIDD532]

Did they ever update on Deron? I'm watching with no sound.
Xrays negative. Still wasn't going to play the rest of the night though.

[It's A VC3!!!]

Good win Net fans, have fun tomorrow. :D
we actually show up against top teams and show down against bad teams.

[francesco totti]

we actually show up against top teams and show down against bad teams.


Its more like miami didnt show up against you. then it had anything to do with brooklyn.

[DuMa]

13/5/1 on 6/19 shooting. worth every penny of that 20mil

[It's A VC3!!!]

Its more like miami didnt show up against you. then it had anything to do with brooklyn.
what about the pacers? idiot.:facepalm

[Nets fan 93]

Livingston was such an under the radar GOLD pickup. his playmaking is awesome. I love how all game Johnson is off and then in the clutch he has ice in his veins. Incredible clutch gene since landing in Brooklyn.

[bagelred]

Well, that was annoying. I started watching with 27 seconds left in 4th quarter.

Why do I watch basketball? I always end up disappointed. Nets be so lucky.


Gnight.

[alwaysunny]

is that the first fast break buzzer beating shot in the history of the league? joe is a bad, bad man.

Marbury won the game in a similar fashion with the knicks

[The JKidd Kid]

Its more like miami didnt show up against you. then it had anything to do with brooklyn.

What VC3 said, piece of shit.

[Proctor]

is that the first fast break buzzer beating shot in the history of the league? joe is a bad, bad man.
Are you serious? :roll: :roll:

[The JKidd Kid]

Well, that was annoying. I started watching with 27 seconds left in 4th quarter.

Why do I watch basketball? I always end up disappointed. Nets be so lucky.


Gnight.

That's cause you're a Knicks fan. :lol

[Brook(lyn)Lopez]

thats probably the smartest thing you ever said, and it's still wrong :oldlol:

You butthurt or something?

Stats back me up, since he joined the Nets, Joe Cool is the most clutch.

[wagexslave]

I didn't like that last sequence of events in OT. Why oh why was Channing f***ing Frye in the game in the final seconds of OT trying to shoot a game winner from 3-pt? Not only was his shot bad, but even if he would have made it there would've been time on the clock for Brooklyn to try to score back. Why immediately chuck up a 3 with like 4-5 sec left? The general idea is to be taking the FINAL shot of the game.

The Suns best scorer should be taking that shot, either Dragic or Bledsoe, not scrub ass Frye. And the final shot shouldn't be from 3 if the game was tied.

Did the Suns have time-outs left at that point in time? If so, it makes me wonder why they didn't utilize them to set up an actual good play. -sigh- Another heart breaker.