Brooklyn Nets vs New Orleans Hornets Recap: Deron Williams Leads Brooklyn To Victory
Mar 12, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams (8) heads for a loose ball during the second quarter against the New Orleans Hornets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Whoops. Someone (me) forgot to post the preview this morning. My apologies.
Anyway, the Brooklyn Nets take out the New Orleans Hornets 108-98. The Nets shot 50% from the field, 31% from three, and 74% from the free-throw line. Overall, this was a pretty important win for a team that’s going on a pretty big road trip, and a team ahead of them in the division in New York reeling. Even though this was New Orleans, a team destined for the lottery, winning a game without Joe Johnson available is huge. Let’s look at this game.
The biggest X-Factor was the bench. With Johnson out, C.J. Watson moved into the starting lineup, and that allowed MarShon Brooks, Mirza Teletovic, and Keith Bogans to receive more playing time alongside Andray Blatche. All three contributed in their own way. I was fan of Bogans’ defense, especially on Eric Gordon at times. Bogans didn’t have a huge offensive game, but he killed defensively. Mirza also looked like he was getting it together on the defensive end. I wish P.J. Carlesimo would run him and Gerald Wallace more, but what can you do? Brooks had a solid offensive game (14 points), but he was brutal on defense.
Blatche continues to do Blatche things. He was active on the offensive end, and he also looked good battling for rebounds, even though he only finished with five. 18 points off the bench was huge, and as we move closer and closer to the playoffs, it’s good to see Blatche being effective on the offensive end. I wouldn’t be shocked if he took over a majority of the power forward duties once the playoffs start.
Grades:
Deron Williams- 21 points, 7-19 shooting, 13 assists, 3 steals
Good golly, Miss Molly. I understand that this was against a bad team, but this was a perfect Deron Williams game. In the first quarter, Williams looked a bit off with his shot, but other than that, he controlled the game with his passing, and when they removed his options, Williams put the ball on the deck and scored.. Overall, Deron Williams had a perfect game. Grade: A+
C.J. Watson- 4 points, 1-5 shooting, 4 rebounds
On offense, Watson wasn’t great, but on defense; I thought Watson did a great job against Vasquez and Gordon. The four rebounds were huge too, mainly because he got three of them on the defensive end. For someone jumping into the starting lineup, Watson didn’t hurt Brooklyn, and that was perfect. Grade: B-
Gerald Wallace- 13 points, 3-9 shooting, 8 rebounds, 2 steals
Again, I beg for Carlesimo to play Wallace at the power forward position. Sans shooting, Wallace had another strong performance, and the best part? He was active on the defensive end. He wasn’t shooting well, but the fact that he was taking shots was important. As Brooklyn continues this march to the playoffs, it’s important that Wallace continues this level of play. Grade: B+
Reggie Evans- 6 points, 3-5 shooting, 13 rebounds
Not much to say here. Evans shot 60% from the field, got a ton of rebounds, and finished with a positive plus/minus. Grade: A
Brook Lopez- 26 points, 10-15 shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks
Brook again. Going against his brother, Lopez decided to show out, and he did it in a huge way. At times, the Nets were actively looking to throw the ball into the post, and let Lopez operate. That’s huge for his psyche, and also allows others to hit spot-up jumpers. Strong game by Lopez, but man, can we get more than 5 rebounds? Grade: A
Next Game: Nets vs. Atlanta. March 17th, 2013. 8 pm