Joe Netsfan Round 2 Game 5 - Nets 83, Cavs 72

With their heads on the block, the Nets instead do the chopping

Nets 83, Cavs 72
Round 2, Game 5 File
Led by the Captain, the Nets take it right to the Cavs early by defending the daylights out of the Cleveland offense, and getting some of the buckets that wouldn't fall in Game 4. Building a lead as high as 22 points in the third quarter by taking it right at the Cavs, the Nets then hang on for dear life in a horrific fourth quarter but still manage to force a Game 6 in NJ on Friday.
• Box Score

Series Record: 2 - 3
Nets High Men:
• Points: Jason Kidd, 20.
• Assists: Vince Carter, 10.
• Rebounds: Jason Kidd, 9.
• Steals: Jason Kidd, 4.
• Turnovers: Jason Kidd, 8.
• Blocks: Jason Kidd, 2.
• FG Percentage: Jason Kidd, 57.2% (8 - 14).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 47.8%
• FT Percentage: 45.0%
• Rebounds: 39
• Rebound Differential: -6
• Turnovers: 18
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 18
• Bench points: 22
• Bench points Differential:+5
• Steals: 9
• Blocks: 3
• Points in the Paint: 30
• Double-Doubles: 0
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The Kidd Effect:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 5
• Nets Fast Break Points: 9
• Kidd's FG Percentage: 57.2% (8 - 14).
• Scoring Differential Kidd in the game: +20
• Scoring Differential Kidd out: -9 (Williams. Carter)
• Double-Doubles this Season: 33
• Triple Doubles this Season: 12
• Career Triple Doubles: 87
• Double-Doubles playoffs: 6
• Triple Doubles playoffs: 2
• Career Playoff Triple Doubles:11

Nets Media
Bergen Record | Nets
Newark Star-Ledger | Nets
Newsday | Nets
NY Daily News | NBA
NY Post | Nets
NY Times | Pro Basketball
YES Network | Nets

Nets Team Pages
CNNSI.com | Nets
ESPN.com | Nets
FoxSports | Nets
NBA.com | Nets
Sportsline.com | Nets

Cavs Media:
Cleveland Plain Dealer | Cavs

Round 2, Game 5: Nets 83, Cavs 72 – May 16, 2007
Stay Of Execution
Here were your New Jersey Nets, trying to extend their season by at least one game on a hostile court. Instead of succumbing to the pressure of the playoffs, though, the Nets came out strong, defended for their lives, followed their captain, and did enough to force a Game 6 back on home turf on Friday night.

But oh, those fourth quarter woes. Looking more like a stay of execution for a putrid fourth quarter offense than a stay of execution from being bounced from the playoffs, the Nets were lucky to build a lead as large as 22 points in the third quarter before completely and totally running out of steam in that fourth quarter. Hitting a wall late, the Nets managed only ONE field goal and SIX points for the quarter and STILL came away with the win on the road.

I'm starting to think these Cavs really aren't worthy of an Eastern Conference championship series.

But back to the game, and what a playoff game it was. Coming out early with a full sense of mission, Jason Kidd once again was spectacular, forcing the action on both ends of the floor. Kidd was able to balance the offense, lead the defense (especially on LeBron James and Larry Hughes, who combined to shoot 8 - 31 or 26%) and even got Boki Nachbar untracked (Boki went 3 - 3 from behind the arc, in three straight Nets possessions, in the first quarter). With VInce Carter again facing a wall of Cavs and unwilling or unable to challenge, it was up to the captain to orchestrate the evening.

And after checking back in to the game in the second quarter, he took the Nets on a 12 - 6 run to end the half with the Nets up by 8 points. There were contributions large and small by everyone (unlike Game 5), including an effective stretch with Carter as the passer and Mikki Moore as the finisher (Carter had assists on four straight baskets to end the quarter). With the ax hanging over their heads, the Nets handled things well.

The third quarter was even better, and the Nets were determined and focused to put the game away. A killer offense and a constricting defense gave the Nets the boost they needed to push the lead as high as 22 points. Only Kidd (10 points), Carter (3 points, 5 assists), Richard Jefferson (9) and Moore (8) scored in the quarter, and the 30 - 20 advantage gave the Nets an 18 point lead after three, despite the late quarter histronics of Marcus WIlliams. Williams, inserted into the game seconds earlier, gave up an easy score to Eric Snow, then had his dribble stolen by Daniel Gibson on the ensuing inbounds. Gibson scored but failed to convert the free throw, and when Jason Kidd was immediately reinserted into the game and canned a three with 3 seconds remaining, it appeared that order had been restored.

Oh, these Nets. With less than a second on the clock and Donyell Marshall just over the halfcourt line attempting a buzzer beating heave, Mikki Moore for whatever reason decided to defend and fouled Marshall, who converted 2 of 3 free throws, a bad sign of things to come.

The prevent offense was rolled out to start the fourth quarter, and it was almost 4 minutes before they scored a point, and almost 8 before they made their only basket of the quarter (Carter hit a running jumper). Luckily, although the Cavs were chipping away at the Nets' gift of futility, they couldn't make up enough ground since the Nets had built such a large lead (and frankly, the Cavs weren't much better, making 3 field goals in the fourth and missing a slew of free throws). The blanket thrown over LeBron was enough to get the win, even when the Cavs cut the lead down as low as 9 points (it was Carter's basket that put the lead back at 11, where it essentially stood for the remainder of the game).

And so, the never-say-die though hardly inspiring Nets live to see a Game 6. And I take that back, this effort tonight was indeed inspiring, fired up as it was by Jason Kidd, and doing it mostly on defense and with Vince Carter turned into a point guard. Can they repeat the performance on Friday night at home and force a Game 7? Wouldn't that be like doing things the hard way, so expect the Nets to do just that...

Pardon From The Warden
Legal Defense – Well, these Nets certainly played like their backs were against the wall tonight, huh? An almost complete shutdown of the Cavs offense, harking back to the 2002 - 2003 years of total Net defense. They were hungry and aggressive, they took away LeBron James (and got physical with him, and were physical overall), and forced the other Cavs to beat them, which they absolutely could not. What has happened to Drew Gooden, who killed the Nets in Games 1 and 2 but hasn't nary been seen since? And Larry Hughes? A nightmare game for him, no thanks to the Net defense. The Cavs shot 33% for the game, and were positively man-handled. If the Nets can keep up the defense, this series turns very winnable.
36 Minute Men - Now, as for the offense - once again, Jason Kidd was the trigger, and for the first three quarters, the Nets made all the right moves. Kidd got them started with his aggressive play, Boki Nachbar through the first quarter dagger of 3 straight 3's to give the Nets a lead they wouldn't let go of, and when it was time to get separation, the Nets rode Richard Jefferson in the third quarter and suddenly the world opened up for them. It was the best stretch of offense we've seen in awhile, even while Vince Carter was effectively passing and not scoring (but aggressiveness?).
12 Minutes Of Disaster - The prevent offense rears its ugly head in the fourth quarter, and boy did life get interesting. Just like that, all activity stopped, the Nets started settling, the Cavs upped their defense, and the ball would not go in the hole. 0 - 9 to start the fourth, covering a whopping 7+ minutes, before Carter finally buried a jumper. Wow, it was painful, as if the first 36 minutes took all the life out of them, and they were hanging on for dear life. Let's hope that's not a trend that continues (I mean, 6 points in the entire quarter?).
SH*T Happens – How about this Mikki Moore vs. Sasha Pavlovic thing that's developing? Moore fouled Pavlovic hard in Game 4, with lots of carping afterward from LeBron about it, and Pavlovic returned the favor tonight by knocking Moore over on a drive to the hoop on the break. Moore took it in stride, made some free throws, and the message was sent - we're not backing down, especially not to the likes of Sasha Pavlovic.
Random Pardons, But One Hanging - Redemption for the Big Three (mostly) as Kidd (20 points, 9 boards, 6 assists, 8 turnovers), Jefferson (15 and 8) and Carter (only 12 points, but 10 assists) made shots and did what they're supposed to do. Also for Boki Nachbar, who made his shots for the first time in what seems like two weeks, although he was quiet in the second half. But, poor Marcus Williams, who spelled Kidd spanning the first and second and did ok but not great, but then tried to spell him at the end of the third, gave up an easy bucket, had his pocket picked, and was gone in the span of 10 seconds. Anotine Wright continues solid spot play, and even Eddie House, who got 7 minutes of game action, made contributions (imagine if he's able to go 10 - 15 minutes and make 2 or 3 shots?).
Free Tanking - Have you ever seen such a display of bad free throw shooting? I mean, Kidd misses 5 of 6? The Nets were 45% for the game (9 - 20), while the Cavs were a whopping 69%. At least LeBron made his free throws (10 - 11), but of course, they weren't as pressurized as they were last game when he missed a bunch...

Stop The Presses
This just in - the Nets refuse to go quietly into the off-season, and follow the lead of Jason Kidd to force a home Game 6 on Friday night. Using defense to set up the offense, running aggressive plays and playing aggressive, and making things miserable for LeBron James is the recipie for success. That of course means nothing if the Nets don't win at home and force a deciding Game 7. It will be interesting to see exactly who steps up in Game 6 - LeBron, Vince, RJ, or Kidd himself. The superstar that makes more plays will likely take the game, and since the Nets have more of them on the roster (those that can make clutch plays, that is), let's hope for a 7 game fight to the finish. Vince, you need to step it up, and quick, so we can see that Game 7...
-Joe