Joe Netsfan Game x Game 1 - Nets 95, Wizards 85

Jarvis Hayes for President

Nets 95, Wizards 85
Game 1 File
The Nets surprise the Wiz by being more together in the end game, despite the young roster and uncertain rotation to start the 2008 - 2009 season. Executing almost flawlessly in the last five minutes with a host of different options while the Wiz were ice cold, the Nets use a 21 - 10 finishing kick to close this one out.
• Box Score

Nets Record: 1 - 0
Home Record: 0 - 0
Away Record: 1 - 0
Division Record: 0 - 0
Conf. Record: 1 - 0
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Vince Carter, 21.
• Assists: Vince Carter, 6.
• Rebounds: Brook Lopez, 8.
• Steals: Jarvis Hayes, 3.
• Turnovers: Vince Carter, 3.
• Blocks: Boone, Lopez and Yi each had 2.
• FG Percentage: Jarvis Hayes, 66.7% (6 - 9).

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 47.4%
• FT Percentage: 83.3%
• Rebounds: 37
• Rebound Differential: -4
• Turnovers: 12
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 15
• Bench points: 35
• Bench points Differential:+9
• Steals: 7
• Blocks: 9
• Points in the Paint: 32
• Double-Doubles: 0
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The Harris Report:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 4
• Nets Fast Break Points: 8
•Devin Harris' FG Percentage: 50.0% (5 - 10)
• Scoring Differential Harris in the game: +8
• Scoring Differential Harris out: +2 (Dooling)

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

Wizard Media:
Washington Post | Wizards

Game 1: Nets 95, Wizards 85 – October 29, 2008
Committe Vote
Maybe there's something to this "running as the underdog thing" after all. The Nets certainly used it to their advantage tonight, boosting their candidacy to not suck as bad as the pundits are saying, surprising Eddie Jordan's Gilbert Arenas-less Wiz with a strong fourth quarter. Newly elected Captain Vince Carter led the charge, but it was a host of political contributions large and small from the likes of Yi, Devin Harris, Jarvis Hayes, and Brook Lopez that carried the ballot. The Nets find themselves going from unelectable to ahead in the early polls and come up 1 - 0 on this very young season. So much for political analysis.

Yes, they started this one off less than awe-inspiring, playing matador defense and having trouble getting into the flow of things, kind of like strangers talking politics. Somehow, though, the Nets wouldn't let the Wiz get ahead in the polls, with Yi sinking shot after shot (or so it seemed) and the Nets finding ways to stay with the Wiz. Oh, there was some terrible abuse of the Nets' rookies defensively, the rebounding was non-existent (the Nets had no offensive rebounds at the break), but the role players did their thing and Brook Lopez seemed to be something of the great equalizer. Down only by two at the break, with L. Frank trying out 10 of his 12 players (no Sean Williams or Mo Ager), the expectation was a second half trouncing once the Wiz got their act together.

Only, they never did. It was Jarvis Hayes laying down the basic tenet of the Nets belief of a win - he refused to be denied, shaking free time after time to pop in a jumper here or a jumper there. Carter took advantage of what he was given, often turning passer or decoy and letting the minor players do the scoring. The campaign got on a run, opening up a lead as high as six to start the third quarter before the Wiz made their one and only successful dash of their own. Getting a big pickup from Lopez, who handled a bit of everything, it was a 2 point Net lead after three.

And then came the big closeout. Down by a point, Hayes and Carter took over, each scoring 6 points in a 21 - 10 finishing kick that featured those two plus Yi, Lopez and Devin Harris and left no debate over who would win this one. The Wiz were forced into a 1 for 7, 5 turnover, 4 missed free throw nighmare to end this one, and it wasn't all their own incompetitance. The Nets were the better team on the floor at the end.

And so, perhaps there is something to this rebuilding effort after all. Only one game, with 81 more to play, but we see encouraging signs in this one. Being 1 - 0 isn't the worst thing, either.

Let's hope the committee continues to work together for the common good.

Post Analysis
Red State, Blue State - Really, there were so many good things to comment on tonight, including some things we thought were a long way from coming. Vince Carter played a controlled game, trusting his teammates and not forcing anything. His stat line showed not only a 9 - 17, 21 point outing, but also 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 blocked shot as VC was content to make the right pass (what an incredible reverse under-the-basket spin and foul that VC pulled off in the second half!). We can't say enough about Yi knocking down shots (though he's a lamppost on defense, despite his pretty steal and breakaway dunk late). Jarvis Hayes was a godsend, a wing who can make shots, and isn't afraid to shoot when he's open. Brook Lopez was big (literally and figuratively) in the middle, with a nice line of 8 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, plus an impressive +12 in the plus/minus department. And we could go on, but you get the idea, at least with these four. They really were the key to this win.
Running Behind - OK, the defense still needs a lot of work. Though they buckled down later in the game, there were still way too many blown assignments, missed calls, and indifferent defensive efforts to be pleased. Aside from Yi, the rookies had it tough in spots (Ryan Anderson was a sitting duck on one play when he didn't rotate) and without Eduardo Najera, who is still rehabbing the wrist, there was no defensive-minded player out there. But give credit to the crew that finished - not only did they get it done offensively, but they were right there defensively as well. Well, maybe I'm being too harsh - they did hold Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison to 9 for 29 shooting, and 37% for the Wiz overall. I'll have to remember this team didn't play a lick of defense in the preseason and adjust my expectations.
Speech Writer's Block - Uneven play up the middle as well. The Nets were atrocious on the boards in the first half, with Etan Thomas seemingly outworking every Net and grabbing what seemed like every rebound (we suspect that Josh Boone was pulled in favor of Lopez just so he could get his wider ass planted on Thomas' hip). The Nets will likley struggle with this, as Yi is no rebounder, Boone works hard but can get muscled out, and Lopez is a rookie. At least the Nets frontline was active, with 9 blocked shots.
Plunging At The Polls - Sean Williams was on the bench but didn't get the call, with Lawrence Frank choosing to give rookies Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas Roberts playing time over Williams (neither rookie did much in their time - with CDR looking worse than Anderson overall). That cannot be a good sign for Williams, who could have made his presence felt with his athleticism, but who also can't seem to get things together upstairs.
Miscellaneous Post-Game Analysis - The Nets actually shot the ball well from outside, making (mostly) smart decisions, keeping the ball moving, and often finding an open shooter in the corner. They weren't too keen on guarding the three point line, but they did keep the paint nice and sealed up, for the most part. They didn't hit any of those seriously long scoring droughts, and didn't seem to struggle too often with finding shots (thanks to creativity from Harris, Hayes and Carter), but they also didn't give Brook Lopez as many post up opportunities as we'd like to see.Turnovers were low, too - though they didn't try anything fancy that could get them in trouble. Lawrence Frank seemed to find the right mix of playing time for vet and youth, and that certainly will help speed their development. The bench players were effective, even if they struggled somewhat with their shots (Keyon Dooling was throwing bricks around, but he's pretty solid). It's certainly a new feeling, a bunch of underdogs playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder and a whole lot of enthusiasm. Sure beats the dying days of the Big Three...

Vote For Youth
Sure, it was the vets - Vince Carter, Devin Harris, Jarvis Hayes - that mostly drove this one home, but you have to be excited by the way the youngsters Yi and Brook Lopez contributed to this opening night win on the road. Though I wasn't a big fan of the signing originally, the Nets really could use what Jarvis Hayes brings to the team - a good shooting eye and some veteran presence. Hayes seemed to look like he'd been given a new lease on life, and he responded with a solid game and more playing time than Bobby Simmons (who, to be fair, was the only one to play defense against Caron Butler - it's a miracle he only scored 14 points the way the Nets were unable to stay in front of him). Can the Nets continue to use this underdog, no one loves us outlook to motivate themselves to more impressive wins like this? We'll soon find out, I'm sure.
- Joe