Joe Netsfan Game x Game 12 - Nets 112, Clipper 95

Relax, Yi's got it under control

Nets 112, Clippers 95
Game 12 File
Ease-Yi does it, as the big fella from China scores 27 points to lead the Nets to a workmanlike win against the Clippers. No letdown from the eveing prior, and the Nets even their record at 6 - 6 before heading out to the West Coast.
• Box Score

Nets Record: 6 - 6
Home Record: 3 - 4
Away Record: 3 - 2
Division Record: 1 - 0
Conf. Record: 5 - 4
Other Game Reviews

Nets High Men:
• Points: Yi, 27.
• Assists: Devin Harris, 10.
• Rebounds: Brook Lopez, 10.
• Steals: Vince Carter, 3.
• Turnovers: Bobby Simmons, 3.
• Blocks: Yi, 2.
• FG Percentage: Brook Lopez (6- 10) and Yi (9 - 15) each shot 60.0%.

Nets Team Stats:
• FG Percentage: 50.7%
• FT Percentage: 64.1%
• Rebounds: 45
• Rebound Differential: +14
• Turnovers: 13
• Opposing Team's Turnovers: 11
• Bench points: 16
• Bench points Differential:+5
• Steals: 7
• Blocks: 2
• Points in the Paint: 34
• Double-Doubles: 2 (Devin Harris: 18 points, 10 assists; Brook Lopez: 14 points, 10 rebounds)
• Triple-Doubles: 0

The Harris Report:
• Nets Players in Double Digit Scoring: 5
• Nets Fast Break Points: 25
•Devin Harris' FG Percentage: 41.7%
• Scoring Differential Harris in the game: +19
• Scoring Differential Harris out: -2 (Dooling, Carter)

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

Clippers Media:
Los Angeles Times | Clippers

Game 12: Nets 112, Clippers 95 – November 22 , 2008
Ease-Yi Does It
Easing into the West Coast swing, the Nets loaded up their baggage on Yi's long shoulders and made easy work of the Clippers tonight at the Izod. Back at .500 twelve games into this young season, the Nets might already consider things a success, as they head west with some knowledge that the youth movement has already paid dividends, and promises to pay much more.

As far as the story for this one, the Nets got rolling (after the Clips got off 7 - 0) behind four three pointers, three by Bobby Simmons, but they didn't start shaking LA until the second half, when for some reason Yi decided to make the Clips his personal shooting targets. Too bad the undermanned (having traded Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas to the Knicks for Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins, both of whom couldn't dress pending physicals) Clippers seemed defensively indifference, because two early threes by Yi opened this one up, then every other Net decided to get in the act. Even when LA looked like they were trying to mount a comeback with Baron Davis going wild, the Nets calmly put them back in their place.

Off to the West Coast trip, a series of tough matchups (try Lakers, Jazz, Suns and Kings, with two back-to-backs) for the young but growing more confident Nets. Vince Carter's got some help, some enthusiastic help, and though there are times it's ugly, this bunch of Nets is already more fun to watch than last year's variety...

Rested And Relaxed
Yi Gads - You can see the potential in Yi, perhaps none more so than tonight's game, and you wonder when he puts it all together consistently. He was locked in as a shooter, but more importantly, he worked hard on defense, at one point catching up to a breakaway and making a huge come-from-behind block on Baron Davis, before retrieving the ball and getting it out for a Carter bucket. Yi had 27 points on 9 - 15 shooting (3 - 5 from three), with 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in 38 minutes. The Nets would take that every game.
Start Me Up - The starting five tonight finally gelled together at the same time - yes, this means even Bobby Simmons was a big contributor with 11 points and 9 rebounds (and 3 big early threes). Yi had a big game (and was +25), Vince Carter was consistent with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals ( and he was +18), Devin Harris overcame an upset stomach and double doubled with 18 points and 10 assists, and Brook Lopez also DD'ed with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Defensively, they were tighter than they've been, only occasionally slipping into shoddy performance by letting Baron Davis walk all over them (and truthfully, he'd do that to anyone). While you can debate whether Josh Boone should get his job back or if Jarvis Hayes should start over Simmons, overall the sum of these guys has been much better than anticipated.
Decision Time - Oh boy, some big decisions coming up soon. The rotation (the starting five above plus Keyon Dooling, Ryan Anderson, Sean Williams and Jarvis Hayes) seems set, mostly due to injury (Boone, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Stromile Swift and Eddie Najera). But these guys are getting healthy, so who gets into the rotation? Looks like Swift and Boone may be first to return and have the best chance of getting into the rotation (potentially at the expense of Anderson and WIlliams), while CDR can be brought along slowly and Najera is probably looking at a long, frustrating year of cashing checks. Of course, if injury strikes...all bets are off.
Free Thought - The Nets had their first truly horrible game from the stripe tonight, missing 14 of 39 free throws. They could have been up by 20 or more at one point if they had managed to make some free throws (and could have made this game moot a whole lot earlier, since they missed the majority in the first half). Let's hope it's not a pattern but a one game nightmare.
Miscellaneous Post-Game Analysis - First game in the Izod this year for Joe and the family, and while it seemed more filled than the Cavs game I saw on TV (it was a McDonald's Family Night game), not much else has changed except more signage everywhere, if possible. The parking is still impossibly screwed up thanks to the dual construction of the White Elephant (Xanadu - it takes a Xanax just to look at the thing) and the new Giants/Jets stadium. In the bitter cold, that forced march across the highway is worse than ever. There has got to be a better way, folks... Yi jerseys were hot at the game. For the second time in two weeks, the Nets swept back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday nights.

Travel Log
So the Nets did their packing for the West Coast tonight, taking advantage of a big game by Yi and the rest of the starting five to dismiss a left coast team with relative ease. No way anyone thought that was possible just a few short weeks ago, and certainly a .500 record was out of the question. Now, it's a much more confident team, following Devin Harris and Vince Carter, keeping turnovers low and hustle up and using role players in important spots during the game that goes west to face some of the league's best. If they can play some defense and make some shots, you never know the outcome. Here's hoping for a split of the four games and a .500 record as a very favorable schedule comes in December.
- Joe