Not one man.

The Oklahoma City Thunder finds themselves down 3-2, but should this be a surprise? This team has two top ten players in the league in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. How could a team with those two players be on the brink of elimination in the first round of the playoffs? The answer is simple. We’ve been overrating the Thunder.

Front Office

            Now, the Thunder wouldn’t be in this position if their owner, Clay Bennett, wasn’t cheap and spent the money on James Harden.  OKC would be cruising right to the finals right now. But they trade James Harden because the owner didn’t want to pay him, and in return team GM, Sam Presti, gets Kevin Martin, and some mid-round draft picks. All that for the best shooting guard in the NBA. For some reason, Presti has got a pass for his roster. Have you seen this roster 4-9? Kendrick Perkins, Steven Adams, Nick Collison, Derek Fisher, Caron Butler, Reggie Jackson and Thabo Sefolosha. Look at those names. That is not a good roster. When you look at teams like the Heat, Spurs, Clippers, Nets and Grizzlies, they win because they are deep and can spread the ball and doesn’t allow defenses to focus one or two guys.

Scott Brooks

            Brooks has taken a lot of blame in this series for the way the offense has been playing, and deservingly so. The offense looks lost.  They barely run any sets when Kevin Durant doesn’t get the ball. It’s basically the three other guys pointing at the hoop instructing Westbrook to drive to it. Brooks has been getting criticized for the lack of ball movement in his offense but who do you want him to pass the ball too? No big man on the Thunder can operate in the post. Their three point shooting is okay at best when it comes to their role players. Serge Ibaka should be getting more touches in this series. He’s shooting 60% but only taking 10 shots a game. In order to win in the NBA you need two or three stars and very good role players. The Thunder has the stars but the role players are not very good; they’re just okay.

Russell Westbrook

            We all like to pick on Westbrook when the Thunder loses because everyone hates his shot selection. However, last year when he was hurt and missed the second round, OKC lost to the Grizzlies in order for the Thunder to compete for a title they need Russell. So far in this series, Westbrook has been a disaster. He’s shooting 34% averaging 25 shots, shooting 18% from the three while taking 7 threes a game. Yes, you read that correctly. After OKCs game five lost Westbrook said,” If they give me the mid-range jumper I’ll make it 9 out of 10 times.” NO you won’t.  Someone should probably tell him he should pass the ball more. But part of Westbrooks failures have to go on Brooks and ….

Kevin Durant

            Kevin Durant. Now before I kill Kevin Durant, salute to Tony Allen who is absolutely working his ass off this series. Defending Durant is no easy task but he has put Durant on lock down. Now you might say, how does he have him on lockdown? Durant is averaging 28 points a game but is shooting 40% while taking 25 shots a game. He’s shooting 28% from the three while taking 8 shots from the three a game. In this series, Durant has a net rating of -0.1. That might seem like nothing but when your best player is a negative, you will lose the series. Tony Allen has also found a weakness in Durant’s game.  Allen battles KD before Durant gets the ball and at times it looks like Durant gives up on the play, and that’s the signal for Westbrook to do crazy shit. The solution here is to get other players involved (I’m looking at you Scott Brooks) or for Durant to fight for positioning and to get the ball.

            Right now OKC is a mess and I don’t see Memphis blowing this series. If OKC does lose, Brooks will be gone and the offseason will be an interesting one for the Thunder.

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Best Friends

“When your best friends all strung out, you’ll do everything you can, cause you’re never gonna let it get’em down.” That is the opening three lines to Foster the Peoples song “Best Friend”.  This relates more to the Nets than you think.  Brooklyn’s two best friends, Deron Williams and Jason Kidd are in a tough spot and both need each other’s help or they’ll both be golfing again very soon.

Deron Williams

            This is the man that it starts and ends with. So far in round one he has been a disappointment, which might as well be on the back of his jersey when we have nickname night again. So far in this series, DWill (he doesn’t deserve the hyphen at this moment) has been awful.  He’s averaging 36 minutes, shooting 39% on 15 shots while shooting 27% from the three, and takes 5 threes a game. But to give him some credit in this series the Nets have an offensive rating of 109 when he’s on the court and a 97 defensive rating. That’s a net rating of 11.9. That is a great number but, it hasn’t been good enough.  DWill must be more aggressive and get to the rim when he settles for jump shots.  He makes it difficult for the Nets to win. If Deron Williams wants the hyphen back he must play a lot better.

Jason Kidd

            When the Nets were struggling in 2013 I was angry, but I wasn’t angry with Jason Kidd. I thought he was doing a good job and he had been great in the regular season, but in the postseason he has probably cost the Nets one game in this series so far. For example Alan Anderson is averaging 19 minutes a game…I REPEAT ALAN ANDERSON 19 MINUTES A GAME!!! When Anderson is on the floor the Nets offensive rating is 87.5, defensive rating is 95.5 a negative net rating of 8. This is the first time I saw these numbers and I am shocked that this guy can play nearly 20 minutes. The numbers clearly prove this game makes the team worst. Andri Kirilenko needs to play more minutes. He’s averaging 17 minutes a game and the Nets are clearly better with him on the court. He has an offensive rating of 116.2, defensive rating 110.9 for a net rating of 5.3. Okay, so AK-47 is clearly the better player and makes the whole team better so let’s play our worst player more than him!!! Jason Kidd logic! Another player played too much is Andray Blatche his numbers are not bad in this series (Net rating -0.8) but it’s still Andray Blatche. Remember when KG drove for the ball in game three and got the crowd pumped up. Well the next day he said he blacked out at that moment and couldn’t explain what he was doing. When I first heard that I thought, wow KG is nuts, but you know what?  I know what he means! Because I did the same thing after Blatche shot that three in game four. Speaking of KG, the key player for the Nets when KG is on the court the Nets offense rating is 111.4, defensive rating is 94.9 for a net rating of PLUS 16.5.  Good thing he only plays 19 minutes a game (hold on a sec *scrolls up the page*) ALAN ANDERSON AND KG PLAY THE SAME AMOUNT OF MINUTES!!! I wish I can find words to explain this but I simply can’t.  Wait, you know what?  I can. Stupid, just Stupid!

All stats came from NBA.com/stats

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After 2

            I’ve watched two Net playoff games and I’m still in a good mental state to tell the world about it. Brooklyn went on the road and did what the book says you’re supposed to do and split on the road.  Now they head home with a chance to protect home court and take a 3-1 series lead. Now I’ll take a look at some things I’ve noticed throughout the first two games.

Kidd’s Rotations

            I am a big supporter of Jason Kidd, but his rotations in this series have been questionable. His 6th man in this series has been Alan Anderson and that hasn’t worked out. Anderson is a -14 in the series, he can make good plays at times but his problem is after he does a good job he finds his inner Andray Blatche and does something moronic. Anderson was signed to be the fifteenth man on this roster at the beginning of the season but now in the playoffs he is Brooklyn’s 6^th man. Now if you follow me on twitter (@threwthenet) you know I think Andrei Kirilenko should be getting more minutes, and in game two he showed why. He was a -4 for last night which might as well be +10 the way the Nets bench is playing in this series. But Ak-47 does so many little things last night he gave the Nets two extra positions. If the Nets went on to win that game, him diving for that rebound would have been the play of the game. That is all forgotten now because the Nets lost. Now I am all into numbers so I have to bring up a stat that refutes my point about play AK-47 more. When AK plays against the Raptors, the Nets are 0-3 and when he sits Brooklyn is 3-0. Now if you look into this stat it isn’t AK-47’s fault.  The one loss was the second night of a back to back and the Nets were gassed. The second loss the Nets had the game won but Deron Williams crumbled in the clutch like usual and threw an inbound pass away to the Raptors and lost the Nets the game. If I am Kidd, I’m playing AK-47 more and Alan Anderson less. Another Net who needs less playing time is Mirza Teletovic. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some Mirza, but his defense has been very bad so far. In result when he’s on the floor, the Nets are getting outscored by 23 points. Now Kidd doesn’t have to take Mirza out of the rotation because you need his three point shot. However, he needs to maybe take a few minutes away. Another player that must be gone in the rotation is Andray Blatche. He cannot be trusted in a playoff series and he should not be playing 8 minutes a game. Jason Kidd needs to extend Kevin Garnett’s minutes.KG has played 39mins in two games, I mean what is he saving him for? The Nets defense was seven points better with him on the floor during the regular season and in order to get to the next round you need to win games.  Having KG play 20minutes a game isn’t going to help the Nets win. Thank god for Twitter! As I am writing this Max Weisberg of the Brooklyn game just tweeted that the Nets have outscored Toronto 87-73 with KG on the court and have been outscored 114-99 with KG on the bench. #FREEKG.

Raptors Bench

            In this series Toronto’s bench has outscored Brooklyn’s bench 52-46. Okay, I thought this number would be higher but Toronto’s bench has been better and in game two Dwayne Casey only used 3 bench players which is something Jason Kidd should look into. The playoffs aren’t for a ten man rotation. Kidd should cut it to nine and nail Blatche to the bench. (I can’t wait for Blatche and Anderson to a combine 40 points in one of the games at Barclays)

Raptors Line-up

            The Raptors found their best line-up in this series. I was hoping Dwayne Casey wouldn’t realize it but he did and finished game two with it. The Lowry-Vasquez-DeRozan-Patterson-Valanciunas lineup is the lineup Casey should finish and start with. The Nets have had a hard time stop Valanciunas in this series because of his size. Greivis Vasquez has been the best point guard in this series and I cannot believe I just said that. He’s outplayed D-Will and Lowry and is hitting so many tough shots in the paint. He is a big problem on the pick and roll for the Nets. Patterson has been the biggest problem for the Nets all year on the Raptors. In the season he was plus +75 vs Brooklyn but in the series he’s only a +6. He creates a problem because he stretches the floor and he makes the Nets think twice about doubling teaming Valanciunas in the post.

Nets shooting woes

            In the first two games Brooklyn is shooting 43%.  That won’t get it done. The Nets are getting good looks but just aren’t sinking the shots. So far Deron Williams is shooting 13/35 37%. I said in the preview the Nets will go as far as D-will takes them. If he continues to play like this Brooklyn will be heading home. Brooklyn itself cannot find their shot at some point in this the Nets will heat up (I hope).

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Nets Playoff Preview

Remember in June when the Nets acquired Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and everyone thought it was a lock that the Nets would have home court in the playoffs? Now they find themselves in the 6^th seed and on the road vs the Toronto Raptors who weren't even supposed to be here. But they are a young energetic team that could give the Nets a problem.

Season Series 2-2, Both times the Nets lost to the Raptors were on back to backs and the Nets basically won three games. However, Deron Williams had his occasional late game lazy pass that led to the Nets blowing a game. Now let’s look at some key points.

Match-up

The Raptors are ranked 9^th in both offensive and defensive rating.  While the Nets are 14^th in offensive and 19^th in defensive rating.

The Three Ball

These are two teams that play around the three ball and swing the ball around. Toronto shot the three ball at 372% and defended the three ball at 36%. The Nets shot the three at 369% and defended it at 367%. The Nets and Raptors both attempt 22 threes a game.

Turnovers

Ever since the Nets moved Shaun Livingston into the starting lineup they have been forcing turnovers. Brooklyn forces 16.6 turnovers per 100 possessions and they have a league high 20.2% of their points off turnovers. But the Raptors turn it over 14.8 times per 100 possessions which is the 12^th lowest in the league. If the Nets can force 17 turnovers a game in this series I believe Brooklyn will win.

Pace

Now everyone, including myself says the Raptors are a fast energetic team but that is not necessarily true. They are ranked 22^nd in PACE while the Nets are 24^th. You would think that number would be a bit higher for the Raptors. The Raptors are 27^th in fast break points at 9.6 fast break points per game while Brooklyn is 29^th at 9.3. The Raptors are definitely younger than the Nets but they certainly do not play at a pace where it will give the Nets a problem. In fact, they play at a pace the Nets prefer.

Rebounding

Toronto is top 12 in both offensive rebound percentage and defensive rebounding percentage, while the Nets are bottom four in both categories. These numbers are a bit skewed due to the time Kevin Garnett has missed. A lot of times KG is top 10 in rebounding percentage if he is healthy and playing the Nets will grab more rebounds than they usually would.

Experience

Brooklyn’s top eight rotation players have played 17,117 playoff minutes.

Position Match-ups

Point guard

Coming into the season this match-up has a slam dunk for Deron Williams but now Kyle Lowry has closed the gap. Many people might even say Kyle Lowry is better than Deron Williams but when you look at the number they’re about even. Lowry scored three more points per game but D-will shoots 3% better then Lowry. Lowry does shoot 1.5% better then D-will from the three. However, Lowry does shoot a lot more overall than D-will. Deron has had a down year but he is the most important player for the Nets on offense. Their offensive rating is 108.3 when he’s on the floor. D-will is the key for the Nets in every series. If he plays bad the Nets will lose and if he plays great the Nets will win.

Shooting Guards

As much as Livingston as done for the Net, DeMar DeRozan is the better player, but his numbers aren’t so great. He takes 17.8 shots per game and shoots 42.9 percent and only 30% from three. DeRozan is at times a very streaky shooter and hits a lot of contested jump shots. Livingston has been great in the regular season but he could end up hurting Brooklyn in the playoffs. Livingston doesn’t have a good outside shot. The Raptors could abandon him on the outside and the Nets could be playing four on five. If this happens I believe in Jason Kidd to fix this problem. Livingston could also cause DeRozan problems Livingston is a good defender and can contest a lot of DeRozan shots. If the Nets can control DeRozan they can win this series.

Small Forward

The Nets win this one Joe Johnson is much better than Terrence Ross. Ross has had a good year. His shooting numbers are above average and should keep improving in his career. Joe Johnson has been a great player in his career but never gets the credit. Okay, so Atlanta offered him that huge contract. What was he supposed to do, say no? When he was with the Hawks he was bashed for never getting past the second round. Have you seen that roster? That was their max. I think Joe Johnson has a big series.

Power Forward

                This is a big advantage for the Nets. Paul Pierce is much better than Amir Johnson. Johnson isn’t big or good enough to take advantage of the size mismatch. Paul Pierce will be able to space the floor and open it up to allow Joe Johnson to post up on Ross to get easy buckets. Amir Johnson is a good offensive rebounder. If the Nets can keep him off the glass, they’ll be in a good spot.

Center

Kevin Garnett is back for the Nets and he is the anchor of the defense. When he’s on the floor the Nets have a defensive rating of 100.5. Joan Valanciunas isn’t a great center but he is a good one if Garnett can play good defense and get 10 rebounds a game; he’ll put the Nets in a great spot. Also he’ll probably scare Valanciunas.

Bench

The Net’s bench is better than Toronto’s, but Patrick Paterson on the Raptors is a plus 75 vs the Nets. This year his numbers aren’t eye popping but he is a stretch four like Pierce and creates fantastic floor spacing. Also on the Raptors bench is Tyler Hansbrough; he can be problem on the boards for the Nets, but also Garnett and him are almost guaranteed to draw a double technical. Greivis Vasquez the backup point guard for the Raptors is having a great year and has become one of the best backup point guards in the league. For the Nets, their bench doesn’t have a star but they are effective. They have two streakers in Mirza and Marcus Thornton. Either one of those guys can win the Nets a game buy getting hot and just sinking threes. Mason Plumlee will be the backup center for the in this series. He did a great job filling in for Garnett while he was hurt. As long as Plumlee keeps doing what he is doing he’ll be doing his job. The last bench player for the Nets is AK-47. He isn’t going to fill up the box score but his defense will be key off the bench and will make the smart passes against an inexperienced Raptors team. I do not want to see Andray Blatche, Alan Anderson, and Jorge Gutierrez in this series.

Prediction

Nets in 6

Both of these teams are very good but the Nets are just a bit better. Like I said up top, it’s all up to D-will if he plays great the Nets win.

East playoff Preview

FINALLY!!! The regular season is over and it’s time for the best basketball tournament; the NBA playoffs. It took us until the last day of the season but we finally know the match-ups. This piece won’t have the Nets vs Raptors series; that piece will be coming out shortly as well as a Western conference preview.

1^st seed Indiana Pacers vs 8^th seed Atlanta Hawks

Season series 2-2

This season series was a tie but the last time these two teams played, The Hawks destroyed the Pacers, 107-88. The Pacers are limping into the playoffs but they did beat OKC at home on Sunday. Plus they stunk in April; a month that doesn’t mean much in basketball.  April is about giving your players rest and preparing for the playoffs. And there is no stat that proves if you struggle coming into the playoffs you’ll get bounced in the first round. Let’s take a look at some key points for this series.

Team Match-up

Okay, for some odd reason the Hawks have the best offense rating against the Pacers. Their rating is 104.6 and a defensive rating of 97.3. Put those numbers together and the Hawks have a Net rating of 7.3 vs the Pacers. That’s the highest of any team in the league that has played Indiana a minimum of three times.

Pero Antic

Yes, that’s a player on the Hawks and he is an absolute key focus in this series. Antic is a seven footer who can shoot the three which means he pulls Roy “Jello-Shot” Hibbert away from the rim and could open it up for the Teague and Millsap pick and roll and pick and pop. The Hawks only played the Pacers twice this year with Antic healthy and both times they beat the Pacers by double digits. The first game was a 97-87 win and Antic was a +20 the highest of any player in the game and Hibbert was a -21 the lowest of any player in that game. In the second game, The Hawks win over the Pacers a 107-88.  Antic was a plus 10, no big deal, but Hibbert was a -19 and was benched after 9 minutes. Coming into this season no one had an idea on who Pero Antic was but he very well could be an important part in this series.

The Three Ball

The only chance Atlanta has of beating Indiana is if they light up the three point line. In their two wins vs the Pacers, the Hawks shot 44% and 33% from three and in the loses they shot 28% and 46% (yes they lost a game where they lost that game but scoring 98 points vs the Pacers isn’t easy). During the regular season the Pacers opponent three point percentage was 35%, the third best in the league. Atlanta shot 36% from three this year tied for 13^th best in the league.

Prediction

There is no way the Pacers are losing this series; they’ll win in five games. The Hawks might catch fire for one game and just beat the Pacers that way, but this Hawks team is pathetic.  It’s embarrassing that they’re in the playoffs, but no worries, the Pacers will dispose of them.

2 Seed Miami Heat vs Charlotte Bobcats

I really wrote that the Bobcats are in the playoffs. This series will be a sweep.  There isn’t much to look at but we’ll look at a few things.

Season series 4-0 Miami

Match-up

During the regular season the Bobcats had a net rating of -14.8 vs the Heat which is just bad. At least Charlotte is in the playoffs and can start building some playoff experience. They’ll be unstoppable next year anyway when the Charlotte Hornets return 82-0!!!

LeBron vs MKG

LeBron is the best in the league and many consider Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. But when LeBron faced the Bobcats this year he averaged 37 points a game on 62% from the field and 56% from the three. I didn’t even realize this until now.  HOLY SHIT THIS IS CRAZY! LeBron is about to go nuts in this series.

Al Jefferson

I don’t know how I am supposes to move on after that LeBron stat but I will try. For the Bobcats to win a game in this series they’ll need everything to go right and that starts with Big Al (Okay side story I saw the Nets play the Bobcats at Barclays a few months ago and was sitting right next to where the Bobcats came out. After his warm ups Big Al came by I got his attention and he came to sign the program I had that the Nets hand out every home game (does anyone read those?) so big Al is 6 inches in front of me he’s about to sign the program when he goes to write the pen doesn’t work and I am standing there in heartbreak) Okay story time over. Big Al averaged 25 ppg vs Miami on 57% from the field. He’ll need to drop 40 for the Bobcats to win a game.

Prediction

                Bobc… Yeah right The Heat will sweep the Bobcats.

4 Seed Chicago Bulls vs 5 Seed Washington Wizards

This is a very interesting series.  The Wizards have the better backcourt by far and the Bulls front court is a lot better than Washington’s frontcourt.

Season Series 2-1 Washington

Match-up

The Wizards won 2 of 3 vs the Bulls, but have a net rating of -1.7.  These teams are so evenly matched in Washington’s two wins their offensive rating was 107 but the one loss they had vs the Bulls, that rating was 87.4. Chicago finished the regular season with the best defense in the NBA allowing 91.8 points per 100 possessions. Unfortunately for the Bulls they finished with the worst offense in the NBA with 93.8 point per 100 possessions.

The House of Guards (I didn’t come up this this someone else did. I don’t know who but credit to them).

John Wall is finally in the playoffs but against the Bulls this year. His net rating was -1.8; he wasn’t special in any of the games vs the Bulls this year. Wall will have a tough time vs the Chicago defense.  It is important for John to hit his three point shot.  He’s shooting 35% from the three this year.  If the Wizards win this series Wall will need to shoot higher than that. The other part of the Wizards back court is Bradley Beal.  He as well has a negative net rating vs the Bulls this year, -3.5. Beal shot 40% from the three this year but against this suffocating Bulls defense he won’t get many good looks. If the Wizards win this series they’ll need a big series from their backcourt.

Bull’s defense

Washington as a team this year is shooting 38% from the three tied for fourth highest in the league. The Bulls defense allows opponents to shoot 35% from three 8^th best in the league. It’s very simple for Chicago to take away the three and you win. If the Wizards can’t hit the three how will they score against Tom Thibodeau’s defense?  They won’t.

Prediction

It’s been a good year for the Wizards but the Bulls have been here before and are simply the better team and they have the better coach.  Give me the Bulls in six.

Make sure to follow @threwthenet on twitter, we have Nets and Raptors preview coming up along with a western conference preview. Enjoy the playoffs.