G65 Brooklyn Nets Seeks to Snap 16-game Home Losing Streak vs NY Knicks
Jeremy Lin’s intro in #Nets game program- Insider Mar 12
After three competitive games, the Nets experienced a letdown in a game without Brook Lopez, who rested his sprained ankle, and lost a game against Dallas Mavericks 96-105 in a disappointing fashion. They were outscored 13-1 at one point in the fourth quarter unable to execute their offense down the stretch. Coach Carlisle’s adjustment to throw some zone defense after half-time might have something to do with the Nets struggle and the inability to find reliable big man in the middle to score really hurt the Nets. Jeremy Lin tried his best to provide some scoring to draw fouls and hit 4-5 free throws, 1 assist to Quincy Acy dunk but he can only do so much with his teammates struggled to move the ball and score.
Jeremy Lin finished strongly with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 tos in 27 minutes. He hit 9-10 FTs and shot well hitting 4 out of 9 attempts (1 out of 3 from 3s) but he clearly missed playing with Brook Lopez who can finish well in the offensive end with his offensive repertoire.
Nets vs Knicks Matchup
The Nets would be extra-motivated to snap the 16-game home losing streak since Dec 26, which coincidentally was the last game Jeremy Lin played before he reinjured his hamstring. Meanwhile, the Knicks has struggled with 3-5 record after the All-Star Break trying to execute the triangle offense desired by Phil Jackson
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The best news for the Nets was Jeremy Lin returned from a lengthy absence because of a second left hamstring injury and played well in each game. Lin averaged 13.8 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 46.7 percent from the floor in 20.3 minutes per game.
“I’m happy that we come and show up to anywhere, on the road, at home, whatever,” Lin said. “I really think we have the expectation that we are going to win or that we are going to be in the game.
“There is no replacement for that. You have to expect big things from yourself, you have to believe in yourself. I feel like this team is starting to figure it out.”
The Nets have been unable to figure it out at home since Randy Foye’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer beat the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 26. Coincidentally, it was the same game that Lin reinjured the hamstring after missing more than a month with his first injury.
The last meeting is one of the few wins by the Knicks in the last three months. After getting off to a respectable 14-10 start, New York is 13-31 and falling farther behind in the playoff race.
New York is 3-5 since the All-Star break after committing 18 turnovers during a 112-92 loss at Detroit on Saturday afternoon. While the Knicks have struggled defensively most of this season, offense has cost them recently as they make more attempts to run more plays of team president Phil Jackson’s triangle offense.
“The problem is we were shooting a lot of jump shots,” New York coach Jeff Hornacek said. “We weren’t able to get to the basket and they had 50 points in the paint and (43) attempts at it.”
Anthony failed to reach 20 points for the fifth consecutive game. He only attempted nine shots in 36 minutes. He has taken fewer than 10 shots on three other occasions, but played 24 or fewer minutes those games.
In those games, Anthony is averaging 15.8 points and shooting 32 percent from the field (25 of 78) while doing his best to avoid using the word “triangle” in interviews.
“It’s just hard for me to be talking about that in March, in the middle of March, to still be talking about our system and what we’re running instead of just playing basketball,” Anthony told reporters.
KEY OF THE GAME: Cut down turnovers, tough defense and more than 28 min of Jeremy Lin to partner with Brook Lopez. A strong game from Sean Kilpatrick, Caris LeVert, Quincy Acy, Isaiah Whitehead with minimum turnovers would help secure a win.
Let’s hope and pray JLin will stay healthy as his body adjusts to the rigor of NBA physical games and help the Nets believe they can win more games!
Let’s go, JLin and the Nets!
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