A game of attrition where whoever creates, wins (from NY fans)

from Net 's bbsObservations:

This game reminded me of the Finals games. A defensive game in which both teams' offensive game-plans have to be scrapped as 1st, 2nd and 3rd options are taken away. In a game like that, it comes down to which team can create scores individually, second chances and profiting from broken plays. The game was even until about the last 3-4 minutes, when the Nets had a few lost opportunities and a few break-downs. The Rockets - by whom I mean Stevie Franchise - made a few tough baskets and took advantage of Nets mistakes for some easy scores. The Nets offense continued to misfire and that was game.

Stopping Yao. The Nets defense did a brilliant job defending Yao, and kept him off balance all game. The man-to-man defender set a defensive base. Yao was neutralized by the constant and varied double-teams the Nets sent at him as part of a highly energetic, help-intense defense. Yao likes to gather himself for a moment before he makes a move, and the Nets didn't allow him that moment almost the entire night. Two exceptions were his 4th quarter jumper over Twin and the spin-dunk on Zo. (There's a big compliment for Veal in this, but I'll save that for later.)

Energy and defense. In the post-game interviews, a major theme was the Nets running out of energy. I think that was a legitimate excuse. The Rockets have multiple dangerous options and the Nets were short-handed, yet the Nets stopped the Rockets for most of the night. It took a lot of energy to do it, and the Nets ran out of energy in the closing minutes. I believe the poor offensive showing the entire night was in part due to the energy expended on defense, but I don't want to take anything away from JVG's defensive scheme.

Creative scorers. In the end, the Rockets had a few scorers who could create scores against a tough defense and the Nets didn't. (There's a comment about Armstrong in this, but I'll save that for later.)

Team offense. The worst predictions came true. JVG orchestrated an excellent defense, the Nets couldn't hit from the outside so the Rockets were able to zone and concentrate their defense around the basket, and the Rockets were able to defend the fast-break most of the night.

Kidd. It was a good game over-all, punctuated by three costly mistakes at the end. When Kidd starts off with a lot of shots, it's an immediate indicator that the Nets offense is in for a tough night. He forces that many shots ONLY when he can't find options he trusts via the motion offense or his teammates. He didn't go cold in the 2nd half so much as the Rockets defense shut him down when they realized how cold the Nets offense had become. First mistake: his fade-away jumper off his offensive rebound on the missed Kittles fast-break lay-up. Second mistake: He got beat by Francis in the late 4th Q with 2 secs on the shotclock on the cut where Taylor found Francis for a lay-up (Veal had Taylor locked-down). Third mistake: Kidd was trying to pass the ball for a Veal 3-pter when he fumbled the ball to Francis for the fast-break score that sealed the Rockets win.

Zo. Zo needs to pass the ball when he's in a crowd of defenders in the post. His one highlight of the night was the step-through dunk early in the game. Beyond that, it was a disappointing night. I can excuse a physical lapse, but he played selfishly by trying to force plays through multiple defenders in the post when he had open teammates to pass to. The Zo of old may have been able to force either a foul or a score on those plays, but the Zo of today needs to recognize his limitations and play smarter. He needs to learn how to pass like Malone.

Nets SGs. The defense was there and locked down the perimeter for most of the game, but the offense from the Nets SGs was non-existent. Kittles' poor offense continued from the Wiz game, presumably because of the thigh injury. On defense, he was beat badly at least twice by Mobley, but Veal covered for him on the base-line. In a game that demanded a creative perimeter scorer, Brandon Armstrong looked out of his depth.

Nets post play. The Rockets game plan was post-oriented around Yao, Cato and Taylor, although whenever Yao left the game, the Rockets didn't seem to use an actual game-plan. The defense from the Nets bigs was tough, but Twin, A-Train, Zo and, to a lesser extent, Veal gave the team a brutal offensive effort. A-Train had a poor game with missed shots and lackluster help defense.

RJ. He didn't impress from the perimeter and took a poor shot from the top of the key at the end of the game with an open Veal to his left. Otherwise, he had a typical good RJ game, finishing fast breaks and delivering tough interior play. He is the second best rebounder, after K-Mart, on the Nets.

Planinic. He has the basketball IQ, the ball sense, the skills and the quickness. What he lacks severely is strength, and he can't compensate for his lack of strength because he doesn't own blow-by quickness. All the Rockets guards had an easy time bodying ZP out of position, and he missed his shots. That said, ZP looked more comfortable and more aggressive at PG. He made some nice passes, too. Considering he made progress in the game, the rookie did alright.

Veal. I've already read in this thread a few comments implying that Veal was at fault in this game. In some respects, he was. Through the 1st 3 quarters, he shot as badly as his teammates with an 0-6 on mostly open jumpshots (he went 3-4 in the 4th Q); he passed up too many shots from lack of confidence; near the end of the 1st half, he hedged on the ball-handler and failed to recognize Yao outrunning Zo down the floor; he made one bad diagonal 3-quarter court pass that was picked off. The worst part of Veal's game was missed rebounds (3?), which is a notable weakness in his game.

Otherwise, Veal was arguably (with RJ) the best Nets player of this game. He played his typical fundamentally sound game, with good decisions, disciplined movement and good passes.

On defense, Veal was responsible for multiple assignments and his help defense was excellent. As I predicted, JVG indeed tested the Cato mismatch on Veal; Veal was the primary double-teamer on Yao, and the Rockets PF dived to the basket everytime Veal double-teamed, which Veal had to recover; the Nets Cs never left Yao, which meant Veal was the primary post help for the guards. On switches, Veal defended Yao better than any Nets big. Veal was at any one time guarding a zone, responsible for his man AND hedging on two to three Rockets, PLUS reacting to the entire play. Double teams (ask Franchise), charges (ask Mobley), help recoveries (ask all the Rockets) - Veal was a game-changer. The difference between A-Train's help defense and Veal's was stark - ask Zo about A-Train's help on Yao's spin-dunk. On the occasions Veal focused on man-to-man defense, he made it very tough on his man, via fronting, aggressive ball denial, and defense against post-ups and drives. Neither Cato nor Taylor could get past him, and they tried. Cato and Taylor scored points on Veal with jumpers, which you give to Cato anyway, and by diving to the basket off of Veal's help defense. How Veal did all that and NOT foul out is beyond me, but technically proficient players like Duncan and Kidd tend not to, either.

In a game that quickly became trench warfare with intense pressure placed on the Nets defense in the paint and in the low post, in a game the Nets offense was non-existent, Veal was the Nets' top warrior and he did his job. Given the load he carried on defense tonight, I can excuse his missed shots, but it was still encouraging that he hit clutch shots in the 4th Q. I'd like to see him get more touches in the post; he has very good footwork on and passes well from the post-up. I'll lay down the challenge right now: Veal is a close second to K-Mart as THE BEST help defender on the Nets, and only because of K-Mart's dynamic athletic abilities.

I have a strong suspicion Veal would be very effective as an undersized C in the Nets half-court offense.

Of course, Veal's hustle never wavered, and he's going to wake up with some nasty bruises tomorrow from the dives he took. Have you noticed that only 5 Nets consistently run the full court on the fast break? Kidd, Kittles, RJ, K-Mart, and you guessed it, Veal. Only one of those players always fills the opposite lane and NEVER receives a pass to score - you guessed it, Veal. But he keeps running hard on the fast-break, anyway, whether he touches the ball or not.

It was a brutal game and the Nets fought hard. Clearly, being shorthanded hurt them tonight, as much from an energy as an offensive option standpoint. Brandon Armstrong was the biggest disappointment. This was exactly the type of game in which the Nets need a creative perimeter scorer, and BA barely gave a peep. He took a step back. For Veal, hopefully his 4th quarter shots meant he's finding his stroke.

Kidd, once again, was forced to play 40-plus hard minutes. As much as I realize Lu is not a championship-caliber SG, his reliability and versatility are sorely missed in the back-court. They're going to need the rest before the Celtics game.