Nets vs Hornets Recap: New Tandem?

The Lopez brothers squared off again tonight and Brook got the best of him for a second straight time. Joe Johnson was inactive so it was important for the Nets to feed him down low.

First Half: Trash talk between the brothers was a nice thing to see, especially with Brook Lopez hitting his new fade-away jump-shot to start the game. The Nets missed several layups off of multiple second chances thanks to Reggie Evans, but they did go on a 9 to 0 run midway through the first. Lopez as usual dominated in the first, on both ends of the floor. With the Hornets missing Ryan Anderson and Jason Smith, the paint was vulnerable, giving Lopez all types of opportunities. However, the Nets always seem to make things interesting which allowed the Hornets to go on an 12 to 0 run. Deron Williams returned after a timeout and quelled the run with six points,a three pointer for himself and an assist to Mirza Teletovic. Another three by Keith Bogans, pushed their lead to 13 and all of this was generated by Williams. Andre Blatche provided the Nets with some bench production, scoring 12 . Anthony Davis also left off with 12 at the half.

Second Half: A three from Eric Gordon and an basket by Davis caused the Nets to take a timeout. Gerald Wallace seemed rejuvenated by the break scoring 5 points in the third. The Nets did go on a mini slump until Deron Williams hit a step-back jump-shot. That seemed, to amp the Nets offense but they would end up trading baskets. Robin Lopez became a victim by his brother but the Hornets would come back and tie it. Lance Thomas was the problem for the Nets who  scored six points in the quarter. MarShon Brooks played a significant amount of minutes and made some good plays in the game, and added a basket to open the fourth quarter. Also, Blatche and Lopez played together and looked like a good tandem. The Nets managed to maintain an double digit lead over the game . Lopez finished with 26 points and Williams posted a stat line of 21 and 13.

The Blatche and Lopez combination caused problems in this game. I originally thought it would crowd the paint but Blatche is more of a guard than the prototypical big man so it maybe good in the future. Nets Nation would love to see this more often, especially against good teams. MarShon also had a good game and may have gave Carlesimo some more reasons for more minutes.


Box Score

Final Score: 108-98 Nets.
Most Disappointing Stat of The Game: 31% from the free throw line.
Most Promising Stat of The Game: MarShon Brooks scored an efficient 18 points!
Scariest Moment of The Game: None.
Best Moment of The Game: Robin Lopez gets owned.


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