Odell Beckham, Jr., a game changer, didn’t get enough looks in the Game 2 loss

KEISHA: So we're going to move from the hard courts of the NBA and we're going to go to the Gridiron of the NFL and we are going to talk about one of our favorite teams and one of our favorite players at least mine, and that's Odell Beckham Jr.

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., told Kimberly A. Martin of Yahoo Sports that he feels like he can help out much more in the passing game to steer the Giants in the right direction.

Mike, do you think that Odell Beckham is being utilized enough or is it the team's 1 - 2 to start that is causing Beckham to search for answers?

MIKE: Well, the first game he was certainly utilized enough in the game against Jacksonville, no question about it against the toughest defense in the NFL, right now, that certainly he played a very good game and I thought that they gave him enough opportunities throughout that game. And then, of course, Game 2, I didn't think that they gave him, they looked at him enough in that loss where they lost that second game of the season. But, I felt like in Week 3, the offense was really clicking on all cylinders. And, I think a lot of that had to do with the offensive line. If the offensive line is playing well, there's no question that Eli Manning is going to get more and more opportunities to get Odell Beckham, Jr. the ball. The guy is a game changer. There's no question about that and they need him, you know, they certainly need him but Keisha what I'll finish with is it's going to be a tricky road for the next month of the Giants, you know, they face the New Orleans Saints and then they go and they have to play the Carolina Panthers they back that up on a short week against the Philadelphia Eagles and then play the Atlanta Falcons. Now, these are four teams that wound up making the playoffs last season, 3 out of the last four years, I think three of those four teams with the exception of New Orleans has won the NFC.

KEISHA: I think the Saints were out last year right there.

MIKE: Yeah, exactly. They lost to Minnesota (Vikings). I think in that crazy last-second miracle game. But I think for the Giants this is going to be a tough road ahead and it's going to be a tough test for Pat Shurmur and Odell Beckham, but I think that the biggest question mark they have is the offensive line at that offensive line, which really started to come around and that win against Houston if it's starting to play a lot better than Odell Beckham certainly will be happy.

KEISHA: Yeah, definitely. I agree with you. I think that his, Odell's frustrations or his sentiment was based on that Dallas (Cowboys) game Week 2 where he only had four receptions in 51 yards. And I think you know the Giants offense has struggled scoring for the past couple of seasons. I mean the last time they scored 30 points in the game was January 3rd, 2016.

That's a lot of football to happen and you can't score 30 points when you have an Odell Beckham Jr., when you have a Sterling Shepherd. At one point, they had Brandon Marshall, but he was gone within like the first couple of games of the season but when you have an Evan Engram when there's talent that you know, it's one of the best receiving corps in an NFL in if you can't score 30 points, there's an issue. The offensive line really rebounded and played well on the third game against the Houston Texans and there was a shift in the line where Ereck Flowers was sidelined. He was benched and that was a sigh of relief and probably jubilation for most of us who just really are shaking our heads as to why Ereck Flowers has been allowed to start this long. But, the offensive line is key. And you know, I think Odell was probably, maybe if you read between the lines he was talking to Eli because Eli has overthrown him or short-thrown him or haven't seen him wide open.

So it's going to be imperative for Eli to be able to notice and fairly quickly because even with the better play from the offensive line, he's not going to have tons of time to just sit and scan for like 30 seconds, 10 seconds or whatever. So, you know Eli's got to make sure that he sees the field see it quickly and get and delivers the ball to him. And with Odell, it doesn't have to be a pinpoint precise pass just throw it somewhere in his area, he's gonna get it with those big hands he's got. And, then also, you know, it's going to be up to the offensive coordinator Mike Shula to make sure that he is running an offense that's going to get Odell involved. I mean and it doesn't necessarily I don't think you have to force feed it to him. I think because you have Sterling Shepard and you have Evan Engram who presents enough of a threat that you can pass the ball, so you're not forced feeding and showing your hand all the time.

So, you know, if the game against the Houston Texans was any indication that how the season's going to go, Odell is going to be happy, Giants' fans are going to be happy. We're gonna win some games, maybe make a push for the playoffs and all will be right in New York City.

VIDEO: Tom Thibodeau shares with the media his secret sauce for a winning culture

As a basketball coach, Tom Thibodeau, head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, is highly respected and one of the lucky ones. Thibodeau graduated from Salem State in 1981 and started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Salem State the same year. Thibodeau was an assistant coach at Harvard, Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets. He was an associate head coach with the Boston Celtics from 2007 – 2010, head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 2010 – 2015, and his current position with the T-wolves since 2016.

As head coach of the Chicago Bulls, somehow Tom Thibodeau developed a reputation of being a taskmaster. Although the Bulls were in the NBA playoffs for several years, stories of Thibodeau working his team so hard that players didn’t want to play for him started circulating in the media. And, even though Thibodeau was an NBA Coach of the Year with the Bulls and received numerous other accolades, on May 28, 2015, the Chicago Bulls management fired Thibodeau.

However, the cream always rises to the top, and in 2016, Thibodeau got a better job. The Minnesota Timberwolves named Thibodeau Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations.

It’s important to note that Jimmy Butler, one of the Chicago Bulls’ best players under Thibodeau, joined Thibodeau in Minnesota at his first opportunity, as did Taj Gibson.

And, when the media assembled at the Barclays Center had an opportunity for a Q&A with Thibodeau prior to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ game against the Brooklyn Nets, the conversation was very instructive. Thibodeau most salient points were:

• The importance of building good habits
• Jimmy Butler’s work habits and his impact on the Timberwolves’ players
• Underscoring that Timberwolves are Top 5 in Offensive Categories that matter
• Understanding the need for balance

Now, in case you don’t know, the T-wolves are currently making a push in the NBA Western Conference playoff run and are upsetting the order in NBA Western Conference standings. We’ll be keeping an eye on them.

Spencer Dinwiddie leads Nets with 26 points and nine assists in the win; Jimmy Butler misses jumper at the buzzer; Okafor gets first play at home

It was the calm before the “Bomb Cyclone” hit New York City. Bomb Cyclone, a new ride coming to Coney Island? No, it’s winds gusting as high as 60 mph and a bone-chilling blast of Arctic air and, in this case, on top of all that, a prediction of six to nine inches of snow. Some even joked that it’s the Minnesota Timberwolves coming to Brooklyn to beat up on the Brooklyn Nets.

At the outset, the “Tims” came into the Barclays Center having won seven of its last eight games and Timberwolves forward Jimmy Butler with a record of practically scoring at will. Butler did lead all scorers racking up 30 points when it was all said and done. Meanwhile, it has been a struggle for the Nets to win two consecutive games all season. So with a win against the Orlando Magic on Monday night, many predicted the Timberwolves would blow the Nets out of the Barclays Center.

But not so fast! Brooklyn pulled out that old-fashioned defense keeping the ‘Wolves to under 100 points, and the Nets led by 12 points at 9:43 in the third quarter. The biggest lead for Minnesota was five, and with seven lead changes, the Nets were leading by one point in the closing seconds. Although Butler took a pull-up jumper for the win at the one-second mark, he missed (hey, I didn’t say he was perfect) and time ran out on a Minnesota rebound with the score Nets 98 and Timberwolves 97.

Nets fans jumped with excitement, but the Timberwolves and their fans wondered how could Butler miss a shot that he could probably do with his eyes closed?

“Get a rhythm, rise up, shoot it like I always shoot it,” Butler explained his last shot. “Just didn’t make it. I shoot that shot a lot of times. When it leaves my hand I always think that it’s going in, this time it just didn’t. ”

“There were three options on the play and he (Butler) got it,” Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s got open floor, get to his spot, rise up and shoot. That’s what he saw and I thought he got a good look at it and didn’t make it. I’ve seen him make that pull up a million times. I trust him in those situations. He’s a big shot maker, he’s got good balance. The play before he back cut and got fouled on that one. You’ve got to trust that he’ll make the right decision. That’s what he saw and I was good with the shot.”

“It’s like coach said, we got the ball in the man’s hand that we wanted, got him the ball,” Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns said backing up his coach. “You know he made a play (Butler), not every day you’re going to hit that shot but you know what, we got it to the man we wanted, we got the shot we wanted, it didn’t fall. It just happens like that some days but it wasn’t Jimmy, it was all of us collectively, especially me in the first half. We just didn’t play with the energy like I told you. And that urgency that made us so great the last two wins.”

“We really just kind of need to get out of these situations honestly,” Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie said after the game. “These do or die situations. I’d rather just win the game by like 10.”

Lately, the Timberwolves have been shutting out teams in the first quarter. Understanding this, the Nets put their preparation into action.

“I think we made them (Nets’ players) aware, like this team is taking teams out here, you know 16-0, 18-0,” Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I think our guys are conscious enough and understood the importance of getting out to a good start
tonight, so, good job by our first unit. Like I said, they’ve (the Nets)been struggling in the first quarter, I think we addressed it two games ago -- our poor starts. So that was important to hold them at bay.”

“Adam Harrington did a great job with the scouting,” Dinwiddie added. “You know the last couple games he told us they’ve started 15-plus to zero and when you spot a team that many points, it’s always hard to come back, so that was something that we really didn’t want to let happen and we didn’t.”

Fortunately, the Nets put that knowledge to work because there have been far too many games where they allowed the opposing team to set the tone of the game from the start.

Oddly enough, only three Nets players scored in double digits. Dinwiddie scored 26 points and nine assists for the Nets. Other Nets players scoring in double digits were Joe Harris with 17 points off the bench, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 10 points and five rebounds.

Four of five Minnesota starters scored in double digits. In addition to Butler, Andrew Wiggins scored 17 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Tyus Jones added 11 points, and Jamal Crawford chipped in 10 points.

Brooklyn’s bench outscored Minnesota 38-18.

Jahlil Okafor, who the Nets recently acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers, and is being worked into the Nets system, made his first appearance at the Barclays Center at the start of the second quarter getting a warm reception from the crowd.

“It was exciting just to be playing in front of the home crowd,” Okafor told the media after the game. “It was a lot of fun. It was my first time in a while because when I played with Philly for a long time I was in Toronto, Utah. And then when I played with Brooklyn, I played in Toronto, so to finally play in front of a supportive crowd, it was a good feeling.”

In his first play at home for the Nets, Okafor scored 2 points and two rebounds.

“I thought he was solid,” Atkinson said about Okafor getting playing time. “Understood what we’re doing. I just think it’s going to take him time. He really understood our system and was in the right place. Now our guys have got to learn how to play with him. It’s more with the chemistry with the group he’s going to be out there with when to throw him the ball, when not. When does he go pick and roll? So there’s some hesitancy. But executed our pick and roll coverages perfectly. Offensively was in the right spots. I’d say very positive.”

The Nets improved to 15-23 this season and 8-9 at Barclays Center with tonight’s win, while the Wolves fell to 24-15 with the loss. This stat alone shows that last night’s win for the Nets was huge. Additionally, The Nets improved to 10-0 this season when holding their opponent under 100 points and have now held three of their last four opponents to under 100 points.

Next up, the Brooklyn Nets will play the Boston Celtics on Saturday, January 6, 2018, at home at the Barclays Center at 6:00 p.m.

Brooklyn Nets Defeat Orlando Magic 98-95, on the second night of a back-to-back; Caris LeVert comes up big with 15 hustle points, 8 Assists, five rebounds

Tonight the Brooklyn Nets met up with the Orlando Magic for the third time this season and for their second meeting at the Barclays Center this season. With a team effort, the Nets did not disappoint the hometown fans. Starting the New Year on a good note, the Nets held Orlando to under 100 points and came up victorious 98-95.

What is significant about this win is that it is the second night of a back-to-back, something that this team hasn’t had much success with and tonight’s accomplishment wasn’t lost on Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson.

“It was a good, great way to come back from last night,” Atkinson said. “We played Boston tough and this is a talented team, especially with Aaron Gordon back, so great job by our guys. Great resiliency, we weren’t great offensively but we did it with our defense. I thought we got some real big 50-50 balls and rebounds. Allen Crabbe gets the block at the end of the game, so a lot of guys contributed. Rondae (Hollis-Jefferson), I thought was really good, made some big plays and free throws. A really good team win.”

Crabbe’s block at the end of the game and his career-high total of three blocks for tonight didn’t go unnoticed by the media. When asked about tonight’s block stat, Crabbe told the media, "I'm low key tired of hearing people trying to question my defense.”

Okay, we hear you.

In addition to showing off his defensive chops with three blocks, Crabbe also scored 15 points and eight rebounds.

Brooklyn Nets rookie center Jarrett Allen is blossoming right before our eyes. He led the Nets in scoring tonight with a career-high 16 points. He also added eight rebounds and two blocks.

Caris LeVert scored 15 points, eight assists, and five rebounds for the Nets. LeVert has also registered seven or more assists in each of his last four games, becoming just the second Net since the 1983-84 season to record seven or more assists in four straight games off the bench.

LeVert and Allen are emerging as a dynamic duo. When they are both on the floor, LeVert will find Allen because he knows that unlike a lot of big men, Allen keeps his eye on the ball. To his credit, with just two months of NBA playing time, Allen is being recognized as a “catching and going” type of big man. And, LeVert is not too shabby either as he’s tough to defend with his great on-the-court decision-making.

Regarding his chemistry with LeVert, Allen said, “I don’t know where it came from, but it’s just been there since we started playing together. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

DeMarre Carroll scored a double-double adding 14 points and 10 rebounds, this is Carroll’s fourth double-double of the season, and; Rondae Hollis-Jefferson chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds for the Nets.

Orlando had five players in double digits. Aaron Gordon led all players with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Elfrid Payton added 17 points and seven assists. Bismack Biyombo scored a double-double with 13 points and 17 rebounds. Also scoring 13 points for Orlando was Evan Fournier, and; Jonathan Simmons chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.

Next up, the Brooklyn Nets meet the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, January 3, 2018, at the Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. According to Atkinson, Nets recent addition from the Philadelphia 76ers, Jahlil Okafor, could make his debut at home for the Nets on Wednesday.

“He’s close. I’d expect to see him against Minnesota,” Atkinson told the media. “I think we’ll start to get him some minutes. He’s been doing a phenomenal job getting ready physically with our assistant coaches learning what we’re doing. Collectively we feel like he’s ready to get some minutes.”

Rookie Isaiah Whitehead put up a valiant effort in Jeremy Lin's absence

The Brooklyn Nets fell short to the Charlotte Hornets 99-95 on Friday night at the Barclays Center, stumbling in the final minutes of the game.

The Nets (2-4), who were looking for another early season win, started off the game strong—up at halftime 50-43, but couldn’t seem to keep the momentum. After the game, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson gave kudos to Charlotte for stepping up their defense in the second half.

“I thought that third quarter really hurt us. I thought we got stagnant, I thought the ball stopped moving, and again, they got into us, they started denying some passes (and) got us out of rhythm. So, good job by them; credit to them,” Atkinson said.

Without Jeremy Lin, who is expected to miss at least two weeks due to a strained hamstring, the Nets tried to keep up on both offense and defense, and when the Hornets doubled on Brook Lopez, it made it hard for Brooklyn to stay consistent.

“I just think of the guys that are out there, and I want our offense to run well, whoever is in there. It is just for some reason we just didn’t have any rhythm, and I think they got into us,” Atkinson added.

And that’s what the Hornets did. After keeping the game close, and leading for most of the first half, Charlotte put a stop to the Nets, allowing a 23-6 run in the third.

In Jeremy Lin’s absence, Isaiah Whitehead, made his first NBA start for Brooklyn and in only his fifth career game. Playing 23 minutes, he scored 8 points with three assists and two steals. A Brooklyn native, who attended Seton Hall, Whitehead received some advice from Lin on the bench. Throughout the game, Lin was seen advising Whitehead with a pen and a notepad in his hand. Whatever advice Lin was giving Whitehead during the game, at the top of the list must be learn how to communicate with Lopez.

“We just weren’t finding him,” Whitehead said of Lopez, while criticizing his team’s effort. “We should always find him in the right spots. It’s our job to get him open and call the right plays.”

Lopez, who played 29 minutes, scored 18 points and reached 9,000 points after scoring his 16th point.

Up next for Brooklyn: Minnesota. The Nets will take on the Timberwolves on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8 at the Barclays Center.