Nets loss to Spurs comes one day after organizational shake-up

The San Antonio Spurs entered the Barclays Center in Brooklyn Monday night to take on the Brooklyn Nets with a seven-game winning streak since December 26th. On the other hand, the Nets, already without injured starting point guard Jarret Jack for the rest of the season and injured defensive player Rondae Hollis-Jefferson who is not scheduled to return until March, were now playing for the first time without Lionel Hollins as their head coach.

Hollins parted ways with the Nets organization yesterday and assistant coach Anthony Brown took the reigns as head coach for this contest and for the remainder of the season. One of Brown’s first decisions as head coach was to insert Wayne Ellington and Donald Sloan into the starting lineup.

Spurs power forward LaMarcus Aldridge got off to a hot start by scoring ten straight points at the open of the contest, but the Nets limited the Spurs’ scoring opportunities by rebounding and capitalizing on fast break opportunities. Newly minted point guard Shane Larkin used his quickness to penetrate the defense to score points or to create scoring opportunities for open teammates. By being effective on both sides of the ball, the Nets kept the score close, trailing by seven points at halftime.

San Antonio extended its lead to 21 points by the end of the third quarter with a balanced attack aided by five offensive rebounds and allowing none for the Nets. The Spurs never relinquished the lead winning the game 106-79.

Brook Lopez won the battle of the centers, holding Tim Duncan to eight points for the evening while scoring a team-high 18 points. LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers with 25 points.

The Nets fell to 10-28 and Coach Brown offered this perspective for the rest of the season by stating “I think our guys’ mentality right now is pretty good, they want to get in, they want to work and you know try to use that to my advantage.”

The Nets drop 8th straight at home with 91-74 loss to Raptors

It’s a bit unsettling, but it appears that the Brooklyn Nets are in free-fall motion, losing their eighth straight home game against the Toronto Raptors. 91-74.

The Nets haven’t won at home since they played the 76ers on December 10; which is quite troubling. Also, the team’s 74 points are the lowest points scored all season. Somebody ring the alarm bells.

Toronto came into this game, having lost two games, but are still first in the Atlantic Division and tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with Atlanta. The game started off decently enough for the Nets, considering they are playing without Jarrett Jack and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. They ended the first quarter with only a seven-point deficit (24-17) and 4 of 7 shooting from behind the arc in the first half.

In a game that was tied three times and with three lead changes, it became increasingly clear that the Nets just didn’t have the firepower to keep it close even in defeat. Three Nets players scored in double digits, Brook Lopez led all scorers with 24 points and 13 boards; Bojan Bogdanovic, who is rumored to be on the trading block, scored 12 points, and Thaddeus Young chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Newly-minted starting point guard Shane Larkin put up nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Four bench players scored a total of 13 points.

Joe Johnson’s level of production has been dismal this season. He seems to have been missing in action in far too many games. At least this game, he had a stated reason for only scoring five points and two rebounds – a bruised left quad. Johnson was scoreless until hitting a 3-pointer in the third quarter.

On the other hand, the Raptors, a team that the Nets have matched pretty evenly in the last several years, bounced back from its two losses rather convincingly. Jonas Valanciunas returning from a broken finger lifted Toronto with his 22 points, 11 rebounds. Kyle Lowry added 17 points from field goal range, along with eight rebounds and six assists, and DeMar DeRozan appended 15.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins summed up the Nets loss this way, “Their quickness just dominated. We couldn’t move the ball from side to side; they took away a lot of our ball movement. We had spurts where we were able to do it, but we weren’t able to do it consistently. We missed a lot of easy shots and it got us in a hole and then we battled back and in the second half they just kept grinding us out.”

With Jack out for the season, Hollis-Jefferson out until March, and Johnson providing minimal production, it’s going to be an ugly season for Brooklyn.

The Nets play Orlando on Friday.

The Brooklyn Nets seem to be catching all the breaks in a bad way, starting point guard Jarrett Jack will be out for the rest of the season. Jack suffered an ACL tear and small medial meniscus tear in his right knee. The injury occurred during the second half of the Nets’ game at Boston on Saturday, January 2. He will undergo surgery on a date that has yet to be determined.

Jack has played and started in 32 games for Brooklyn this season, posting averages of 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and a team-high 7.4 assists per game.

On Saturday, December 5, 2015, Brooklyn Nets guard/forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson broke his right ankle during practice.

Hollis-Jefferson is not expected back with the team until after the NBA All-Star break.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins makes the list for the second time; others include Los Angeles Clippers President and Head Coach Doc Rivers; Golden State Warriors point guard and NBA MVP Stephen Curry; Los Angeles Lakers small forward Metta World Peace, and New York Liberty’s Swin Cash; Mychal Thompson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Get Honorable Mentions

What’s The 411TV announced its list of 25 Most Interesting People of 2015, and the 21-time tennis grand slam winner, Serena Williams, along with five other sports figures made the cut.

The list of 25 leads with a tie between singer, songwriter, actor, and social activist Harry Belafonte; and social relevant photographer Steven Somerstein, who documented the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March. Serena Williams sits at No. 2.

The legendary tennis player won the first three tennis majors in 2015 and lost in the U.S. Open semifinals, thereby missing a calendar-year Grand Slam. Serena Williams, the world’s number one female tennis player, has 26 consecutive wins in majors.

With a spectacular career that has spanned more than 20-years, Williams took tennis lovers and aficionados on an incredible ride this past year, and we're still rooting for her.

Los Angeles Clippers Head Coach Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers comes in at No. 6 on the list because he's a sage that helped to keep the NBA intact in a moment of serious crisis.

At No. 7 is Brooklyn Nets Head Coach Lionel Hollins; he made the list for the second time. We have learned a lot more about Coach Hollins in the past year: he's a straight-shooter, instructive, and he manages the New York media.

Golden State Warriors guard and NBA MVP Stephen Curry made the list at No. 8 because, as a fierce competitor, he understands his limitations and has developed strategies to overcome them; a lesson for us all.

Los Angeles Lakers small forward Metta World Peace is No. 13; he, too, is a fierce competitor and when he's in your presence, there's never a dull moment.

At No. 14 is New York Liberty forward Swintayla Marie “Swin” Cash; she has parlayed her prolific scoring and rebounding skills into a studio analyst gig for select New York Knicks games.

In the Honorable Mention category are former NBA player and Klay Thompson’s dad, Mychal Thompson; and Brooklyn Nets rookie small forward, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Although Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson is an NBA All-Star, the elder Thompson still has no problem giving his son fatherly advice. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is currently sidelined with a broken ankle, but he is a selfless millennial who, along with his brother, bought his mother a house as soon as he signed his NBA contract.

What's The 411TV's 25 Most Interesting People of 2015 is an eclectic list of people interviewed by What's The 411TV reporters primarily as exclusives, but this year, we included a couple of group press conferences attended by our reporters. The list consists of people who have spurred a movement; those who have made an impact in their respective fields globally; iconic figures; athletes; coaches; entrepreneurs; and those making it happen behind the scenes. Domestic Violence dominated headlines in 2015, and two people, Katrina Walker and Melissa Holmes, survivors of domestic abuse, are on the list for telling their compelling stories and helping others. Ms. Walker, a mother of four children, left her abusive husband, found a job and then created 24-hour daycare centers in two states.

VIDEO: Brooklyn Nets rookie, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, a defensive force against the Celtics; Purchased a home for his mother

Joe Johnson gets fired up on bobble-head night in his honor

After a stunning loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, on Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets found a way to beat the Houston Rockets 110-105.

With this win, the Nets sweep the season series for the first time in 14 years.

The Nets scored 31 points in the first quarter and 57 in the half, giving them an 11-point lead by the end of the half. A lead that they would need down the stretch because Houston won the 3rd and 4th quarters by three points each.

Brook Lopez scored 24 points and Joe Johnson had 22 points, which ties his season-high points on a night that was the promotional Joe Johnson bobble-head night. Thaddeus Young finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets. Bojan Bogdanovic, in for the injured Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, scored 19 points. Jarrett Jack rounding out the the starting line-up, chipped in 10 points, nine assists and five rebounds.

Additionally, Brooklyn set season highs for assists (27) and field goal percentage (55.6).

It was a good night for Johnson. He had 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the fourth quarter.

"That's what Joe does," Lopez said. "There's a reason his bobble-head looks the way it does. We know we can go to him time and time again in the crunch time. He's going to deliver."

Too bad it wasn’t Joe Johnson bobble-head night when the Golden State Warriors were in town. Although Johnson had five rebounds and three assists against Golden State, he only registered nine points for the evening.

Houston guard James Harden, who was in contention for an MVP last season, was 2 for 9 for 10 points, and also finished with nine assists and seven turnovers. Howard, who had 22 points and 18 rebounds Saturday in a victory over Sacramento, took just five shots and finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

"We should've come out with a better effort. We didn't and we paid the price for it," Howard said. "Our effort was better in the third and fourth quarter, but we can't hand teams good leads and expect to come back."

What’s next for the Nets?

Brooklyn (6-15) will host the Philadelphia 76ers (1-21) at the Barclays Center, tomorrow, Thursday.

At the start of the 2015-16 NBA season, the Brooklyn Nets are a team of questions

In Lionel Hollins’ first year as the Brooklyn Nets Head Coach, the team handled their business. Despite winning only 38 games, it was enough for the Nets to slip into the playoffs, but that says more about the state of the Eastern Conference than it does about Lionel’s squad. Deron Williams was consistently in-and-out of the lineup throughout the entire season due to injuries. Brook Lopez played well towards the end and Thaddeus Young was added to the mix-mid-season-to propel the Nets into the playoffs and it worked.

For this upcoming season, the Nets won’t have to worry about D-Wills health as the $100 million-dollar-man left for the Dallas Mavericks, his hometown. Instead, Jarrett Jack will most likely obtain the starting job duties, which is a job he knows all too well. Other than starting for the Portland Trailblazers, Indiana Pacers, and Toronto Raptors during his 10-year career, Jack, started 27 games for the Nets last season, averaging 15.9 points and 6.5 assists. The challenge and question for Jack are, can he produce or contribute more over the course of 82 games?

After Jack, Donald Sloan, and Shane Larkin will also compete for the starting job. At Nets media day last month, Hollins did state that there will be an open competition for the starting PG position so there is hope for Larkin and Sloan, even if Jack is the favorite. Sloan, a four-year NBA veteran is a steady point guard who can score off the bench and Larkin is looking to redeem himself after a disappointing season with the New York Knicks last year. Larkin struggled with the “Triangle Offense,” implemented by Knicks president, Phil Jackson and head coach, Derek Fisher and in Brooklyn, believes he will be better, playing in a pick-and-roll system.

Brooklyn Nets guard Shane Larkin

“I’m more of a pick-and-roll guy, up and down,” Larkin told ESPN. “And that’s the thing they told me they wanted me to come in and do. For them to tell me they wanted me to come in push the tempo, bring some energy to the team that was everything I wanted to hear.”

With familiarity and less pressure to conform to the triangle, Larkin should be a boost off the Nets bench, giving them a PG who can lead the break and use his speed to get to the cup and make plays for others.

As for the rest of the starting lineup, Joe Johnson is still there and will be asked to do what he’s been doing forever, which is score. Thaddeus Young re-signed with the Nets following the success he had with the team last season and Brook Lopez will now be the face of the franchise in Deron’s departure. With the addition of Young, the Nets went 17-13 in their remaining 30 games, giving the Nets another weapon while forming a formidable frontcourt with Lopez. In Young, the Nets have a versatile forward who can guard one through four and gives the Nets the opportunity to play small ball due to his versatility. While Young’s spot seems to be solidified as a starter, Hollins has a decision to make at the shooting guard position. I can see Johnson being moved to the three, but at the two, Hollins will have to choose from either Bojan Bogdanovic or Markel Brown.

While Bojan profiles as more of a shooter and scorer, Brown is an athletic perimeter defender who can get to rim, but he needs to improve his outside shooting. What could be a deciding factor is the fact that Bojan was inconsistent last season with his scoring. Bojan is the same player that would score 18 points on 7-12 shooting in a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers in March, and two days later, score only two points in a win against the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s what exactly might land Bojan on the bench and lift Brown into the starting lineup. Brown has a motor and continues to grow on the offensive end, and he is only 23 years-old. For the reserves, there are plenty of new faces for Hollins to choose from. Thomas Robinson, the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, will try to revive his career in Brooklyn. This is Robinson’s fifth team in three years. When healthy, Andrea Bargnani is a stretch four who can play center and drain three’s, bringing big men out of the paint for the guards. Wayne Ellington is another long-distance threat and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris McCullough represent the Nets 2015 NBA draft selections.

Unfortunately, McCullough will sit out the majority of the season, potentially the entire year due to a torn ACL. The Bronx native suffered the ACL injury last year at Syracuse University.
“Basically, this is a ‘redshirt year’ and secondly, somebody said it, he’s like our lottery pick for next year and I agree with that,” Hollins said at Nets Media day last month. “He’s a guy that is definitely part of the future, so hopefully, we can get him back early so he can get a lot of work in and then go through the summer and Summer League.”

As for Rondae, the former Arizona Wildcat is ready. Rondae is an athletic wing who I believe will prove to be very useful for the Nets. At 6’7 with a 7’2 wingspan, Rondae has a chance to be a Hollins favorite with his defensive skills on the perimeter along with an offensive game that highlights finishing at the rim with authority. Rondae won’t be mistaken for Reggie Miller anytime soon but according to Roderick Boone of Newsday, the rookie forward has been working on his lefty jumper after practice, hoisting up to 400 shots.

“There's things you have to do and you've got to put this work into get what you want out of basketball,” Hollis-Jefferson told Newsday. “So I feel like me coming in here and shooting is something I must do, I have to do, to be where I want to be.”

And there’s your 2015-16 Brooklyn Nets.

On paper, it’s a solid group that won’t have to deal with the Deron clouds. It’s a group that has some youth, and it is a group that has NBA talent. With age being a strength of this Nets team, there is an opportunity to run. Larkin, Sloan, Rondae and Brown will spearhead that attack for top plays on ESPN, hoping to improve a team that was among the worst in the league last season in fast-break points with only nine points a game. Despite the improvements that the Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers and even dare I say the New York Knicks have made, there is an opportunity for the Nets to qualify for the 2016 playoffs, but a couple of things have to go right.

Jack has to have an All-Star caliber year and in the 15 and six he averaged as a starter last year for the Nets, 18 and seven should do the trick. Johnson has to continue to be a consistent source for points, especially in critical situations and Lopez has to dominate in the low-post like he did in stretches last season. And of course, health is key. Say what you want about Deron, but the former cornerstone of the franchise gave the Nets a public punching bag and someone to point the finger at when things went sour. There is no punching bag this year; only mirrors to look into. And if the Nets are competing for the lottery this season, they will only have themselves to blame.

Prediction: 37-45, Miss the Playoffs, 9th seed