Tag: Joe Harris

Nets Report Card: First quarter of 2019-20 season

The Brooklyn Nets are through the first quarter of their 2019-20 schedule. Nets Wire assesses how the players have performed so far.

Following their loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday, the Brooklyn Nets are now 20 games into their 82-game season. While fans have gotten a taste of the next era of basketball in Brooklyn, there’s still plenty of room for this team to grow.

Some players have shown promise. Others have left something to be desired throughout the Nets’ 10-10 start to the 2019-20 season.

Here are Nets Wire’s grades for the individuals who have contributed to Brooklyn so far this year (with the exceptions of two-way players Henry Ellenson and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who have only logged garbage time minutes.) (This, of course, excludes Kevin Durant and Wilson Chandler.)

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Nets fall short in Sunday matinee vs. Heat

The Brooklyn Nets put forth a strong effort against the Miami Heat, but they were unable to seal the deal on Sunday.

The Brooklyn Nets had the chance to send Sunday’s game into overtime with the Miami Heat leading 109-106 and 11.3 seconds left on the clock. Spencer Dinwiddie — who had another big game — took the final shot, though his 3-point leaner wasn’t exactly an ideal look for the Nets in their final possession of Sunday’s loss.

Although this should’ve been a win for the Nets, based on the way they played for the majority of the game, their performance against the Heat was still a positive sign. Miami has struggled against teams .500 or better, and that was the case for them again in Brooklyn on Sunday — again, even though the Heat wound up with the win.

This game an indicator of where the Nets stand — and they should only be tougher to beat when Kyrie Irving comes back.

Dinwiddie finished with a team-high 29 points on 10-for-21 shooting (4-for-9 from three). He also had six rebounds and four assists.

Joe Harris was lights out from three, finishing 5-for-9. He scored 25 points and went 9-for-16 from the floor.

Jarrett Allen grabbed 12 boards, but he only took three shots and scored four points in the loss.

Taurean Prince had a rough shooting night and only scored nine points. He went 3-for-14 from the field, 2-for-9 from deep. He did block three shots and grabbed seven rebounds.

DeAndre Jordan scored 15 points and had eight rebounds. David Nwaba also provided some offense off the bench, finishing with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting.

Hot or cold, Nets encouraging Taurean Prince to let shots fly at all times

Brooklyn has multiple options along the perimeter, one being Taurean Prince — who the Nets want shooting as often as possible.

Each year since he first entered the league in 2016-17, Taurean Prince has become more efficient from three. Through his first 19 games with the Brooklyn Nets, the forward is shooting 40.2%. If his percentage held true through the end of the year, it would be a 10% increase from last season.

Adding a 40.2% 3-point shooter to Joe Harris, combined with the dynamic scoring threats the Nets now have, gives Brooklyn the potential to have one of the most potent offenses in the league — especially when Kevin Durant comes back next season.

But Prince has had some rough days beyond the arc. When the Nets visited Denver back on November 14, he went 2-for-11 from three. He had an off night the next game in Chicago, going 2-for-6.

Then came a real problematic game for Prince, when he only went 1-for-3 in the loss to the Pacers on November 18. The issue wasn’t so much the fact he hit one shot, it’s that he only made three attempts.

While Prince’s decision to not force shots might work when Kyrie Irving is healthy or if other guys are hot on a given night, more often than not, the Nets need him to shoot threes — especially when he has quality looks. Because Brooklyn is reliant on his 3-point shooting.

As Harris pointed out after the Nets knocked off the Celtics on Friday — and Prince went 4-for-10 from three — the team always want the forward ready to pull the trigger:

Everybody on this team, everybody kind of knows their role. And Taurean’s is to knock down shots for us. And everybody’s on him consistently just to let it go, regardless [of] make or miss. He could miss his first 10, we all have confidence in him that he’ll make the next 10.

The ebbs and flows naturally coincide with Prince’s role. For instance, Harris was shooting 49.1% from three through Brooklyn’s first 10 games. Over the last nine, the wing is shooting 38.1% from long-range.

Over the last three games, Prince is shooting 46.2% from distance  — he shot an even 40% in the two games against Boston — so he’s in the midst of an efficient stretch. When he hits a rough patch again, the Nets can’t afford to have him shy away from his shot, like he against the Pacers in their mid-November matchup.

RELATED: Jarrett Allen continues strong play as Nets get revenge on Celtics

Joe Harris: Nets’ chemistry would feel the same with Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert active

The Nets’ togetherness has improved with Caris Levert and Kyrie Irving out. Joe Harris doesn’t think their absence led to the change.

In the span of a week, the Brooklyn Nets found out they were going to be without Caris LeVert for an extended period of time and Kyrie Irving was dealing with a right shoulder impingement. After six games without the twosome, Brooklyn has been forced to grow together quickly.

The Nets defense has improved vastly during the stretch, which Kenny Atkinson and his players have stressed is a result of the team’s sense of togetherness. The more they play together, the more than understand one another.

While Irving and LeVert’s injuries made it imperative for the Nets to speed up the development of their team chemistry, it doesn’t mean Brooklyn wasn’t going to come together if Irving and LeVert never got hurt, as Joe Harris explained to reporters following Monday’s 103-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers:

I think we’re, sort of, seeing the new guys meshing in. Ya know, obviously, we’re short-handed. But if Ky or Caris and these guys were healthy, I think we still would’ve seen the same thing … the continuity is coming together, guys are getting more and more familiar with one another. As a result, you see it on the defensive end. When the defense is good, [that] ultimately translates to good offense.

Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie lead Nets past Cavaliers

Jarrett Allen did a bit of everything against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Spencer Dinwiddie put a punctuation mark on the game.

Tristan Thompson didn’t stand a chance against Jarrett Allen on Monday. The Nets big man had one of the best regular season performances of his career, finishing with 22 points and 21 rebounds.

Allen went 9-for-10 from the floor, 4-for-5 from the free-throw line and grabbed a career-high nine offensive rebounds.

Allen’s performance in the 108-106 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers was the second 20-20 game of his career. His last one came against the Houston Rockets in January. Allen now leads the Nets with seven double-doubles this season.

Spencer Dinwiddie extended his streak of 20-point games to six in the win. He scored 23 points on 10-for-24 shooting (1-for-5 from three). Dinwiddie also had a season-high nine assists

Dinwiddie and Allen each blocked important shooting opportunities in Cleveland’s final offensive possession, which gave Dinwiddie the chance to take what went on to be the game-winning shot.

Dinwiddie and Nic Claxton led the Nets with three blocks apiece. Allen had two.

Joe Harris (19 points) and Taurean Prince (18) were the other two Nets who finished in double figures. Prince led the Nets from behind the arc, finishing 4-for-6 from three.

Nets get back to .500 with 103-101 win over Knicks

The Knicks gave the Nets a run for their money, but Spencer Dinwiddie and company led Brooklyn to another win on Sunday.

For the first time since the Nets won their second game of the 2019-20 season, Brooklyn is back at .500. Oddly enough, the Nets improved to 8-8 by knocking off the same team on Sunday they also beat back on October 25 to get to 1-1: the New York Knicks.

The margin of victory was a bit tighter on Sunday thanks to some clutch plays from the Knicks down the stretch, but the Nets still hung on to win 103-101. Brooklyn has now won each of its last four matchups against New York. All-time, the Nets are 98-99 against the Knicks.

Spencer Dinwiddie continues to be Brooklyn’s most reliable scorer with Kyrie Irving out. He dropped 30 points on the Knicks, going 13-for-14 from the free-throw line.

Dinwiddie has now scored 20-plus points in each of the five games Irving has been absent. He’s currently in the midst of the longest streak of 20-plus point games in his career.

Additionally, Dinwiddie’s 30 points against the Knicks is a career-high against New York.

Taurean Prince led the Nets with 11 rebounds while scoring 14 points, logging his fourth double-double for the Nets. He only had five double-doubles in his career before joining Brooklyn. Prince also led the Nets with five assists.

Jarrett Allen scored 18 and grabbed 10 rebounds. He leads the Nets with six double-doubles this season.

Garrett Temple scored all 12 of his points from behind the arc, going 4-for-8 from deep.

Joe Harris scored 13 and finished 3-for-8 from three, but his best moment of the win may have been on the game’s final play — which Dinwiddie drew up in the huddle with 0.4 seconds left on the clock:

Who needs to step up for Nets while Kyrie Irving remains sidelined

Spencer Dinwiddie has done well filling in for Kyrie Irving since the superstar was first sidelined. Other Nets need to do more, as well.

The Brooklyn Nets are only one game away from having a .500 record for the first time in 2019-20 since they started 1-1. But if the Nets are to reach the mark soon, they’ll have to do so without Kyrie Irving, who is expected to miss at least the next three games.

Luckily for the Nets, they’re only facing one of the top teams in the NBA during the next stretch of games Irving will miss.

Still, the New York Knicks have put forth some good efforts against some of the NBA’s better teams. As much as the Cleveland Cavaliers are toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, they’re coming off a close win against the Portland Trail Blazers — who has a tough record but still has Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.

Point is, Brooklyn can’t take these next two games without Irving lightly — of course, same goes for Wednesday’s matchup in Boston.

Without Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie has been the team’s most reliable scorer. Some nights he’s been more efficient than others, but he always managed to battle through the lulls in his performances. One player isn’t enough though, which was made evident in the Nets’ loss to the Indiana Pacers, who were without their two best players, yet still managed to pull off a win in Brooklyn.

Similar to Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen has been a constant throughout the recent stretch of games. He has the potential to finish with a double-double on any given night. DeAndre Jordan is still an important role player — he scored 14 against the Charlotte Hornets and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Sacramento Kings — but Allen is Brooklyn’s force in the paint.

With Dinwiddie and Allen being Brooklyn’s two most consistent players, Joe Harris becomes the next man up. Garrett Temple shot well against the Kings and Taurean Prince had a good game against the Hornets, but Harris has been the greater offensive threat throughout the season. He’s had some off nights from the perimeter (1-for-5 vs. Indiana, 2-for-6 vs. Charlotte) but Harris is the most consistent shooter from the three. He needs to take charge during this time.

Theo Pinson and Dzanan Musa have received more time off the bench as a result of both Irving and Caris Levert’s absence. They’ve each had a double-digit scoring night during the stretch. More importantly, they don’t sit back and wait on offense. They help maintain an uptempo attack and carry a similar effort on defense.

Now, Iman Shumpert is a more important defensive piece off the bench than Pinson and Musa, and neither is likely to go off for 20 on any night. But they can help keep the game close while starters rest, and when they’re on the floor with starters, both Pinson and Musa help the nets maintain their pace.

Lastly, Shumpert has been an instant boost on defense since Brooklyn signed him. He doesn’t bring a whole lot to the table as a scorer, but with Irving out, defense has played a far greater role in the Nets’ success.

Jarrett Allen logs another double-double, helps lead Nets past Hornets

When Jarrett Allen wasn’t dominating Charlotte, DeAndre Jordan made sure life was still difficult for the Hornets.

There were a few moments where it looked like Wednesday’s game might get away from the Brooklyn Nets — particularly in the fourth quarter, when the Nets didn’t hit a shot until the 5:45 mark. But the Nets were able to hold on, bouncing back from Monday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers with a 101-91 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Jarrett Allen logged yet another double-double — the big man leads the team with five. He led all scoring with 22 points and logged a game-high 17 rebounds.

Allen’s performance against the Hornets marked the first time in the 2019-20 season where he logged 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. It’s the fourth 20-10 game of his career.

But Allen wasn’t the only Nets center who played well. In his 20 minutes of action, DeAndre Jordan scored 14 points on 5 of 5 shooting. He also had seven rebounds.

Both Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince scored 20 points. Prince went 4-for-9 from three and was the one to snap Brooklyn’s cold streak at the start of the fourth quarter.

Dinwiddie also had eight assists, while Prince had eight rebounds.

Joe Harris wasn’t at his best offensively. The sharpshooter went 2-for-6 from three, 3-for-12 overall. His one bucket inside the arc was a fast break slam.

Joe Harris thinks Nets’ problem has been the same game-to-game

The Brooklyn Nets are struggling to put together a solid 48-minute effort on a night-to-night basis.

Monday’s game was very winnable for the Brooklyn Nets. Although the 115-86 finish may indicate otherwise, the Indiana Pacers were without multiple key pieces. While the Nets didn’t have Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert, the combination of Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris and Taurean Prince, with contributions from others, should’ve been able to put Brooklyn over the top.

But the offense wasn’t there, particularly in the first half. Though, while Brooklyn’s poor shooting didn’t help the situation, it wasn’t necessarily the driving force behind the loss.

After holding the Pacers to 18 points in the first quarter, the Nets allowed them to score 41 in the second, creating a 59-35 gap at the half.

Harris attributes Brooklyn’s miserable second quarter, and the loss on the whole, to the reoccurring issue the Nets have had:

It’s frustrating because it’s sort of been the same scenario for a lot of the season where we haven’t put a full 48 minutes together. Tonight, second quarter, obviously [a] big lapse defensively. Big lapse on the defensive glass. But it’s a lot of stuff where, you know, you come in prepared, game plan is there, coaches have you ready and then it’s just sort of a lack of energy on our part. And that’s why it’s frustrating.

Harris elaborated further on why this problem isn’t something the Nets should be dealing with:

There’s a lotta stuff that’s out of your control when you play, but the things that are in your control are competing every possession, playing hard every possession, you know, having that sense of urgency, the ownership, the pride, and a lot of that stuff is just not there with us right now. It’s there in lapses, but it’s not there consistently.

As for why this is happening, Harris doesn’t have an explanation:

If we knew we’d be playing at a pretty high level, obviously. I think you go through waves, like any team, over the course of the season where you’re gonna have a stretch of really good games where it is there relatively consistently. ‘Cause if we can do it for even 38, 40 minutes, you know, you’re going to put yourself in position to win a lot of games. It’s when you have the big lapses like we had tonight and like we’ve had up until this point in the season.

Nets fall to depleted Pacers

A big second quarter for the Indiana Pacers was too much for the Brooklyn Nets to come back from on Monday.

With Caris LeVert (thumb) out for an extended period of time and Kyrie Irving (right shoulder impingement) sidelined, the Brooklyn Nets were short-handed again on Monday. Though, their opponents, the Indiana Pacers, were, as well.

At first, the Nets exposed the Pacers’ lack of offense, holding them to 18 points in the first quarter. But, Brooklyn couldn’t take full advantage, only matching Indiana’s output in the opening quarter.

The issue came in the second, when Indiana went off for 41 points, while Brooklyn’s offense sputtered, only scoring 17. In the end, the major gap created too much of a problem for the Nets, as they dropped Monday’s contest 115-86.

Spencer Dinwiddie led Brooklyn in scoring, again. He had 28 points on 9-for-21 shooting (4-for-8 from three). He also had eight assists.

Garrett Temple and Jarrett Allen scored 10 points apiece. They were the only other Nets to finish in double figures.

Allen also grabbed 12 rebounds to earn his team-leading fourth double-double of the season.

Taurean Prince went 3-for-11 from the floor, scoring seven points. Joe Harris only scored seven points, as well. He made 1 of his 5 3-point attempts (3-for-8 from the field).