Nets-Bobcats Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Mar 08 2012 5:56PM

It would seem wise for Charlotte to double-team Deron Williams off pick and rolls after New Jersey's All-Star guard set a franchise scoring record in Sunday's win over the Bobcats.

Coach Paul Silas, however, might give Williams another opportunity to light up the scoreboard and take his chances with his teammates.

Williams could be primed for another big game Friday night in New Jersey as he tries to lead the Nets to a second victory in six days over the Bobcats.

In Charlotte on Sunday, the Bobcats (5-32) opted not to double-team Williams off pick and rolls and the three-time All-Star made them pay dearly, finishing with an NBA season-high 57 points in a 104-101 victory. He shot 16 of 29 from the field, made all 21 of his free throws and bested his previous career high by 15 points.

Williams, who averages team highs of 22.4 points and 8.2 assists for the Nets (13-27), attributed much of his scoring to Charlotte's decision to use one man to try and stop him, something he rarely sees.

Silas defended the strategy.

"You can do one of two things: you can try to stop him and double him and leave other players wide open or guard everybody," he said afterward. "I thought that's mainly what kept us in the game. Nobody else was doing anything (for them). It gave us a chance."

There was a lot of truth to Silas' analysis.

The rest of New Jersey's starters combined for 20 points on 6-of-19 shooting, with Kris Humphries (11) the only one to score more than six. The Bobcats didn't have to worry about Brook Lopez after he rolled his right ankle early in the third quarter and didn't return. The 7-foot center, who missed the Nets' first 32 games while recovering from a broken right foot, has been diagnosed with a sprained right ankle and will miss three weeks.

Despite Williams' scoring exploits, Charlotte had a chance to force overtime, but D.J. Augustin missed a 3-point attempt with one second left. The Bobcats didn't do themselves any favors missing 12 of their 14 shots from beyond the arc.

Although Silas seemed only worried about stopping Williams, he should make sure his team respects the shooting of Jordan Farmar.

In New Jersey's game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, Vinny Del Negro's team was focusing on Williams when he found an open Farmar, who hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 0.2 seconds left in a 101-100 win. Farmar finished with 16 points, while Williams had 21 and 10 assists.

Charlotte bounced back from its loss to the Nets with an impressive 100-84 victory over Orlando on Tuesday. It followed that up, however, with Wednesday's 99-93 loss to Utah, its 22nd in 24 games.

The Bobcats didn't activate Boris Diaw and Silas said he "doesn't know" if he'll play again this season. Silas has grown frustrated by Diaw's effort and Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins has acknowledged Diaw's agent recently approached him about a buyout or trade.

With Charlotte playing out the string to the season, Silas is already giving more playing time to younger players Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson, Bismack Biyombo and Byron Mullens. Corey Maggette, however, has also been an important part of his rotation.

The 13-year veteran is averaging 26.0 points in his last three games - a stretch that started with a 24-point performance against the Nets.

Henderson has scored 15 in each of the season's two games against New Jersey.

The Nets used a more balanced-scoring attack in a 97-87 home win over Charlotte on Jan. 22. MarShon Brooks had 20 points, Williams and Anthony Morrow each added 19 and Farmar scored 13.

Humphries, Morrow help Nets beat Bobcats 83-74

By STEVE REED
Posted Mar 10 2012 1:34AM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) With Deron Williams sidelined with a sore right calf, Anthony Morrow knew the New Jersey Nets would need a scoring lift down the stretch.

And he was more than happy to provide it with his parents looking on from the stands.

Morrow, who grew up in Charlotte, scored all 17 of his points in the fourth quarter to help the New Jersey Nets break open a tight game and defeat the Charlotte Bobcats 83-74 Friday night.

"When Deron went out we kind of struggled offensively," said Morrow, who came in averaging 12.8 points per game. "When you don't have a 22-point-a-night guy out of the game you're going to struggle, so I knew I had to step my game up."

Nets coach Avery Johnson said Williams will not play Saturday night against the Houston Rockets.

Williams, who scored a career-high and franchise-record 57 points on this same floor Sunday night against the Bobcats, left in the second quarter and did not return. He finished with seven points and three assists.

"We'll give an update on him Saturday once we check him out," Johnson said.

Kris Humphries had 20 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Nets in both categories, but it was Morrow who ignited the Nets to their second straight win.

The Nets led by one entering the fourth quarter, but quickly built a 70-62 lead behind four consecutive jumpers by Morrow, who turned hot, hitting 6 of 9 from the field after missing all five shots in the first three quarters.

After the Bobcats closed to within five points in the fourth quarter, Morrow hit a 3-pointer from the right wing over Gerald Henderson to put the game away in the final minutes.

"Anthony was huge tonight," Johnson said. "He got on his favorite side of the floor - the right side - and he mixed up his game. He posted up, put the ball on the floor and made some threes. When he's mixing up his game like that he's much harder to guard."

With Williams out of the game, the Nets turned to Jordan Farmar to run the offense and he responded well with 11 points and seven assists.

Sheldon Williams added six points and 13 rebounds for the Nets.

After enduring an eight-game losing streak, the Nets have rebounded to win six of their past 11 games including victories against Chicago, New York, Dallas, the Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte twice.

"We have been fighting through all kinds of adversity with injuries and things, but the main thing is we're sticking together," Morrow said. "We have great team chemistry on and off the court."

Corey Maggette led the Bobcats with 19 points and Bismack Biyombo had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Neither team shot particularly well - the Nets 36 percent and the Bobcats 34 percent - in one of the lowest-scoring games of the season for both teams.

"It was one of those grind it out games," Morrow said.

Charlotte's Paul Silas had his son, assistant coach Stephen, coach the team Friday night.

Silas said he informed his son of the decision around 5 p.m., two hours before tipoff after clearing it with management.

"It's just sort of like I was watching Don Nelson and when he let Keith Smart coach when he was coaching," Paul Silas said. "I just wanted to give Steven a shot at coaching a team that I felt we could compete with. I thought he did as good of a job as I had done. We just didn't get it done for some odd reason."

The younger Silas had taken over earlier this week when his father was ejected and the Bobcats responded with a 22-1 run and went on to beat the Orlando Magic.

"It was fun, challenging of course," Stephen Silas said. "But when you prepare as much as I do and work as hard as I do, it was gratifying to get a shot at it."

Stephen Silas said he aspires to be an NBA head coach.

Paul Silas sat next to his son during the game.

When asked about how much input his father had, Stephen Silas said, "He was good. He didn't really say too much to me and let me do my thing but he was on the referees for me, so he had my back."

NOTES: Boris Diaw and Gana Diop were inactive for the Bobcats, meaning $15.9 million in salary cap room that did not see action. ... D.J. White was a late scratch for the Bobcats, replaced by Tyrus Thomas, who did not play in the previous game. Thomas had a technical foul in the first quarter and finished with six points. ... It was the 17th double-double for Humphries this season.

Notebook: Nets 83, Bobcats 74

Posted Friday March 9, 2012 10:56PM

By Derek S. Smith, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Anthony Morrow saved the best for last. The Charlotte native scored all 17 of his points in the fourth quarter to lift the New Jersey Nets to an 83-74 win over the Charlotte Bobcats Friday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Corey Maggette scored 19 to pace the Charlotte Bobcats while Kris Humphries led all scorers with 20.

QUOTABLE: "I just came out to play my part. I'm glad I had the chance to come in late and do my thing and help this team. I knew when Deron (Williams) went down that might be my chance in this game."
-- Morrow on his performance

THE STAT: Rebounds. The Nets dominated the boards Friday night 56-43. Two Nets were in double figures for the night with Humphries picking up a game-best 15 while Shelden Williams added 13. New Jersey is 11-3 when outrebounding opponents on the season have won just three times when being outrebounded.

TURNING POINT: Scoring drought. The Nets defense played well in Charlotte and helped lift the team to victory. Charlotte was held to just two field goals in the final 5:25 of play.

QUOTABLE II: "We played hard out there. We could have hung our heads and said woe is me. But we didn't. Defensively we picked it up and played great tonight. We knew where we needed to step it up and were able to get a good win on the road."
-- New Jersey Nets coach Avery Johnson

HOT: Humphries. The Nets power forward has notched double-doubles in three of his last four contests. Humphries had 20 points and 15 rebounds Friday, both of which were game highs. He added three blocks to his stat line and was 7-for-15 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. He's averaging 13.0 points and 11.3 rebounds in that four-game span.

NOT: Deron Williams. The Nets point guard left the game in the second quarter with a sore right calf and did not return. Williams will also most likely be sidelined for Saturday's home game against Houston. Williams had seven points and three assists which as a far cry from his 57-point output Sunday night in the same building.

GOOD MOVE: Coaching change. Charlotte coach Paul Silas handed over the on-floor coaching duties to his son/assistant coach Stephen Silas. The elder Silas announced the decision to the team just before tip-off. The change although not permanent is an opportunity for Paul Silas to give more opportunities to the person he thinks should succeed him when he retires and gave Stephen Silas a chance to showcase his coaching ability.

ROOKIE WATCH: Bismack Biyombo continues to play well for the Bobcats. The rookie from the Congo netted 11 points and 11 rebounds with two blocked shots. It was his fourth double-double of the season and the second in three games. Nets rookie MarShon Brooks had eight points in 30 minutes of action.

NOTABLE: The 74 points by Charlotte was the fewest allowed by the Nets this season ... This was the second time this season that New Jersey was consecutive games ... Jordan Farmar scored in double figures for the 20th time this season ... Humphries had his 17th double-double of the season ... Morrow had his 20th double figure scoring game ... Bobcats forward Eduardo Najera posted season highs of nine points, five rebounds and three steals ... D.J. Augustin handed out eight assists for the third straight game ... Maggette recorded his 13th straight game in double figures. He is averaging 18.6 points per game during that stretch and leads the team in scoring on the season.

UP NEXT: For the Nets, Saturday vs. Houston, Monday vs. Milwaukee and Wednesday vs. Toronto. For the Bobcats, Saturday @ Oklahoma City, Monday @ New Orleans and Wednesday @ Houston.

• Nets: James, Williams
• Bobcats: Diaw, Diop

• Nets: --
• Bobcats: Thomas

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #47 Bennie Adams, #73 Tre Maddox
• Attendance: 14672
• Duration: 2:10