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Lopez Centers Offense in Losing Effort Oct. 20, 2008 by Ben Couch - NJNETS.COM |
East Rutherford, NJ — Getting more comfortable by the game, Brook Lopez stayed out of early foul trouble and turned in his best showing yet, nearly leading the New Jersey Nets to a comeback against the New York Knicks on Monday at Izod Center. The Knicks, led by Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler, downed the Nets 114-106.
New Jersey's rookie center scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots. He committed five turnovers, but his 10-point fourth quarter helped the Nets draw as close as four points (105-101) with 2 minutes, 45 seconds remaining.
"I think it’s just a matter of me learning where I need to be," Lopez said. "A lot of times earlier in the preseason, I’ve been settling the post up further outside, closer to the three-point line than inside the paint. I have to constantly concentrate on just changing that and running to the rim and that way when he pushes you out, you’re still right by the block."
Devin Harris rebounded from an 0-for-8 shooting performance Sunday night, leading the team with 21 points (8-15 FGs), and tied Vince Carter and Julius Hodge with three assists. Carter added 13 points, and Bobby Simmons (11 points) nailed 3-of-5 three-pointers. But in the fourth quarter, Coach Lawrence Frank allowed the offense to flow through Lopez, who responded by making all four of his shots.
"He was a very, very good hub," Frank said. "He made good decisions, he obviously was effective scoring. I think that was a bright light, outside of the fourth-quarter group competing and playing with some bounce in their step. I thought that tonight Brook was very, very positive."
The Nets struggled defensively, allowing 44 points in the first 14 minutes, mostly to Nate Robinson. The Knicks' bench sparkplug scored 15 points during the early outburst, wetting all four of his threes.
Wilson Chandler dropped 22 points for New York, shooting 10-of-15 as part of a .500 effort by the team, which also nailed 12 of 25 three-point attempts. While New Jersey was vexed by New York's three-guard alignments, they did contain the Knicks' big men, with Zach Randolph scoring only nine points and Eddy Curry eight.
However, the Nets' non-Lopez bigs were similarly ineffective on offense. Yi Jianlian (six points) shot only 2-of-9 from the floor, though he grabbed a preseason-high six rebounds. Sean Williams and Ryan Anderson combined for eight points in a lackluster 18 minutes of floor time. And rookie swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts also struggled, shooting 1-for-5 in 24 minutes.
As for Lopez, though this was his most impressive performance, the team knows he must be more consistent for them to succeed.
"We know what he’s capable of doing," Harris said. "I think that’s why we drafted him. We’ve seen points of it in practice, where he’ll make good moves and rebounding is definitely his strength. But we need to see a lot more of it because we definitely need a post presence and if he can give that kind of effort every night, we’ll be okay."
