Sloppy and Ugly

The New Jersey Nets continue to have high aspirations. Unfortunately their work ethic doesn’t match those aspirations.

Again and again, the Nets continue to give away games. Defensive lapses after jump shots, defensive lapses after drives to the basket, defensive lapses after rejections, that is the Nets way.

The Raptors were trailing the Nets towards the end of the third quarter. Yet who played strong defensively? The Raptors. Who had the rejections? Chris Bosh of the Raptors. Who had the dagger threes? T. J. Ford of the Raptors. Who played well at both ends? Anthony Parker of the Raptors. Who had uncontested alley oops? The Raptors.

Any two-way ball by the Nets? I didn’t see it in the fourth quarter. Any killer drives to the basket by the Nets? I didn’t see that either. Any steals by the Nets that resulted in success at the other end of the court? None of that either.

What I did see was a young inexperienced Raptors team who shot not one, but two baskets that didn’t count because they came too late. What I did see was a worthless Nets zone defense that came at the end of the fourth quarter. What I did see was the Nets giving away the game with sloppy and ugly play.

Sunday’s game four could have been the potential sweep game. Instead, this series is now open for a hungry Raptors team to move on to the second round.

The Raptors stepped up in the fourth quarter. The Nets sat down.