Bulls Beat Nets With Strong Finish, 105-80

Pau Gasol, the new forward for the Chicago Bulls spoke about the importance of protecting home-court after the recent loss to the Golden State Warriors.  Tonight, against the undermanned Brooklyn Nets they did.

Playing without C Brooks Lopez, and reliable scorer, Joe Johnson, the Nets ran out of gas in the second half only shooting 33% from the field.  Chicago, however had 6 players score in double figures, led by Derrick Rose's 23 points.  Jimmy Butler had 18 for the Bulls and Pau Gasol continued his sold play with another double-double, scoring 16 points and hauling in 16 rebounds.

Joakim Noah was sidelined with an ankle injury and F Taj Gibson filled in his place. Gibson had a good game scoring 11 points,with 10 boards. F Mike Dunleavy added to the Bulls' win scoring 16 points.

As the game progressed, Chicago hit their shots, while the Nets mis-fired. Chicago shot 46.8% from the floor and out-rebounded the Nets 57-44. At one point in the 4th quarter, Chicago outscored the Nets, 17-5.  It was just what the doctor ordered, a convincing home victory.  The Bulls won their third home game of the season.

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Deron Williams And Brook Lopez, Both Recovering Well

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

The Brooklyn Nets in what has been a major off-season of change, are getting good news when it comes to the health of two of their best players in Deron Williams and Brook Lopez. They are both coming off of surgeries, and this season if either one aren’t at 100% it could be a long season for Brooklyn.

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Their new coach Lionel Hollins seems very pleased about where they both stand coming back from surgery right now. “You can't be where you want to be unless you're healthy,” And you can't get in shape unless you're healthy. If you are injured all summer, there's no way you can work out”. "Deron is healthy, Brook is healthy and they are both able to work out." 

“Conditioning is something they both will be able to work on as they move forward,” Hollins said. “And when you are in shape you can go out, and try things, and do things because naturally if you are successful, your confidence rises. That's the only way I look at it and that's my approach."

Training camp is about a month and a half away for the Nets, and after undergoing surgery on both his ankles on May 27^th, Williams is expected to be healthy and ready to go. For Lopez, he said that he was cleared and ready to play about a week ago after foot surgery in December and ankle surgery in March. With a new coach will come a new system for the Nets, so having two of their main players in camp will be important toward whatever success the Nets may have this coming season.

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Nets Decide To Pass On Bringing Back Paul Pierce

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

July 13, 2014

The Brooklyn Nets off-season is shaping the 2014-15 Nets into a completely different looking team from the previous season, as the latest change will be that Paul Pierce won’t be returning to Brooklyn for a second season.

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On Saturday night, Pierce decided to sign with the young, up and coming Washington Wizards for a two-year $11 million dollar contract, with a second year player option. Pierce will fit in nicely with Washington after their Small Forward from last season, Trevor Ariza signed with the Houston Rockets. Pierce certainly has some game left, as last season he averaged 13.5 PPG on 45% shooting. Pierce is also a great mentor to have for Otto Porter, who was the third overall pick in the 2013 draft, but didn’t get much playing time in his rookie season.

Most surprising about the departure of Paul Pierce, was that the Nets, who had his bird rights, just simply passed on him. The Nets don’t believe that they are title contenders, which is correct, and instead of giving playing time and money to Pierce, they have decided to try and develop their younger players, and try to reload in the 2016-17 season when they should have some salary cap flexibility.

Now most attention will go to Kevin Garnett, who is supposedly coming back to the Nets, despite not announcing that publicly yet. Even with the news of his long time teammate and friend Pierce leaving the Nets, Garnett is said to be excited, and likes the direction the Nets are heading in. If Garnett does return, some sort of mid-season buyout or trade if Brooklyn isn’t playing well could be very likely, as although Garnett will be making $12 million, he also wants to play for a contender.

The blockbuster deal from last season to bring Pierce, Garnett, and Jason Terry to Brooklyn turned out to be a failure for the Nets, who essentially traded three first round picks to win one round in the playoffs. The good sign for the Nets is that they are seeming to be cutting their losses well, as there is some young talent on the team for next season, and with a healthy Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, and Joe Johnson, the Nets can still be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference.

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