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Yikes. When did the Bucks turn into the SA Spurs?
The offense actually showed some good signs. Kidd is moving better, more of his old full court self. It looks like the more sophisticated sets are coming along, just not consistently yet. RJ-VC showed signs of a two-man game. The best plays were when the big men were more involved passing in the Princeton sets.
Jabari Smith takes some risks and can be more careless than I like at times, but he has a sharp passing instinct. He's doing his Scalabrine-Plus thing and cementing a regular role. He doesn't pass up the jumpers he's supposed to take, one of Scalabrine's bad habits. He doesn't scramble like Veal and his reaction time is slower, but Smith is a solid defender and he's a passable rebounder. Oddly, Smith has as little jump in his legs as Twin and Veal, and is just as poor finishing around the rim.
Krstic played his worst game in a long time. He just looked out of it. At least against the Pacers, the only problem was foul trouble. In that game, he played well in the few minutes he was on the floor. Against the Bucks, he looked like he wanted to be somewhere else. It also looks like, as Tripuka pointed out, that other teams' scouting is catching up to the rookie, particularly his aggressiveness going after the ball on defense. A little pump, and another foul for the rookie. It'll be interesting to watch how Krstic adjusts.
That said, and not to sugarcoat the frontcourt, the big men aren't the main problem. The Nets offense in the Kidd era was never glamorous. They won with defense, and right now, the defensive liablity is in the backcourt. Even the old spectacular fastbreak game was generated from defense. These Nets guards can't defend worth a darn, which strains a frontcourt that doesn't need to be strained. Besides Kidd, on the offensive side, none of the Nets guards has shown competency managing the offense. Best is a good option as a short shooter or a combo guard, but he's pretty awful as a lead guard.
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Game 31: Nets @ Bucks--01.05.05
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