It would be easy to point the finger at Deron Williams for this one. The stat sheet makes him a logical target. This is the playoffs, the time of year when your superstar has to play like a superstar. Williams did in Game 1. He didn’t last night in Game 2.
After scoring 22 points on Saturday, Williams had just eight points, shooting just 1-of-9 from the field.
“I didn’t play good,” Williams said, stating the obvious. “I’m not going to play like this again.”
Truth is, the Nets’ 90-82 loss to the Bulls can’t be blamed on one guy. Blame it on the mind game. Leading up to Game 2, Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo preached about what he called “the mind game.” It’s part of handling the highs and lows of a best-of-seven series, something the Nets will have to figure out if they are going to beat the Bulls and advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Though several Nets have playoff experience, this is their first post-season as a unit and collectively maintaining a high level isn’t always easy.
The Nets came in understanding they faced the mental challenge of duplicating the intensity and focus they brought to Game 1, when they blew the Bulls out of Barclays Center en route to a 106-89 victory. Carlesimo knew the Nets would be facing a more determined Bulls team in Game 2 and tried to prepare his team.
“We have to match the desperation level we anticipate the Bulls will have,” Carlesimo said before tip-off. “Then we have to win the game. If we don’t do the first, we don’t do the second.”
He was right. The Nets didn’t do the first, so they didn’t do the second and now the series is tied at 1-1 heading into Game 3 on Thursday night at United Center in Chicago.
The home team missed its first six shots and seven of its first 10. Williams, who seemed to score at will in Game 1, had only a pair of free throws after one quarter.
“We said we needed to come out and play with the same desperation and we really didn’t,” Williams said. “They did and we didn’t.”
The Bulls lived up to their reputation of being a stifling defensive team. The tempo was to their liking, a physical, half-court, grind-it-out game in which Chicago was able to set up its defense.
The Nets had trouble finding an open shot. They made just 2-of-19 in the third quarter and 35.4 percent from the field for the game. The Bulls were the more determined and desperate team, just like Carlesimo said they would be.
“Their defense was very good and our execution was not what it needs to be,” he said.
Kirk Hinrich, who was torched by Williams on Saturday, clung to him like lint, offering the Nets point guard very little space and few open looks. The Bulls pushed Williams to one side of the court, trapped him when they could and tried to contest every shot.
Williams missed his first six field goals and didn’t make his first jumper until 6:38 remained in the third quarter.
“I don’t think I attacked the ball enough,” he said in retrospect. “I missed some shots early, and it kind of made me passive.”
That’s not what you want to hear if you follow the Nets. They won’t win this series with Williams being passive or the Nets not bringing enough energy to match the Bulls. The old saying is a series doesn’t really get started until a visiting team wins.
Now it’s up to the Nets to be the more desperate team going to Chicago.