Here are my three thoughts on the Nets’ 96-80 win over the Bulls Monday night:
1. This win was a lot bigger for the Nets than just getting back to .500 for the first time in four months – which is no small thing – or improving to 19-8 since the start of 2014 when they switched to their smallball lineup.
The reason was the opponent. The Bulls have had the Nets’ number going back to last season. Chicago beat them three out of four times in the 2012-13 regular season before managing to dispatch the Nets from the first round of the playoffs — despite being hobbled by a variety of injuries. And that was before the Nets were blown out twice by the Bulls this season, once on Christmas Day and again on Feb. 13 at the start of their seven-game road trip.
That’s why all of the players spoke after Saturday’s win in Milwaukee about the need to give Chicago some payback, and why Paul Pierce was so emphatic about the importance of the win afterwards.
“This is a big win for us,” Pierce said. “Mentally, the Bulls have really had our number. To be honest, if I was them, I would feel like when they come play the Nets they feel like they can beat us anytime.
“I feel like the guys had pride tonight to say, ‘We’re tired of getting pushed around by the Bulls.’ … I just thought we played with a fire we don’t always play with.”
Given that the season series between the two teams is over, it was important for the Nets to win this one, so if they do meet in the first round of the playoffs – a very real possibility – they wouldn’t go in against a team that swept them.
2. The Nets got killed again on the boards, out-rebounded 43-28 by the Bulls. But the Nets, as they have done since switching to the small lineup, succeeded by forcing the Bulls into 28 turnovers, a season high for a Nets opponent.
Since switching to the small lineup on Jan. 1, the Nets have been the worst rebounding team in the NBA. But, at the same time, they’ve forced more turnovers and had more steals than any team. That combination is why the Nets have lifted themselves back to .500, and have a chance to go over it Wednesday at home against the Grizzlies.
3. As well as Marcus Thornton played against the Bucks Saturday, when he scored 25 points, he was just as bad on Monday, going 1-for-6 from the field and making a few poor decisions on when to take shots, including a couple of bad pull-up 3-pointers on the break that are only good when they go in – and they didn’t.
It appears Thornton and Alan Anderson likely will flip-flop in the backup shooting guard role, with either one likely to seize it if he gets hot for an extended stretch. After the way Thornton played Monday, it woudn’t be a surprise at all to see Anderson get another chance in the rotation Wednesday.