Here are my three thoughts on the Nets’ 103-89 win over the Spurs Thursday night:
1. Alan Anderson’s big night helped carry the Nets to a win over a depleted Spurs team Thursday night, but the way he did it — breaking a long scoring funk in the process — is the interesting part.
Anderson said that he purposely focused on avoiding sitting behind the 3-point line and launching up threes, something he did about 60 percent of the time during his recent seven-game slump, and instead tried to attack the rim and get jump shots in the lane. That strategy worked perfectly, as Anderson finished the game shooting 9-for-15 from the field, while going 2-for-3 from behind the arc.
It’s a strategy Anderson would do well to adopt more often moving forward, as he’s got the strength and physical style of play to have success getting to the rim and into the lane more often.
One other Anderson note worth looking at: While he played 30 minutes against the Spurs, Jason Terry didn’t get off the bench once. Anderson has actually slid into the role this season that many thought Terry would when he arrived from Boston in the blockbuster trade with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce last summer – scoring wing off the bench. And while Terry will likely have a role moving forward (he’s been playing lately in place of a struggling Anderson), whenever Anderson plays like this he’ll likely get the majority, if not all, of the minutes Terry might normally end up with.
2. Deron Williams was asked about his brief exit from Thursday night’s game after banging his right knee with Spurs guard Patty Mills in the first half, and said that he already had a bone bruise on the knee. When he was then asked if that had happened in Monday’s win over the Sixers, when he again went down after banging knees with someone else, he first said, “No, I think that was the other one.” Then, after pausing, he said, “I don’t know. I can’t keep track.”
That’s how everyone around the Nets – Williams, teammates, coaches, training staff, front office, fans – undoubtedly feel about their franchise point guard at this point, who simply hasn’t been able to stay on the court, stay healthy and play at a consistently high level over the past two years. Other than after the All-Star break last year, when Williams averaged 22.9 points and 8.0 assists in 28 games, there really hasn’t been a period like that.
Williams has played very well each of the past two games, going for 21 points and six assists in Monday’s win and 16 points and eight assists in Thursday’s win, after struggling mightily last Saturday at Indiana. But if the Nets can avoid having Williams spend any more time laying on the ground grimacing during games, and instead have him continue to play the way he has this week, then perhaps he can recreate his brilliant second half of last year again this season.
3. Fans got upset when the Nets made it pretty clear after Thursday’s game that Kevin Garnett would not be playing in Friday’s game in Detroit, and probably wouldn’t be accompanying the team on the flight to and from Michigan. They said he only played 18 minutes in Thursday’s game, so why not have him play?
The simple answer is this: Look at how Garnett has played over the past several weeks. Clearly, the plan the Nets have in place for him is working. By limiting his minutes, he’s staying fresh and the Nets are giving themselves as many spare minutes as they can get during the playoffs.
This, in the end, is the bigger goal. If the Nets can get a win in Detroit and sweep the back-to-back, then that’s gravy. But most would have penciled in Thursday’s game as a loss to the Spurs when the schedule came out, and the Nets are already in a playoff spot. Now they need to ensure Garnett, who has become even more important with Brook Lopez gone for the season, is as healthy and ready to go as possible leading into the playoffs to allow them to make as much of a run as they can.