Teletopez

Seems like closing out smoothly quarters has been a recurring problem for us for years now. Nevertheless, great second quarter. Hopefully, our hot shooting carries over into the second half. Who would've guessed that this would be the score with Lopez on the bench with 0 point and 0-8 from the field?

At the time, I loved the fact that we received Lee in return. I think Orlando refused to give him up unless we gave them Ryan in return. They were going to select Anderson at 22 in the '08 draft, but we took him at 21. After a tough first quarter, our shooting has been incredible in the second quarter. Outlaw has knocked down three shots from downtown!

I would respond to the first part of that, but we're on two totally separate pages so it's not worth it. Not quite sure what you mean by "this isn't a good sign at all," though. The problems we saw last night can be attributed to the team's youth. I don't expect it to be the last time their inexperience shows this season. Would it be great if we didn't have to go through it? Of course. But just about any group of guys at this point of youth is likely to travel on a rocky road. To be honest, I've observed more good things than bad from these first four games.

Exactly, tonight proves that this team is bad. Check that, awful. The first two games were flukes. If the Nets aren't making the playoffs, no New York team is, so tri-state area fans can just wait for the NFL playoffs for some excitement... In all seriousness, though, we were asking for trouble throughout the game with the turnovers. It's been a problem for us in every game, but tonight is the first time it was probably the difference between a win and a loss. There were also several stretches in the game where we were killing time on the shot clock and not executing any sort of play, leading to forced shots and sloppy drive attempts in the final seconds of the shot clock. Harris being off the floor seemed to contribute to that. We picked it up when Harris returned, but there isn't really an excuse for some of the miscommunication that was going on without him. The final play of the game brought back memories of how we tended to close out tight games last year. All that being said, it's a young team. We closed out the home stand 2-2 and came through in the clutch two out of three opportunities (this is something that we failed at countless times in 09-10). There are bound to be frustrating moments. Avery's moves might be questioned, but he has player development in mind while going after wins. Outlaw had another game that is causing Nets fans (and hasty analysts in this thread) to criticize him. We're four games into the season. How quickly people forget that player development is a huge part of this season, even for a 26-year old. Not only that, but this would probably be considered his first good game of the season were it not for the last 2 minutes. It was really only decision-making that led to a blown potential offensive board and the sloppy last play. Outlaw's early struggles aren't a concern for me at the moment.

http://oi54.tinypic.com/2lbkfba.jpg

There's a possibility that the Knicks and Rangers temporarily move to the Izod Center. :o Cablevision contacted the Pru about an opening but the Rangers and Devils are scheduled to square off at the same time as the Knicks' next game.

Similar to what has been shared above, I was disappointed in select Yankee fans from Games 3 and 4 of this year's ALCS. I'm referring to knowledgeable members of the fanbase when I say this. After Game 3, people telling me that the season was over depressed me more than the outcome of the game itself. Just hearing the idea of the season being "over" in the midst of a series separated by one game was disheartening. Following Game 4, seeing fans convinced that we had no chance angered me in a sense. The way I saw it, they refused to support their team for the remainder of the postseason because the situation wasn't looking as bright and comfortable as it was for much of the 2009 playoffs. They chose to only act like fans when they saw their team in an advantageous situation. As for Nets fans, the only thing that comes to mind was the period of time when fans at the Izod Center were booing the team, as if the team received much support at home with all the empty seats to begin with. But looking back at it, you figure that many of those fans were uninformed ones who received cheap tickets to go sit in the arena for three quarters and leave. Not to mention, who actually enjoys getting in and out of the Meadowlands on a weekday night...

Only 6 of 28 ESPN experts picked the Giants.

Multiple things wrong with that sentence if you're trying to counter his point. First, you basically re-stated what he said rather than disproving it, and second, the Orioles, or Showalters, whatever you want to call them, may have taken a turn in their history for the better.

Lee's postseason numbers before 2010 WS: 7-0, 1.26 ERA Lee's postseason numbers after 2010 WS: 7-2, 2.13 ERA

(OTR)Basketball Without Borders... good stuff. Welcome, Oliver. We don't have much in common. You root for the Knicks. I root for the Nets. You can speak French. I take Spanish. I guess we won't be getting along very well.

Cashman sounded pretty confident about bringing him back. I wouldn't expect talks to take too long if they do re-sign him. We should be hearing news soon.

Well, that was rough. I was surprised to see a lot of empty seats in the lower level sections along the sidelines, but I saw that this is one of three games this season in which those seats are $300-$350. We still drew 17,086. Lopez scored 10 of our first 11 points, but he didn't take too many shots after that. Favors recorded his first career double-double. We struggled from the arc and missed a number of open looks in general. When we did attack the basket, there was a lot of trouble finishing. LeBron was showered with boos whenever he had possession of the ball. We probably should have done the same to Bosh, but obviously, people recognize LeBron's free agency events more. Once again, no troubles with the trip there and back. We settled for parking a block farther away than Friday, and exiting was even easier. It's great compared to the troubles at the Meadowlands.

Finally got around to seeing the episode. It was clever. Thankfully, the Nets' season started just in time to pick me up from the end to the Yankees season. If it weren't for that, I would probably be feeling a lot more emptiness.

I'm going tomorrow as well. Hoping to see the Nets' home louder than it's been in years.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs950.snc4/74331_1312043860781_1821195812_612038_2745933_n.jpg Lighting is significantly better here at the Pru. http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs776.snc4/67633_1312043260766_1821195812_612037_231357_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs449.ash2/72250_1312041020710_1821195812_612034_3359740_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs889.snc4/72272_1312039940683_1821195812_612033_8334517_n.jpg Seats took some time to fill up. There were still quite a few empty seats, but as I said, the attendance is looking better here than last year at the Meadowlands. Notice the Devils logo remains on the seats. http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs465.ash2/73827_1312039100662_1821195812_612032_7402732_n.jpg I wish they kept the zigzag lines along the sides of the free throw line. The Pru replaced it with gray stripes. http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs398.ash2/67676_1312035620575_1821195812_612028_7832242_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs442.ash2/71551_1312034220540_1821195812_612027_3246268_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs442.ash2/71589_1312032460496_1821195812_612026_5055592_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs002.snc4/33438_1312024660301_1821195812_612016_6245578_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs786.snc4/66684_1312024140288_1821195812_612015_4211881_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs909.snc4/72200_1312023260266_1821195812_612014_1727081_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs008.snc4/33763_1312021660226_1821195812_612013_5285419_n.jpg Nets' banners lined up on one end of the sidelines. http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs950.snc4/74363_1312019180164_1821195812_612008_5716571_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs004.ash2/33580_1312017220115_1821195812_612004_6730565_n.jpg Devils' banners. http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs795.snc4/67503_1312020580199_1821195812_612012_147060_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs125.ash2/39565_1312016740103_1821195812_612003_8277838_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs458.ash2/73192_1312014180039_1821195812_611992_430034_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs943.snc4/73667_1312012820005_1821195812_611989_1079963_n.jpg Blurry picture, but Favors and Cousins both had 10 points and 5 fouls at this point. http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs469.ash2/74200_1312012620000_1821195812_611988_1742595_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs276.snc4/40162_1311999379669_1821195812_611970_6175013_n.jpg PNC Tower.

I'll start off by saying that I've never lost my voice at a Nets game before today. Enthusiasm from the crowd seems so unfamiliar, and it feels as if it has been taken to a new level. Coming into the game: Thanks to successfully predicting Favors as the Jersey's third overall pick in a mock draft on the Nets' website this past summer, I had the option between two lower level tickets for the home opener or tonight's game. I figured Wednesday would be too hectic, so I selected the Sacramento game. I left my house at around 6:40. The only traffic we hit was entering Newark, but navigating to the Pru was no trouble at all. The parking system is great. The ticket gates were a two minute walk from where we parked (Izod Center usually offered the option of walking down five stories of a parking deck or parking in the lot and walking through a giant tunnel to the front entrance), but we had to walk around to the other side to the will call window. By the time I was in my seat, it was about 7:25, which was impressive. The big stories coming into the game were the Cousins-Favors hype after Cousins' comments about the Nets picking Favors over him, and Tyreke Evans making his season debut after Sacramento put up 117 without him in their season opener, and the question of how the Nets would perform after a great start to the season. The game itself: The arena wasn't quite as full as the home opener, but both games had significantly higher attendances than just about all of our games last year. As many have noted, it is a major upgrade from the IC. The trip to and from the arena is quick, parking is easy, and the layout of and experience at The Rock is great. Along with the whole idea of "It's All New" with our changes over past months, I'm sure the convenience of traveling to the location is what has drawn larger crowds. The programs that were handed out this past Wednesday as well as tonight included the following note: http://oi52.tinypic.com/mhrs7a.jpg The Nets were hovering around a 10-point lead for some time before they blew the game open to as many as 18 points. I was surprised that Sacramento waited so long to call a timeout. In the final four or five minutes of the half, though, we started turning the ball over, making questionable decisions on offense, and fouling seemingly ineffectively. There were three technical fouls in less than 40 seconds of second quarter action (Paul Westphal, Kris Humphries, Jason Thompson). The game consisted of plenty of technical FT's with the T's and 3-second violations. Our lead was 61-53 at the half. Halftime featured a performance from Salt-n-Pepa, who I had never heard of and figured was a mediocre group before they were introduced as "legendary." The third quarter featured the rest of the Sacramento comeback, and they took their first lead of the game since early in the first quarter. They were creating open shots on the perimeter, taking advantage of more turnovers on our side, and making it tough for us with their second chance points. Through all this, I felt the officials were making awful calls. I don't know if that applied to both teams, but it was certainly more noticeable with the Nets, who were stopped by some kind of whistle every time they had a chance to shift momentum back on their side. In the fourth quarter, matters seemed to get worse. After the Nets erased their small deficit, the Kings opened it up to an eight-point lead with less than four minutes remaining in the quarter. Favors and Lopez both picked up their fifth personal fouls. Frustrations from the team and the crowd were evident. But it didn't take too long to once again make it a tight game. Threes from Farmar and Harris highlighted a turnaround that gave us a one-point lead. On the next possession, Harris performed his signature crossover-and-jumper to extend our lead, turn it into a game of free throws and killing time, and eventually help us to victory. Lopez attempted a couple of long-range jumpers, which he has seemed to consistently knock down this year, but was off on them tonight. He still finished 8-16 from the field and went to the stripe for 15 shots, of which he made 13. As a team, we were great from the stripe. The only surprise was seeing Harris go 5-8. Farmar was 6-6 and Outlaw 6-7. As a team, we were 36-45. Outlaw had a big bounce-back game tonight, going 5-9 from the field, and hitting a key 3 in the fourth quarter. We're looking for his ability to perform especially well in the final 12 minutes. Favors had another solid performance off the bench. 10 points, 7 boards, and another couple of exciting dunks. Our PG rotation with Harris, Farmar, and T-Will has been running very well. Johnson has had no troubles putting two of them on the floor together either. We were sloppy tonight. The squad combined for 26 turnovers. We had four three-second violations (2 offensive, 2 defensive). Our first possession of the game was taken away with a 5-second inbound violation. The Nets trailed by 7 with 1:40 left in the game on Wednesday and were down 8 with 3:40 left in tonight's game. Different members came up big in the clutch, and it seems to be a combination of key performances and a great job on Avery Johnson's part that has gotten us off to this 2-0 start. After the game: Exiting was not too different from coming into the Pru. Again, no parking deck or long tunnel to deal with, so in less than ten minutes, we went from our seats to driving out of the parking lot. Facebook is taking a while with the pictures and videos, so I plan on posting them tomorrow.

First ever time I'm going to the Pru! Favors vs. Cousins should be exciting, especially with Cousins saying the Nets didn't draft the better big man.

http://oi53.tinypic.com/r7nciw.jpg That's more like it.

Ammo! http://oi51.tinypic.com/293dkpe.jpg Try and control your enthusiasm, Proky.

Full Article

Keep in mind that there are already several hundred subscribers for the channel not even registered on OTR that would be seeing these videos.

There have been a lot of talks about the Yankees working out a trade for Zack Greinke rather than trying to sign Cliff Lee. One article proposed Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, and Austin Romine, which I do NOT think is a good idea. Banuelos has displayed incredible talent at a young age, and the Yankees have seen him advancing quickly. He may be our best pitching prospect. Betances has progressed significantly and has climbed through our group of top prospects over recent months. We do have an abundance of catchers in our system, but as Romine has developed behind the plate, his value has increased, sometimes given little attention in the shadows of Montero's bat. If we do go ahead with the plan of having Montero in the outfield or as a DH down the road, Romine could very well be our starting catcher in two years. I would love to bring over Greinke, but considering he didn't appear as sharp as he was in 2009, this package is too much in my eyes.

Ratner, Yormark, and the ESDC have all said that the schedule remains on track for the Barclays Center to be ready for the 2012-2013 season. Here is an animation of the Barclays Center released by SHoP architects: Link