Bulls Expose Nets lack of shooting in Game 2

Gerald Wallace's shooting struggles have hurt the Nets

When the Miami Heat signed Lebron James and Chris Bosh in the Summer of 2010, they formed a "big 3" that consists of 3 superstar caliber players surrounded by a group of role players. The Nets pursued the same strategy this past offseason by re-signing Brook Lopez and Deron Williams to maximum salaries and trading for Joe Johnson, the third highest paid player in the league in terms of average salary. There are a few significant diferences between the roster construction of each franchise. First, the "big 3"of the Heat is much better than the "big 3" of the Nets. Furthermore, the Nets have two marginal players with big salaries, which limits their flexibility to make improvements. They signed Kris Humphries to a 2 year $24 million dollar deal this past offseason and he was relegated to the bench early in the season. His deal is only 2 years so it's not severely damaging. On the other hand, Gerald Wallace has a 4 year $40 million dollar deal and his contract and playing style could limit the Nets from becoming a legitimate contender in the next few seasons.

Modern NBA offenses are predicated on floor spacing and 3-point shooting. Being able to spread the floor with shooters is essential, particularly against stout defenses like the Bulls. The Nets starting lineup consists of three players who are non-threats from the 3-point line: Wallace, Reggie Evans, and Brook Lopez. Teams can get away with having a frontcourt player who likes to stay around the rim but it is hard to maintain a steady offense when a wing player is not a consistent shooter. The Bulls were aware of Wallace’s limited shooting ability (28.2% from 3PT this year per NBA.com) and they ignored him in order to concentrate on the Nets other threats like Deron Williams and Brook Lopez. 

In the video below, watch how Reggie Evans has no time to go up for a layup because Luol Deng has moved all the way from the corner to help on defense. Evans has no choice but to kick to Wallace in the corner, who can’t hit the wide open 3.

All game long the Bulls defenders were drifting away from the corners in order to defend the basket and the Nets could not make them pay. They tried playing Keith Bogans and Jerry Stackhouse (both of whom are better shooters than Wallace) but neither was able to fix the problem.

(Both videos from Synergy Sports)

The result was an 8-point win for Chicago that saw the Nets shooting 4-21 from the 3-point line. Because the Bulls crowded the paint so effectively, the Nets main scorers, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, were unable to get to the rim and they combined to shoot 7-27.

Some may think that this analysis is an overreaction to one playoff loss. While it's true that the Nets won game 1 and generally had a successful offensive season, the Nets struggled against top defensive units all season long. For example, against Memphis, Miami, and Chicago (three of the top 7 defensive teams in terms of defensive efficiency per NBA.com) the Nets only averaged 83 PPG. That’s a pretty significant number considering Memphis, Miami, and Chicago combined, on average, to concede about 92 PPG during the regular season and the Nets averaged 97 PPG. It is evident that the Nets struggle against strong defenses and they will need to fix that problem to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Nets, their lack of flexibility will make it difficult for them to acquire quality role players in the upcoming offseason. It would be advisable for them to try to sign a relatively inexpensive 3-PT specialist in the free agency period. Randy Foye, Daniel Gibson, and Anthony Morrow are a few players who come to mind because none of them will command a salary that the Nets won’t be able to afford. Ironically, the Nets traded Morrow (who has the 11^th best 3-point percentage of all time per basketballreference.com) to acquire Joe Johnson. Forming a “big 3” will assuredly give a team star power, but doing so may make it necessary to sacrifice role players that play a key part in formulating a winning team.