Here are three thoughts on the Nets’ 105-96 win over the Rockets in Brooklyn Tuesday night:
1. There have been plenty of words written in this space – including this story from Tuesday’s Post – about how the Nets have become dependent on firing away from 3-point range as part of their transformation into a formidable team after a troublesome opening two months of the season.
But the Nets proved Tuesday they don’t have to hit 3-pointers to win. Other than Joe Johnson and Mirza Teletovic, who combined to go 6-for-13 from 3-point range, the Nets went 0-for-12 from behind the arc, leaving the team at 6-for-25 (24 percent) on the night.
Instead, the Nets attacked the paint with abandon, beating the Rockets at their own game by finishing with 50 points in the paint. The Nets attacked Houston’s porous perimeter defensive partnership of Jeremy Lin and James Harden to repeatedly get into the lane and convert easy baskets.
The Nets need to do that on a more consistent basis when their 3s aren’t falling, but proving they can is a good first step.
2. The Nets’ improvement at home has been among the team’s most impressive achievements. During their 10-21 start, the Nets were 5-9 at home and 5-12 on the road. And while their road form has improved since the start of the 2014 turnaround (9-10), their form at Barclays Center has been spectacular.
The Nets are 20-2 at home since the beginning of 2014, and have won 14 games in a row in Brooklyn after beating the Rockets, setting a franchise record and giving the Nets the longest home winning streak in the NBA this season.
That’s why it’s all the more important the Nets get ahead of Toronto and/or Chicago to secure homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. After the Nets failed to take advantage of that edge against the Bulls last year, it’s hard to believe this group – both because of their success at home and the addition of veterans like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett – would have the same issue.
3. He flies under the radar, but Jorge Gutierrez continues to impress with his play. Take, for instance, his performance Tuesday night.
Getting the minutes that normally would go to Marcus Thornton (out with a sore lower back), Gutierrez finished with two points and two assists in 17 minutes, continuing his pattern of playing within himself and not trying to do too much when he’s on the floor.
Gutierrez has only six turnovers in 101 minutes across seven games with the Nets, and has committed only one turnover in a combined 70 minutes in the four games in which he’s played double-digit minutes. On a team with as many stars and as much scoring power as the Nets, that’s exactly what Gutierrez was brought in to do. So far, he’s been an unqualified success.