October 22nd, 2008: Philadelphia at New Jersey (preseason)

Philadelphia 76ers 118, New Jersey Nets 100

The Game Notes of Doom head to the Meadowlands. Hey, any port in an offseason.


This wasn't my first NBA game. I thought I'd get that on the record. I've been to two Knicks games. They weren't very impressive, and I found myself longing for the Liberty. My first Net game was much the same. Granted, it's preseason, and I should give them another chance. I'm sure there'll be more energy in the building for the home opener.

The road to the Izod Center is one of the more depressing I've ever traveled to get to a basketball game. I'm used to arenas being within walking distance of your choice of public transit, or maybe a short shuttle ride away. But the shuttle from Secaucus Junction winds through corporate parks and the lonely desolation of the Swamp, with only a few signposts of commercialism to show that there is indeed human habitation in this neck of the woods, into a dreary spiral of highways through construction and parking lots that eventually comes to a stop at the arena. Not my idea of fun.

I was at the game through one of those six-degrees-of-separation stories that never take place in real life- my boyfriend's co-worker's daughter was scheduled to play the halftime game, and her proud father had extra tickets he was more than willing to share with a couple of basketball fans. So we were pretty high up, and the steep pitch of the arena seating didn't help matters much at all. Those stairs were pretty intense, and I hope never to have to climb that many stairs on a regular basis.

The Nets give out rosters. MSG, I'm looking at you. All kinds of useful information there. I found a surprising number of familiar names on both rostesr. Apparently I've taken in more NBA information than I realized. Of course, this didn't stop me from having to ask what happened to Richard Jefferson. Not my league, what can I say?

Awful anthem. If this guy was a finalist on anything, I don't think I wanted to see the competition.

I don't think I've ever seen a team take as many threes as the Sixers did. And I'm a Liberty fan. They were taking them from all over the place- and hitting them, to boot. There was a point where the Sixers were hitting 70% of their threes. We didn't see a lot of what I imagine their usual suspects would be- no Dalembert, not a lot of Iguodala, not too much of Green, not too much Brand, no Andre Miller. Lou Williams had some very impressive shooting, as did Kareem Rush. I like him, but I think I like him from college, so that's not exactly helpful. Despite the great shooting, the Sixers weren't really all that great- it looked like a lot of guys were trying to do too much to make the team. Which, I suppose, says something about the Nets that a mediocre team beat them and their starters like a red-headed stepchild.

Because the Nets were playing with all their stars, albeit with them playing reduced minutes. Does Vince Carter always take that many threes? I always thought he was much more of an inside guy. He had one beautiful pass inside to… I want to say Harris? Reminded me of Janel's nifty little passes. And I always did like Devin Harris, and I gotta say, he ran the offense well. Tried to do a little too much sometimes- a lot of the guards on both teams did, to the point where I wanted to pick them up and shake them and remind them that cute is for the team picture. I like the chemistry with him and Sean Williams. Someone needs to get Brook Lopez to a free throw shooting coach, because otherwise Jennifer Azzi will hunt him down and kick his ass. He's still a little rough around the edges. Maybe he should have continued taking advantage of that Stanford education. I really like Ryan Anderson, too. He complements the team well. (And I'd love to see a road trip Jeopardy! competition. Stanford, Cal, and BC grads would make for an excellent game.) Yi doesn't look like he knows his teammates yet- he only started turning it on late in the game, when it was very obviously a lost cause. Once they develop some chemistry, they might look better. Brian Hamilton and Eddie Gill were trying to do way too much- Hamilton I can understand, since he's a rookie looking to break in, but Gill's a veteran. He should know better. Do your job and don't screw up. Stupid fouls are fail.

Right now, the Nets really look like the NBA's spare parts depot. Harsh, I know, especially during preseason, but until they learn to follow their shots, they'll be going nowhere.