Rafer Alston was King of Suck on the night. The starting point guard for the Nets had three points on 1-for-7 shooting. The good news is that he didn’t stab anyone. Sean Williams chipped in by missing all five of his shots and committing two turnovers in 16 minutes. The good news is that he didn’t throw a computer monitor.

The 3-9 Knicks aren’t exactly world beaters but they looked the part going up against the putrid Nets. Their entire starting lineup was in double figures. Even the Round Mound of Not Getting Rebounds got in on the mix. Eddy Curry finished with three points in 12 minutes as he played in his second contest of the year.

The next lucky team to play the Nets will be the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. How much will the Nuggets win by? My guess is 25. What’s yours?

Lawrence Frank couldn't watch loss #13 in action (Image: Zuma Press)

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Nets Lose to Knicks, Prove They Suck

Rafer Alston: Should he continue to start? (Image: Zuma Press)

So far in the playoffs, Alston is averaging 12.3 points, 4.2 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 32.5 minutes per game. He’s shooting 37.7% from the field, 33.7% from beyond the three-point arc and 75% at the free throw line. Although his shooting isn’t too impressive, he’s already made a number of big shots.

In Nelson’s return during Game 1, he scored six points, handed out four assists and grabbed two rebounds. He connected on 3-of-9 shots from the field. During the regular season, prior to hurting his shoulder, Nelson was averaging 16.7 points, 5.4 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. His shooting was off the charts — 50.3% from the field, 45.3% on three-pointers and 88.7% at the charity stripe.

In Game 2, I think Stan Van Gundy should stick with Alston. Orlando needs to recapture the magic (no pun intended) that allowed them to make it this far. Nelson is a very good player but four months of rust will take some time to overcome.

Now if the Magic lose in convincing fashion again in Game 2, a change could be in order come Game 3.

Post from: EveryJoe

Alston or Nelson – Who Should Start?

Rookie Courtney Lee will likely get his shot at the Black Mamba in the beginning, provided Lee is in the starting lineup. Otherwise, when Mickael Pietrus is in the game, he will no doubt be regarded as the ‘Kobe Stopper’. How well he can stop Kobe is debatable, but my guess is Pietrus will do a better job than Ruben Patterson ever did.

Wouldn’t surprise me to see Hedo Turkoglu or J.J. Redick get some cracks at Kobe here and there, but it probably won’t end well for them.

Can Andrew Bynum step up his game against Superman?

If Bynum can, it could very well be a short series. An aggressive and interested Bynum could spell foul trouble for Dwight, and we all know while backup center Marcin Gortat can be decent in spurts, the Magic don’t have a prayer in the series unless Dwight is playing darn near 40-42 minutes a game.

LA’s offensive game plan?

Drive the ball to the hoop as much as possible. Instead of settling for jumpshots, post Pau and Andrew. Make Rashard and Dwight work on the defensive end. Get them out of the game and the Laker’s chances drastically improve.

Dwight wants some payback (Image: readmoretalkless.wordpress)

Orlando’s offensive game plan?

Besides shooting the three unconsciously? Force feed Dwight, keep him involved. If he gets doubled, that all the better because Turk, Lewis, Alston, Pietrus, Lee, and maybe Redick will be open to knock down their shots. The Magic must be cognizant of the abilities of Pietrus and Lewis to create on their own. Settling down the offense and running some isolations or post up sets for these two could prove to be a more dynamic and wiser attact than just the perimeter shot.  But this is the Orlando Magic I’m talking about, so the three ball might be just fine.

Oh, I almost forgot: get outta the way of Hedo in the fourth.

Who has the best closer?

Might not be as simple of an answer as you think.

Especially if Turk gets his proper pizza fix before the game.

Wildcards

1. Lamar Odom

2. His sugar highs/ lows

3. Shannon Brown/ SashaVujacic/ Jordan Farmar

4. Jameer Nelson (Is a rusty Jameer Nelson better than a healthy Anthony Johnson?)

5. J.J. Redick, will he play, and if he does, can he find his stroke?

Post from: EveryJoe

Inquiring Minds Want To Know: The Finals

I’m sure some kind of fines/suspensions will be forthcoming …

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Rockets vs Suns Fight Video