Notes: Brooklyn Nets vs. Miami Heat [12/01/12]

Miami Heat 102 - Brooklyn Nets 89

The Good

Heat: The offense is rarely the issue for Miami, and will probably remain as potent with Dwyane Wade looking like himself again. His 34 points bailed out Chris Bosh's horrible night and fueled the comeback. They fixed their rotation errors and limited their turnovers in the second half to win this game. LeBron's passing from the post could possibly turn into a lethal weapon with the new personnel, he gets open shooters in great position, unfortunately, most of them didn't become an assist, but something to watch for nonetheless.

Nets: Brooklyn is at best when Deron Williams has the ball in his hands, he is the only player on his team that can read the Heat's overly aggressive defense and break it down. A majority of his 12 assists came from passing out of the double, and into a rolling/slipping big man for a easy lay in. The Nets have to let Deron be a little more ball dominant like he has been in his former teams. I know that he is now surrounded by better talent, who wants an equal share of the ball. But his play making ability (something people kind of forget) will take them where they want to go.

The Bad

Heat: I have mentioned earlier that Shane Battier is an integral part of the defense, and it definitely showed in the early parts of this game. His replacement, Rashard Lewis does not possess a hint of defensive instinct, and is always a step slow to rotate. There are few things Miami has to change on defense, because the ball handler trap off a pick and roll that won them a championship last season is catching on. I mean, teams are starting to get real good at predicting it and using it to their advantage. They need to start relying on their individual defense in certain situations, instead of opting for the double and hoping that the help is there. Especially when playing against one of the best point guards in the league.

Remember when I said LeBron was playing too passive in this season, well he did it again. The reigning MVP did not attempt a field goal until the 14th minute of the game. As the best player of his team and the rest of the league, he can not do that. It wasn't like his team was doing great without his offense, because Miami was still trailing in the third quarter, where LeBron finally decided to win this game.

Nets: The starting back court of this Brooklyn team have not shot well despite their success, Deron Williams is at 38 percent, while Joe Johnson is at a career low 41 percent. This team needs their scoring. With Brook Lopez out, it will be a struggle on offense if these two can't get their act together. For a team that usually out scores their opponent in the paint, they only put up 36 points compared to Heat's 52, which pretty much sums up the importance of Brook. The big man would have certainly opened up shooters, had he played in this game and evidence proves that an offensively skilled big man cause problems for Miami.

The defense crumbled in the second half, thanks to the consecutive turnovers they coughed up, completely shifting all the momentum towards Miami . This game may have a different result, if the Nets kept up any effort from the 1st half (scoreless for 7 minutes in the 4th quarter) and had actual bench production. The loss highlighted their problems with pick and roll situations. The big man is too slow to have any effect on the driving ball handler, and no help was present. Dwyane Wade carved this team up.