Nets Second Half Woes Can't Continue

[quote_simple] The Brooklyn Nets continue to falter after halftime in just about every game this season and if they don’t fix the problem they will be on the outside looking in come playoff time.

The third quarter problems have existing since they moved to Brooklyn and most thought that the problem would be solved this season with seven new players and a new coach – NOT!

The stats are staggering when you look at them and John Schumann of NBA.com did a great job of showing the difference between the Nets performances in the first half opposed to what they do in the second half.

WARNING: Be careful reading this because you may want to throw up after seeing how embarrassing the numbers are.

[box]OFFENSE

The Nets have had the lead at the half of five of their 11 games, been tied in one, and been within four points of four of the other five. Yes, given their talent, they should have had leads against teams like the Cavs, Magic, Kings and Bobcats. But the average halftime score of their games is Nets 50, Opponent 49. That’s workable.

The biggest issue is that the Nets have been the worst second-half team in the league thus far, getting outscored by almost 11 points per 100 possessions over the third and fourth quarters. And the problems have come on both ends of the floor.

Offensively, the Nets have had a slightly higher turnover rate in the second half, but it’s been their shooting that has suffered the biggest drop-off.

[divider]

DEFENSE

The Nets have seen an even bigger drop-off defensively in the second half, when only the Pistons and Pelicans have been worse on that end of the floor. What’s interesting is that their opponents’ effective field goal percentage has been lower in the second half than in the first. But they’ve forced less turnovers and they’ve been an atrocious rebounding team after halftime.

In the first half, the Nets have been the fourth best defensive rebounding team, grabbing 77 percent of available defensive boards. In the second half, they’ve been the worst defensive rebound team, grabbing just 68 percent.

Go to NBA.com to see some eye-opening charts about the Nets second half woes.

[/box]

If the Nets do not fix the “third quarter woes” soon I have said before that I will create Twitter account specifically dedicated to the problem and hammer them every single night.

[/quote_simple]