It is hard to argue with the Truth after Sunday’s display. A week ago, Paul Pierce told ESPN that his time in Brooklyn was spent alongside vets “who didn’t want to play.” Doesn’t he seem like a soothsayer now?
Within striking distance in the fourth quarter, and with my bird friends the Atlanta Hawks taking stupid shots and forcing even stupider passes, the Nets had every opportunity to take game one on the road against the heavily favored top seed in the East. The result? An opportunity squandered.
Look, I’m a pigeon and I’m quite familiar with squandering, or, perhaps more appropriately, human squandering. Buffalo Wild Wings blazin’ wings spilling over the dumpsters outside Atlantic Terminal with the celery and carrots to match. You guys love to sleep on the veggies. Your loss. There’s hardened calamari found in a tipped-over garbage can with the Styrofoam hatch just wide enough for me to dip my beak in. And of course, stale Easter candy from Rite Aid.
All of these gifts are passed down from the god of the street to keep all those beaks in the ecosystem happy.
I’m not a particularly religious bird, but I know it will take a minor miracle — and lots of prayers — for the Nets to win this series, especially after letting game one slip away. And the worst part? It never even felt like they could win. Sure, they got within four points with just over a minute and a half to go, but there was never a true threat.
The team didn’t utilize its only advantage over the Hawks: Brook Lopez. The man went off for 17 points (on six-of-seven shooting!) no thanks to his teammates, as four of those attempts came on offensive rebounds. Yes, he was a beast under the boards, pulling down 14 rebounds. I just wish his pals did a better job getting him the ball.
I’m sure I know how the big lug feels. Every park I go to there is this sign that says “Don’t feed the birds”. I say why not? We’re loyal, we don’t bother anybody, we clean up your messes. Sure, my crew has been known to leave empty 40s and the leftovers from our digestive system everywhere, but that’s beside the point. Just like us birds, the big man needs to be fed. If the Nets are going to have any chance against the Hawks, Brook Lopez needs to be the go-to guy.
Even then, it won’t be easy, as Atlanta will pull out all the stops. Hawks rapper-in-residence Titty Boi (a.k.a. 2 Chainz) will give way to Ludacris for game two. Not sure if that is an upgrade or not, but you can bet he will disturb the peace that was the Hawks game one performance. The team only shot 10 of 30 from behind the three-point line, with Kyle Korver accounting for five of those. It would behoove the Nets to stop allowing Bojan Bogdanovic to watch him, and even then the Hawks will still probably shoot better. But to be safe, keep Bogandovic on the bench — don’t want him to fall victim to any pick-and-rolls.
No one expects the Nets to win and they probably won’t, so the least they can do is prove Paul Pierce wrong and try to win. No more squandered opportunities. I can’t clean up every mess.
By the way, if you are not going to finish that pretzel, drop it over here. My kids need a treat.
