Nets vs. Magic: 3 Bad Stats

We've seen the 3 Good Stats from the New Jersey Nets' 91-90 loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday night in Newark.  Avery Johnson saw his team put together one of its best efforts of the season but there were still negatives beyond the final score.

1. 38-14 Bench Scoring

This is one problem that the Nets have had from opening night and will need to find someone to help fix it or they will have no hope of playing consistently well.  As much as the offense starts with Brook Lopez and Devin Harris, the second unit needs to do their part.

Terrence Williams' injury has left the cupboard bare this week with Jordan Farmar unable to pick up the slack the way he did in the preseason.

2. 13-2 Offensive Rebounds

New Jersey lost the battle for the glass by 12, but as you can see all but one of those boards were on the offensive glass.  Lopez had a better game shooting the ball, but he cannot go an entire game without one single offensive rebound.

The Nets are not nearly good enough yet to be able to afford  settling for just one-and-done possessions.

3. 26-15 Free Throws

Two Nets players made it to the free throw line against the Magic.  That's right, two.

In 48 minutes of basketball, only Lopez and Harris went to the basket aggressively enough to earn a trip to the charity stripe.  To put this in perspective, the Magic had seven players shoot free throws, including four from the bench.

Nets vs. Magic: Three Good Stats

The New Jersey Nets played one of their best games of the season on Saturday night against the Orlando Magic, but came up just short 91-90.  Before they head out to the West Coast, here are three good stats for the Nets.

1. Twenty-three Points, 9 of 17 Shooting

Finally, Brook Lopez shows up for the Nets.  After struggling against Dwight Howard and the Magic last weekend and then staying in a week-long funk, Lopez held his own this time around.  While he only managed to pull down five rebounds, Avery Johnson needs to feel good about his center as New Jersey will play seven of the next 10 games on the road.

2. Forty-nine Percent Shooting

Nine players hit the court for New Jersey on Saturday night and all but shot over 50% from the floor including four of the five starters.  If you take away Anthony Morrow's 1 of 6, the Nets other starters were shooting at a 57% clip.

Not too shabby for a team that has averaged less than 43% for the season.

3. Twenty Points, 8 of 11 Shooting, 7 Rebounds

Besides back-to-back poor performances in the third and fourth games, Travis Outlaw has subscribed to the "good game, bad game" alternating schedule.  A big reason why the Nets were able to come back from an ugly start and nearly leave for their West coast trip with a "W" is due to one of Outlaw's good games.

The task for the New Jersey coaching staff will be finding a way to get their starting forward to become more consistent.  If he can manage to even go "two good, one bad," it will give the Nets offense a much different look.

Magic 91, Nets 90: Orlando Edges New Jersey

Newark, NJ (Sports Network) – Jameer Nelson made up for two missed free throws late in the contest by hitting the game-winning fadeaway with 4.1 seconds left in regulation to give the Orlando Magic a 91-90 victory over the New Jersey Nets.

Nelson finished with 13 points, as did Vince Carter for the Magic, who were coming off home loses to Utah and Toronto. Dwight Howard ended with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Bass scored 14 in the victory.

Devin Harris and Brook Lopez paced the Nets with 26 and 23 points, respectively, but it wasn’t enough to give the club back-to-back wins.

New Jersey Nets vs. Orlando Magic: Superman Returns

The New Jersey Nets (3-5) will try to avenge last week's loss when they welcome the Orlando Magic (5-3) to Newark on Saturday night. 

The Nets are looking to win two in a row for the second time this season after first doing it to open the season 2-0.  Devin Harris helped New Jersey put an end to their five game losing streak on Wednesday with 31 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

The Magic have dropped two straight games, both at home, to the Utah Jazz and Toronto Magic.  They are led by Dwight Howard and his 22.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

New Jersey has lost three straight at home and 10 of their last 12 against the Magic.  Orlando's last game against the Nets was last Friday when Howard dominated Brook Lopez and the rest of the front line with 30 points and 16 rebounds on the way to a 105-90 win.

After the game the Nets will jump on a plane for a four-game West coast swing.