The New Jersey Nets have now dropped six straight after their 102-89 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. Any time a team is playing as inconsistently as the Nets, it gets harder and harder to see the positives from each game but it's important for both the team and fan base to see the silver lining.
With that in mind, here are 3 good stats from the Nets loss to Mavs.
1. 21 Points, 8 for 17 Shooting
Early in the season it seemed as if Anthony Morrow and Travis Outlaw couldn't both play well on the same night. Then over the last week as Outlaw fell out of favor with head coach Avery Johnson, Morrow started to come around. He has scored in double figures five straight games, including 21 against Dallas.
Most importantly for a Nets team searching for offense, Morrow stepped up his aggressiveness after Devin Harris left with a shoulder injury. His 17 shots from the floor are the second most he has attempted as a Net.
No one is expecting him to average over 20 points a night, but he will need to keep firing with or without Harris on the floor.
2. 24-8 Third Quarter Run
The Nets have played some ugly basketball this season but rarely do they roll over and mail in a game. Almost every night you will see a big time run from New Jersey and the one against Dallas was one of the most impressive.
Five different players scored for the Nets during the third quarter run that cut the Mavs 21 point lead all the way down to five. Those are the stretches that give Johnson and the rest of the Nets brain trust confidence that there's enough talent currently on the roster to get out of the cellar.
3. 80% Free Throw Shooting
No one said the silver lining would be made up of the sexiest stats. When you go nearly two weeks without a victory these are the type of things you hold onto and hope to stick with when things start to turn around.
Teams that don't beat themselves can play with anyone and New Jersey is the 11th best free throw shooting team in the league. If they can sustain any sort of aggressiveness on offense, the Nets will start winning close games.