Nets Get New Boss; But Still Suffer Loss! Lakers Win 106-87!

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA Game Recap

If the New Jersey Nets Management thought that they were sending a message to their players with the firing of head coach Lawrence Frank on Sunday morning then the New Jersey players either never received it or more likely totally ignored it. The Nets in their first quarter under the direction of fill-in head coach Tom Barrise scored a grand total of 12 points on the way to another humiliating beating this time by the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers 106-87.

New Jersey is now tied for the worst start in the entire history of the Association as they are now 0-17 matching the starts of the 1998-1999 Miami Heat and the following season’s edition of the Los Angeles Clippers. New Jersey will have a chance to be all alone if they lose Wednesday night to the Dallas Mavericks.

The worst kept secret in the NBA was that Frank would be dismissed after the Nets fell to the Lakers ending their West Coast trip 0-4. What possessed them to do it before the game is known only to those that make the decisions for the team. If they truly thought that the Nets with their current roster could have even competed with the Lakers was ridiculous. Devin Harris and Courtney Lee are just starting to get used to playing after coming back from injuries. The only true talent they have right now is their center Brook Lopez who led the club as he recorded a double-double with 26 points and 12 boards while Harris had 16 points and Lee came off the bench with 15 more.

Los Angeles barely broke a sweat in this game as they had only 3 players in double figures. How dominant were the Lakers in this game? Kobe Bryant scored 30 points in just 29 minutes on the floor; that tells you all you need to know! Pau Gasol was close to a triple-double as the big man had 20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block and 1 steal. Jordan Farmar came off the bench with 15 points in the win.

Los Angeles would lead 27-12 at the end of the first quarter and the game became an official NBA blow-out at the half as they would walk into the locker room on top by a score of 59-34. New Jersey would outscore the Lakers 53-47 in the second half and still lost the game by 19 points.

Los Angeles with the victory improves to a 13-3 record and will host the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday. New Jersey is 0-17 and have a date with history Wednesday night as the welcome the Dallas Mavericks to their home arena.

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