Game 61 - Two vignettes

At one point in the 3rd, the Nets are up 71-63. You got the sense that they were beginning to pull away from this decimated 14 point win.

The Griz hit a three. 71-66.

Then this:

- Memphis misses a layup, but gets an offensive board.
- Kickout for another 3. Hits. 71-69.
- Lawrence "the marionette" Frank is signalling for a timeout.
- Krstic has the ball out of bounds. It looks like the refs have called time. He steps on the line while throwing it in. Doh! The refs do not recognize the timeout. Turnover on the Nets!
- Griz miss a shot but loose ball foul on the Nets.
- Memphis inbounds it. Swatted out of bounds by Memphis, but refs say, no, Memphis ball.
- Foul on Nets. Two shots drained. 71 all.
- Timeout Nets.

I have seen the inbounding team turn it over by stepping on the line called in the NBA exactly twice - both this season, within a week of each other, both on the Nets.

Vignette two - Nets down 4 (of course) with a little over a minute left (of course). Miraculously Devin Harris steals the ball! He throws it down court where he anticipates VC will be, but the ball is just too long and winds up going back over to Memphis.

On the replay, there is Frank, jumping up and down, waving his hands and even legs wildly. He looks like a marionette on crack.

Mark Jackson mentions this stat as the seconds bleed away. The Nets are about to be swept for the season by the 14 win Grizzlies. They were swept in the season series by the 19 win Clippers. They have lost 3 so far to the 18 win Knicks. They are 0-7 against 3 teams that have not won 20 games. And this is not to mention their losses to Minnesota and Miami.

At 9:52 in the 4th, as Hakim Warrick finishes a 3 point play with a foul shot, I tell my son, they are going to lose again. He says, there is 9:52 left in the game. I told him, unless Frank calls a timeout right here, right now, they will lose.

He did not. They lost.

My rather dour prediction for the next several games had the Nets be 2-1 at this point.

They are 0-3.

Can we please just fire this guy??