Dak Prescott and Dallas Cowboys looking good in Tony Romo's absence; Giants, Jets, Brooklyn Nets, and Knicks all in the NY Sports Report

In this episode of What's The 411Sports, the panel of Keisha Wilson, Mike McDonald, and Vincent Davis, are talking about:

What's Poppin'!

• Dak Prescott, Tony Romo, and the Dallas Cowboys
• Julio Jones and the Atlanta Falcons
• Chris Bosh vows to come back to the NBA
• Tebow Mania reigns again
• Ben Simmons out for several months
• JJ Watt to miss the remainder of the NFL season
• Josh Gordon to enter rehab for alcohol abuse

NY Sports Report

• Is Odell Beckham a distraction to the team/
• Is Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick's mediocrity the least of the Jets problems, particularly considering the health of Brandon Marshall and Jalin Marshall
• Joakim Noah skips dinner at West Point

On The Bench

• Randy Gregory
• Nebraska Governor Pete Rickets
• Hal Daub
• Mets fans

Mason Plumlee Has Good Game Despite Nets Loss

Despite the most recent trade rumors surrounding the Brooklyn Nets big three of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez, the Nets have been fairly focused on the immediate task at hand, which involves winning games.

They are not in the basement; but the thought is that Nets management feels that this culmination of talent, specifically, bringing in Williams and Johnson to join Lopez has been a failed experiment and perhaps, demolition is the best possible direction to pursue.

And, tonight's game results didn't help.

Winners of two straight, the Nets returned home from a one game road-trip win against the Charlotte Hornets, and were unable to continue their good fortunes tonight falling to the Heat, 95-91.

At the 1:47 mark in the first quarter, the game was delayed because of a ceiling leak over celebrity row at the Barclays Center. There was some talk after that perhaps the leak had an unsettling effect on the Nets.

The Nets are now three games below the .500 mark at (10-13) on the season, while the Heat improved to (12-13), one game below the .500 mark.

This is also the second straight win for the Heat against the Nets this season. The last two meetings are scheduled for January 4 and March 11 in Miami. Hopefully, Miami in the winter will have a better effect on the Nets.

In a game where Chris Bosh received a DNP due to a strained left calf, the Nets caught a break and failed to take advantage.

The injury bug also affected the Nets as Lopez was out with a lower back strain.

With Bosh's injury, you would expect that the Heat would need the other member of the Big 2 in Dwyane Wade to carry the Heat offensively, and early on Wade delivered.

Through the first fie plus minutes of the first-half, Wade accounted for all of the Heats first 10 points converting all of his shots from the perimeter.

Wade would enter the intermission period leading both teams in individual scoring with 17 points at the half.

Although Wade found early success on the offensive end, the Heat's early double digit lead, which they enjoyed throughout the duration of the first half, stemmed from the depth of their bench.

Chris Anderson, Mario Chalmers, Shawne Williams, and Shabazz Napier all had their moments and combined to score 22 points, as the Heat led at the half 55-45.
As far as the home-team, Mason Plumlee, in the starting line-up for Lopez did not disappoint scoring 13 first-half points converting 6 of 8 shots around the rim.

Opposed to Miami's bench, the Nets found minimal help from their reinforcements; Mirza Teletovic, Alan Anderson, Bojan Bogdanovic and Jarrett Jack totaled 11 points heading into halftime.

Fortunately for the Nets, two more quarters remained, in which they would seek out the solution in cooling off the Heat.

In the beginning of the third, D. Williams and Co. found that solution.

During the first four minutes of play, the Nets orchestrated a 12-3 run behind baskets made by Kevin Garnett, Plumlee, Sergey Karasev, and Johnson. They cut a 10-point deficit to one, trailing the Heat 57-58.

At this point, I, along with the rest of the crowd figured that the Nets would continue their push and eventually take control of their home-court.

The Heat responded with a run of its own.

Sharpshooter Shawne Williams connected from behind the arc seconds before the conclusion of the third quarter as the Heat built another double digit lead. The Heat entered the 4th quarter 76-66.

Somehow, someway the Nets organized a series of plays which led one to believe that they could re-write the script of their fate in tonight's affair, but one play down the stretch made the difference.

After Wade's turn-around jump-shot assisted by Chalmers found nothing but net to give his pals a 92-83 advantage with 2:16 remaining in the 4th, I thought the Nets chances in possibly securing a win were slim-to-none.

And then this happened.

Plumlee's two points made at the free-throw line brought the Nets closer, 85-93, and a feeling of life.

Then, a Plumlee steal, leading to a three-point shot by Johnson, added a spark. Suddenly, the Nets are now within five, 88-93 with a minute left till the end of regulation.

And a missed 3-point attempt by Luol Deng allowed the Nets to inch even closer as Bogdanovic drained a three in the corner, on one of D. Williams' 11 assists, pulling the Nets to within a basket, down 91-93 with 35.1 seconds remaining in the 4th.

Fans were energized, feeling that the Nets have come too far, albeit late in the fourth to lose this one, but that's exactly what they did.

Once again, the Heat made just enough plays to break the Nets spirits and leave Brooklyn, 2-0 this season.

The Nets couldn't catch that one break they needed to put them over the hump and here is the play that spelled the difference in tonight's game.

The Heat are up two with 35.1 seconds left so it's pretty obvious who would receive the ball in this situation to ensure a Heat victory.

None other than the 3-time champion in Wade, who missed a three point attempt only for Deng to hall in the rebound in which Bogdanovic was called for.

Game, set and match.

Wade scored a team-high 28 points complimented by Deng who recorded 18 of his own.

For the Nets, Plumlee, in Lopez's absence compiled 21 points supported by a solid 15 points and 10 assists performance by D. Williams and 16 points from Johnson.

Despite the Nets poor shooting in this game at 39% from the field, they still had a chance at the end to prevail. Nets Head Coach Lionel Hollins has the answers for his team's struggles this season.

"You have to be a good team," Hollins said during his post-game press conference.

"Were struggling to be that right now," Hollins continued. "We're trying to be. We're working at it, we've made progress, but we're not there yet."

Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins talking with the media.

And who could argue with that statement?

Even Johnson agreed with his head coach in expressing his own assessment of tonight's context during his post-game interview with reporters in the Nets locker room.

"I just think we're only helping each other sometimes on defense, night-in and night-out, and it hurts us," Johnson said to the media.

"Our pick-and-roll defense was pretty good, but we gave up a few easy baskets tonight and we have to do better."

Brooklyn Nets shooting guard, Joe Johnson

Reviewing the game's stats, I believe the Nets lost this game because they could not neutralize the Heats bench.

Wade will get his and is capable of getting his on any given night and it was up to the Nets to figure out how they could corral Wade along with the rest of the Heats supporting cast tonight.

The Heat's bench out-scored the Nets bench, 35-24.

Chalmers, S. Williams, and Napier all scored in double-figures registering 10, 10, and 11 points respectively.

What's even more crucial in tonight's loss for the Nets is the road ahead.

In the next two opponents, the Nets will travel north of the border to take on the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors and then towards the mid-west to compete against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Raptors are winners of their last three games while Cavs are 8-2 in their last ten games.

If that isn't convincing enough, the Raptors are 19-6 while the Cavs are 14-9.

Kyle Lowry is emerging as an elite point guard in the NBA and Lebron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love are catching their stride in Ohio.

That's why the Nets needed this game.

A loss tonight could translate into a three-game losing streak over the next couple of days for the Nets.

"We need to go up there and get a win," said Plumlee regarding the next opponent in the Raptors.

"Whatever we have to do doesn't matter; we just need to get a win."

Ya think?

After returning home from a 0-3 West coast road-trip against the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trailblazers, the Brooklyn Nets hosted the ailing Miami Heat and delivered a dud. The Brooklyn Nets extended its losing streak to four, as the Heat prevailed 95-83.

The Nets regressed to (4-6) overall on the season while the Heat improved to (6-5).

Dwyane Wade Who?

The Heat star and 3-time NBA World-Champion missed his third-straight game due to a hamstring injury along with F Josh McRoberts who is also ailing with a blister on his left toe.

It didn't matter.

Lebron James didn't suit up because he is sporting another jersey.

Even free-agent signee Luol Deng was out with a wrist injury.

In their place, G Mario Chalmers, and Forwards Danny Granger and Shawne Williams were promoted to the starting lineup.

You would think the Nets should be able to take care of a Heat team missing their sizzle with Wade and other significant pieces collecting DNP's right?

The casual NBA fan would expect that these injuries would take away from the competition aimed in the Nets direction but in reality, the Heat gave the Nets all they could handle for the duration of the 48 minutes of play.

They showed up with the intent of ruining the first game of the Nets two-game homestand and they succeeded.

In the first half the Nets shot well from the field and from behind the arc, shooting 45% and 44% respectively.

Deron Williams led the charge getting off to a hot start from the field scoring the first seven points for the Nets in the first quarter complimented by backcourt mate Bojan Bogdanovic, the leading scorer at the half with nine points.

The first half featured a back & forth affair which favored the Nets as they entered the intermission period with a five-point advantage 43-38, courtesy of Bogdanovic converting a layup off of a feed from Williams.

Early on, things looked good for the Nets.

The Fans were into it, the Nets held multiple leads and life was good.

That was until the second half arrived in which the Nets forgot that there were two more quarters left to play because that's how they responded.

They were lethargic; passive, slow and unable to make shots.

They could've used the energizer bunny tonight.

The Brooklyn Bunch went with the flow and were unable to sustain their effort from the first half to the second.

The arrival of the second half triggered the Heat, as they answered the shortcomings of their poor shooting start (37.1% in the first half) in making a surge of their own.

It was an exhibition of the Heat's bench that took control of the second half proving why they can be a dangerous team in the East when healthy.

Former UConn Huskies two-time NCAA Champion G Shabazz Napier's play gave us flashes of why he was one of the best guards entering the 2014 NBA Draft, torching the Nets from deep, connecting on three of six three-point attempts for a bench-high 11 points.

Heat swing-man James Ennis provided highlight reel material converting plenty of dunks for the pleasure of the crowd as well as the many Heat fans in attendance, contributing 10 points.

The Nets didn't just have a bad third quarter, they had a bad second half.

The Heat outscored the Nets in the second half, 57-40.

What happened?

It all started in that third quarter.

With the Heat down 51-49 with 7:03 remaining, G Norris Cole delivered a three, giving the Heat a slight advantage up by one, 52-51.

Cole's three led to a 12-4 run in which the Heat and their offense peaked and never looked back.

The Nets offense just wasn't there and the weapons at their disposal misfired on too many occasions.

The NBA is a game of runs and the Nets had countless opportunities to change their fortunes in the fourth and deciding quarter.

With 5:45 remaining, Nets G Williams was sent to the charity strike and sank 1-2 free throws as the Nets deficit shrunk to four, 78-82.

The Nets would miss their next three field goals which translated to additional opportunities for the Heat in which they seized full-control of their fate and the game for good.

Bosh's 20 foot jump-shot improved the Heat's lead to six, 78-84, and Chalmers provided the icing on the cake with a 4-foot floater and two made free throws as the lead ballooned to eight, 88-80 with 1:58 remaining till the end of regulation.

Game, set and match.

The Nets had no answer especially from those of whom you would expect to come to the rescue with the game hanging in the balance.

Joe Johnson shot 2-9 from the field for six points in 36:41 minutes of play.

That's not enough.

Brook Lopez shot 2-8 from the field for five points in 21:37 minutes of play.

That's not enough either.

Role players Jarrett Jack and Mirza Teletovic showed signs of life combining for 26 points, scoring 15 and 11 respectively.

The only player on the roster who showed up for the Nets was Bogdanovic who poured in a team-high 22 points.

The victors boast five players in double-figures with G Mario Chalmers and Bosh leading the way scoring 22 and 15 respectively.

"It was a good win," said Chalmers following tonight's match-up. "Everyone did what they had to do."

Indeed.

If only we could say the same about the Nets.

"It's Just a tough loss," said Joe Johnson in the Nets locker-room after the game. "Defensively we had a lot of miscues, especially in the fourth."

Did they?

All I know is that once Johnson decided to express himself last week with comments regarding the team along the lines of "selfish play", the Nets have struggled.

They are 0-4 post Johnson's cry for obviously more touches.

Something internal is wrong with the team and the results are revealing.

Head Coach Lionel Hollins is also concerned with his team's production.

"It's been a concern since the beginning," says Lionel Hollins during his post-game press conference.

"I have to be patient myself, and we got to keep growing and growing and growing."

Hollins continued, "You know, for me, I want it to be done right and right away, but I'm also smart enough to understand-been around long enough to understand-that it takes time."

Just the mood in the locker-room alone was telling of the state of the Nets at this point in their season.

Johnson and Plumlee left immediately after briefly speaking with the media.

Jack also left without any communication with teammates.

The lights were dim although all of the lights were on if you catch my drift.

Hollins stated that the Nets have to keep growing. Right now growing doesn't seem to be in the Nets vocabulary.

The Nets will host Milwaukee in the second game of their home-stand and then embark on a three-game road trip challenging the hobbled Oklahoma City Thunder, the defending champions in the San Antonio Spurs and the Philadelphia 76ers.

If the Nets fail to fix their internal problems quick, this season can turn into a distant memory soon and very soon.

The Nets are no better than their cross-town counterparts in the New York Knicks and that is saying something.

Wins can heal and melt the Nets problems away.

They need one immediately.

Chris Bosh Takes the Money and Stays in Miami.

Chris Bosh, Miami Heat's power forward/center, is a clear beneficiary of LeBron James' departure from the Miami Heat.

With Lebron moving on to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and a reported max offer to Bosh of $96 million over five years from the Houston Rockets, the Miami Heat decided to pony up and offer its next best player, Chris Bosh, a five-year $118 million contract.

What's a player to do with an offer like that? For Chris Bosh, the answer is obvious, he takes the money and stays in South Beach.

Is Chris Bosh worth $118 million?

The What's The 411Sports team of Chris Graham, Gregory Alcala, and Glenn Gilliam weigh in.

VIDEO: Join the conversation about Chris Bosh's New Deal with the Miami Heat

It's Cold in South Beach

LeBron James leaves the Miami Heat and goes back to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

LeBron James signed a two-year contract and gave the Cleveland Cavaliers owner, Dan Gilbert, another chance.

Overall, the What's The 411Sports team likes LeBron James' latest move to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but Greg Alcala has some trepidation.

What say you?

Is it a good move for LeBron James?

Is it a good move for the Cleveland Cavaliers?

Join the conversation about LeBron James' return to Cleveland

Now that LeBron James is settled in Cleveland, it is reported that Pat Riley, Miami Heat, Team President, is checking out Lance Stephenson, another 2014 NBA free agent, to fill out the Miami Heat roster.

In general, the What's The 411Sports team feels Stephenson would be a good fit in Miami.

However, Glenn Gilliam would prefer that Stephenson come to New York because he is a passionate guy that plays with abandon.

VIDEO: Join the conversation about Pat Riley and Lance Stephenson

Which team do you think would be a good fit for Lance Stephenson?

LeBron James: "Northeast Ohio is Bigger Than Basketball"

The longer LeBRON JAMES' free-agency period lasted, the more it looked like he was headed to Cleveland. It became even more apparent that King James might be headed to Cleveland when he reportedly summoned PAT RILEY to meet with him in Las Vegas and that meeting lasted all of 30 minutes. Additionally, speculation that CHRIS BOSH would be signing with the Houston Rockets heightened the chatter that James was on his way to Cleveland. Then, there was the media blackout.

Today, as anticipation continued to build about LeBRON JAMES' status, things started to hit a fever pitch.

The conversation focused on the #LeBronLetter; the now infamous letter written by the Cleveland Cavaliers owner DAN GILBERT after King James left Cleveland in search of a championship with his compatriots in Miami. Twitter was on fire with comments about the #LeBronLetter. I even added my two cents on Twitter regarding the letter, including advice for what it's worth.

In my humble opinion, the #LeBronLetter was a very sophomoric move by an owner whose net worth is probably 10 figures. Gilbert came across like a spurned lover, not like a savvy businessperson. After all, basketball and sports in general is a business.

Hopefully, going forward, DAN GILBERT will be able to demonstrate that he, the elder in the room, has matured. A cool head is needed for the sake of the team and for the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With this new decision, the moving trucks, planes, and trains are headed to Ohio. And, we now all know why LeBRON JAMES' camp didn't leak a morsel. He wanted to get his "moving on" story out to the public without interruption from reporters.

Now that we know King James is moving his castle back to Northeast Ohio, we can now move on and wait to hear from Prince CARMELO ANTHONY.

The What's The 411Sports hosts and reporters Glenn Gilliam, Bianca Peart, Gregory Alcala, and Christopher Graham talk about the San Antonio Spurs victory over the Miami Heat.

They made predictions regarding who would win the NBA Finals.

Who made the right prediction? Was it Bianca? Glenn? Gregory or Christopher?

Check out the video to see which Whats The 411Sports reporter predicted the correct NBA Finals outcome.