Newness of it all

Thank goodness the season is about to begin!

Seems like it took forever to get here, ever since the pain of losing to the Heat in last year's playoffs.

But now, the Nets have retooled, with rookies Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, Hassan Adams and Mile Ilic, found a confident second year pro in Antoine Wright, unearthed a potential gem in Bostjan Nachbar, and signed Eddie House to go along with Cliff Robinson on the bench.

The Big Three are primed to be the Big Four.

And Kidd may yet see his minutes reduced, like should have happened about four years ago.

Everything is shiny new, from the large roster turnover and players we'll need to get used to seeing, to the fact that Lawrence Frank swears he's going to play his bench.

Can't wait to see how it plays out.

Short leash for a title, when your captain is going to be 34...

Ills And Chills

As I sit here and try and recover from god knows what devil bug has befallen me, I can't help but ponder if the luck of the Nets is running out.

Injuries, anyway...

First, it was Josh Boone, the rook being counted on to add some inside presence, rebound, block a shot or two.

Then, Eddie House took a knee, and he's out until mid-November, probably.

Don't forget Marcus Williams' left wrist, and now, his left heel. He played last night though, so it can't be too bad.

And Cliffie's back is acting up...uh oh on that one.

So, can the Nets survive a crisis with the lineup they have? We already see that PG could be an issue should Kidd ever leave the lineup for an extended period.

Up front? Nenad goes down, and you want Mikki Moore as his permanent replacement? Small ball, he we come...

So, just a short week away from opening night, so far everything's held together with some scotch tape and twine, or at least everything but the interior defense, which hasn't held up at all yet.

We're close to having that rotation down - figure Robinson (if healthy), Marcus Williams, Antoine Wright, Bostjan Nachbar, and probably some Hassan Adams (L. Frank talks about him too much for him to be sitting).

RJ appears in mid-season form. VC is freelancing at the point, Kidd still hasn't made a shot, Collins is Collins and Nenad seems to be getting his groove back.

May all of that continue, and more.

By the way, who's gonna rebound? Just curious.

Jay Will

He came, he made news, he tried, he's gone.

So ends the story of Jay Williams, the #2 pick in the NBA draft by Chicago in 2004 who was nearly killed in a motorcycle crash but was determined to come back from horrible injuries.

When no one would sign him to a guaranteed deal, he took a non-guaranteed deal with the hometown Nets and set on making a story of success by hard work. Though he was smarter for the ordeal, and probably a better shooter, it was a lack of lateral movement and footspeed that did him in.

Not sure what to make of this latest turn of events, as Marcus Williams is still sidelined and there is no other pure PG on the roster. I guess we'll see more of Vince Carter manning the point in the interim if not the longer term future, which isn't exactly the way it should be.

IF Marcus stays healthy, he should be good for 10 - 15 minutes per game. Jason Kidd needs to be held to 35 or fewer, so it may just work out. IF everyone stays healthy.

With Kidd heading towards 34, and rookies known to hit a wall or two in their first seasons, this isn't the best situation the Nets could find themselves in. And with Jacque Vaughn unwanted and skipping town for the Spurs, and no real roster space anyway thanks to another PG who is persona non-grata, well, it is what it is.

Let's hope the PG's stay relatively healthy.

As for Jay Will, well, obviously everyone wishes him luck. But we're moving on.

Shaken Faith

Those of you who wanted Jay Williams to be the backup point guard, well, here's the chance to see it.

The Blogmaster General tells us faithful not to worry, the Nets will perseverse without their rookie backup point guard Marcus Williams, who hurt himself exactly one day after Dave D. published a scout's opinion that Williams would never play under L. Frank this year because of his defensive lapses.

This Karma thing is crazy.

Blogmaster G says that VC volunteered for backup PG duty. I don't know about you, but that says a lot about Jay Williams' comeback right there.

So, it'll be tough to nail down a rotation off the bench, get a key rookie ready for the mental and physical aspects of NBA play, and well, Kidd may wind up playing too many minutes too early in the season. That was my worst case scenario right there...

Josh Boone goes down over the summer. Eddie House goes down last week (surgery was successful, let's hope HE'S a fast healer), and now Marcus.

Heal up Marcus. The Nets are looking like they need all the help they can get.

Strong Wills

OK, so it's only one game, and apparently, the takeaway had nothing to do with the score.

Nets lose to the Pacers, get pounded on the stat sheet, but when there was continuity, Antoine Wright acquitted himself well, RJ's already ready for the season, Kidd didn't shoot it, but he's never counted on for much, and VC didn't even play.

But the story of the night might have been the two Wills, plus Hassan.

Not that I saw the game, but from all reports, it was nothing short of a miracle for Jay Williams to play as well as he did. Oh, the stat sheet doesn't show it, but it sounds like he wasn't embarassing himself, even though he's a totally different player than the one that was drafted by Chicago.

And Marcus Williams, although he didn't shoot well, made some good passes, picked up 7 assists, and showed that he'll contribute this year for sure.

Those two Wills, back up point guards both, could be one of the keys to the Nets season.

Along with that wild card, Hassan Adams. He's got the energy of the Energizer Bunny on crack, he's disruptive to other teams, and he's good in transition. Sounds like RJ JR...Looking forward to seeing him.

It's one game in a long, long, long season, but there's some hope to be found for sure.

Now, the Knicks tomorrow night. They're trying to right the ship, have some good young talent, and well, two former All Star point guards who ironically don't like sharing the rock. THIS should be interesting...

Preheated

It's only a preseason game, but already the excitement is here.

Who's going to impress? Depress?

Big hopes for Marcus Williams, the team defense, the running game and even Jay Williams.

Not sure what to make of the McInnis situation, Boki Nachbar, or the likes of Darvin Ham, Awvee Storey or Brandon something or other. Not to mention Matt Walsh.

Another season, even in preseason, means new expectations, hopes, and even some preconceived notions of what the team is or isn't.

I've been trying to sum up this team all week in one word, and I haven't come close.

For now, though, here's to Wednesday in Indianapolis.

Game on!