Home Wreckers

Not good. Not good at all.

Are the Nets affected by the lack of home support, and THAT'S why they're 3 - 6, with 5 straight losses, at home? That's what Dave D. seems to be implying (or more than implying, really) in the aftermath of the bad loss to the Grizzlies.

We've said it a million times, especially over the last two years - the Nets simply have to beat the teams that they're better than to have any chance of putting something together in the playoffs. That they can't beat the Grizz, even though they were back home after winning 3 straight, got big performances from the Big Three, and they knew this was something of a trap game, speaks volumes about where this team is at.

Just like last year.

Sleeping through whole quarters, lacking energy or fire or dare I say any sense of urgency until they get down by double digits is not something that Netsfans want to sit through for another season. This team, even with the absense of Vince Carter (and Marcus Williams and Darrell Armstrong), should be at least 10 - 5 right now, except they have the nasty habit of not showing up on time at home and digging themselves a deep one.

I know it's early, but if they wind up overplaying the Big Three again this year and burning them out, leading to a horrible showing come playoff time because they have to scramble just to make the playoffs, then maybe it's time to start looking into doing something now. Play the subs more minutes and take your lumps until you figure out who can play and who can't/shouldn't.

If they had Nenad Krstic at full health and back to form, perhaps this wouldn't be the case. But it is, and he's not available to help, so no excuses there.

Time to figure out how to win at home, in a damned hurry. The calendar next week (which I'm about to update, wish I had time for half of what needs to be done on this site) gets ugly, with Philly, Detroit, Cleveland, the Knicks and Houston on tap, with 3 of those games at home.

It starts with the leaders, Kidd/Carter/Jefferson. Preach defense, and play it. Find ways to win even when the shots aren't falling. How about playing more of Sean Williams, regardless of team or matchup, since he's the only one who can do the things he does. Use the bench, get Kidd 12 - 15 minutes of rest when you can. And for crying out loud, have energy for all 48 minutes.

Miscellaneous NBA Chatter:

So let me get this straight - Gilbert Arenas injures his knee, and the Wizards start winning? Bizarre.

The Celtics finally dropped a game, to the LeBron Triple Doubles. So at 11 - 2, they're still catchable (if only the Nets would wake up before the Raptors do).

What exactly is wrong with the Bulls? How could so right last year turn so far wrong? Is it the ghost of Kobe?

And speaking of Kobe, does it appear to you like it's time to pass the torch to LeBron James as the best all around player in the NBA?

Joe Johnson of Atlanta leads the NBA in minutes played per game at 41.1 . RJ is 11th at 39.1. Jason Kidd is 30th at 36.8, which is probably still too many this early in the year, after the long summer, and at 34. That's a troubling sign, even with his two backup point guards out of commission.

And it looks like Marcus Williams won't be back and contributing for at least 2 more weeks, and potentially in January. He could have been something of a difference maker, now the Nets must be hoping it's not a lost season entirely.

Joe

That's Show Biz

A wild finish in LA, but the Nets survive a great ending by Kobe Bryant and even their record at 7 - 7. Didn't see a lot of this one (had to tape it while I worked on the Portland and Seattle game reviews), but I did catch the last eight minutes and the furious finish.

That damned Kobe Bryant almost pulled it off, bringing the Lakers on a 17 - 3 run after the Nets seemingly had things in control with less than six to play. With the Nets missing free throws and suddenly forgetting how to close out on shooters after playing strong defense for most of the second half, it seemed to be slipping away. But the Nets steadied the ship, made their free throws, and survived.

Amazingly, the Nets tried to foul Kobe before he could shoot off an inbounds and up 3, but that damned Kobe got the refs to believe he was going to shoot and got 3 fouls shots. Luckily, after making 15 straight in the game, Mr Show Biz failed.

And that friends, makes it one sweet victory. Lots of heavy lifting by Kidd (15 points, 14 assists, 7 boards), 27 from RJ, 19 from VC, and stellar defense from Antoine Wright.

Of course, if they'd made some damned foul shots...

Look for the game review tomorrow night.

Joe

Thoughts On Seattle

Worth staying up until after 1AM last night (this morning) to watch the ending of the Nets Sonics game.

Good win, not great, since the Nets had things under control (again) with 6 minutes remaining and yet it (almost) came down to the last shot. Once things started slipping away (and kudos to the Sonics backups, the vets who know how to get things done like Delonte West and Kurt Thomas), the Nets were able to attack the weakness of Seattle, the inside. It was all RJ, all the time, and Antoine Wright made the bucket the Nets absolutely needed to have.

And the defense was good, especially on Kevin Durant, at least until late, thanks to Wright (who had some early problems and was gone within 4 minutes of the first quarter) and Jason Kidd. With the lead down to one and less than a minute to play, RJ attacked the rim on an iso and was able to score, and then Kidd forced West into a turnover and hit the free throws. That was big.

With the Sonics still down by 3, Lawrence Frank chose to foul West before he could launch a game-tying three. West blew the first free throw, then purposefully missed the second, with was grabbed by RJ and led to the game ending free throws.

So it was Kidd, Carter and Jefferson that played better than the rest in the end game. That's what the Nets need against the teams they should beat - and make no mistake, this was one of them.

Richard Jefferson was the man again, with 30 points, 4 boards and 5 assists, and he was observant enough to see that the Sonics couldn't stop him inside. He carried the Nets in the fourth quarter

Vince Carter had another good game, at least in the first half with 15 points, but he seemed to hurt his other thumb and apparently rolled his other ankle, so that makes 2 thumbs and 2 ankles hurt in the first twelve games. But again, it helps to have him on the court.

Malik Allen was big early, as the Sonics left him open and he delivered his best game as a Net thus far, with 12 points and 6 boards. Josh Boone was again a contributor, too, and that's good to see.

Boki hit some big threes, but defensively he was a mess.

No Jamaal Magloire, though. That can't be good for his long term impact with these Nets.

Durant was definitely welcomed to the NBA by a tough Net defense. He did nothing until the last 5 minutes, and was schooled repeatedly by the Nets on both sides of the ball.

His rookie running mate, Jeff Green, however, was pretty great. He double doubled (14 points, 14 boards) and had a monster jam late, one of the few blown rotations the Nets had all night. Green was always around the ball, was the most active player on the boards, and seems to have a bright future ahead of him.

But back to the Nets - that makes 2 straight and now they're 6 - 7, which looks a helluva lot better than 4 - 7. They've at least clinched a 2 - 2 road trip, which is much more positive than the way it started on the Utah trip. Now, they need to make a statement and beat the Lakers tomorrow night. It's a winnable game (the Lakers lost to the Celts last night, and played 3 games in 4 nights).

The defense was good, the offense was consistent if not perfect (no long droughts against the Sonics, even after they fell behind 5 - 0), and the Nets got good performances from the starters and the bench.

We'll get a game review up tomorrow night, along with a review of the Portland game.

Joe

Seattle's Best

Which Nets team will show up tonight on the ESPN late game?

Will it be the Nets that lost 6 straight, missing any spark on offense, showing no clue on defense, and not doing anything well?

Or will it be the post-losing streak Nets, the team that put on a late rally to overcome the young Blazers?

If there's any justice in the world, the Nets will get a big game from Carter and cruise to a victory.

A few things to note:

The Sonics play (and start) the rookie Kevin Durant, perhaps the best looking offensive rookie since MJ. Looking forward to seeing him perform, especially since the Sonics don't have any other big names on the roster. RJ vs. Durant should be interesting - it would not surprise anyone if RJ goes right at him from the opening tip.

Which of the big men are going to get minutes for the Nets? In the last 3 games, we've seen the gamut, from Malik Allen and Jason Collins to Jamaal Magloire and Sean Williams. Against a young team like the Sonics, with a load like Chris Wilcox up front, they'll need to get Williams some playing time. Don't expect to see much of Nenad Krstic, though, until he works himself back into game shape.

The Nets were much better with the basketball Wednesday night. That needs to continue, or else this will wind up something of a lost trip. A winnable game tonight, but the Nets have to play all 48 minutes.

How are we feeling about L. Frank, Netsfans? Has he done his part with strategy and rotations? It appears he's not settled on any of his big men, he seems to have a hard time finding good spots for Magloire to get involved, and he's been hard-pressed to skinny down his rotation thus far.

Let's see if the Nets can get themselves closer to .500 tonight.

Joe

Whew!

A much-happier Thanksgiving for Netsfans, with the big win last night.

Didn't see it (it's on tape, will review on Sunday), but it appears as if just having Carter back on the court was enough to open up the offense. Jason Kidd was again Mr Triple Double, and had several big plays at the end to get the win. Let his play do the talking, so to speak, but everyone else went along with him tonight. He was big in the second half defending Brandon Roy, who had 25 points but only 4 in the second half.

That's 90 career triple doubles, and his 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists were a big part of this one. He did most of his damage in the second half.

The Nets fell down by as many as 11 points in the first half and it started looking like it would get ugly all over again. But some Boki 3's and good play cut the lead to 3 at the half. In the second half they fell down by 11 again, but this time it was a full team effort to get the win.

Impressive things just by box score gazing and reading the game summaries:

The Nets came back from being down late to get the win. Kidd had the old fake timeout 3 point play, made a big defend on Brandon Roy, and grabbed a huge offensive rebound in the last minute.

Boki was back to being Boki, and had 23 points. That's huge in and of itself.

Antoine Wright was big defensively, and added 11 points. He's much better with Carter on the floor, just like almost every other Net.

Another new starting combo, this time Collins and Allen I think, at the front line. Collins m
ade a huge play, getting an offensive foul out of a driving Roy. That's where his value comes in.

Not too much play for Sean Williams. Not sure why, exactly.

Carter had a big second half after a quiet first half. He didn't start, was -11 in the first half, but he came back with some good effort in the second half. It also seems like his ability opened up the floor for others, especially Richard Jefferson. He finished with 13 points.

RJ was back, too - getting 30 points.

And Josh Boone had a nice game on his birthday, with 8 points in 13 minutes.

Big story of the night - the Nets actually shot it well, better than 50% for the game. And they defended when they had to, so we're encouraged that they had had enough of getting their butts kicked.

So now, off to Seattle, another young team that can be beat. Surely, 6 - 7 heading into LA would be a much better option than 5 - 8.

Let's hope we've seen the worst of it.

Joe

Thanks For The Holiday, and Carter

Game 12 from Portland, Carter is rumored to be returning to the lineup tonight, and could there be a bigger game 12 in any Nets season than this one?

The Nets need to stop the bleeding, establish some sort of normalcy with Kidd, Carter and Jefferson, and get someone besides Sean Williams to make a play or two.

It won't be easy, because the Blazers are young and talented, are unbeaten at home, and generally make a pain of themselves whenever the Nets are out there.

Vince Carter needs to be effective enough to force someone to guard him. Maybe no helicopter-360 moves to the hoop, but at least make some jumpers. Let's hope he can guard someone, too. If Carter can be efficient with his offense, so much the better.

Someone else to watch tonight: Boki Nachbar. He seems like he's on the verge of finding his stroke, but is he going to play out of position at the power forward in the small lineup? If so, expect the middling results to continue.

Of course, no one is under a bigger microscope than Jason Kidd. Does he really feel like all hope is lost, and did he ask out? So far the denials are in and are universally no, but the Nets desperately need to keep his value as high as they can if they truly want to move him come February. If this continues, that won't be the only move you'll see Rod Thorn make.

I'm off for some vacation - so check the blog daily, I will update with the latest thoughts. We'll get the web site and game reviews caught up on Sunday, most likely.

Enjoy your holiday - I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say if the Nets get blown out again with Carter in the lineup.

Joe

The Utah Game

The Nets are easy pickings right now - teams are just buzzing around them, able to rattle them and create turnovers, and the Nets help them by making stupid mistakes like not guarding the ball on a rebound. Missing free throws, missing shots, missing all semblance of a team, and now it's 30 - 17 after a quarter.

What the heck is going to make a difference for the Nets - L. Frank's not getting any help from his bench (and there goes Eddie Gill fumbling away any chance at a last shot for the first quarter, it's like the same replay over and over), no one is shooting well, and everyone seems to be making mistakes that we didn't used to see on a Kidd-led team, including Kidd.

Let's see what quarter number two holds for us...

Boki's (finally) at the 3 tonight, with RJ at the 2 as we start the second. The battle of the Collins' is on. 2Q brings Gill, Boki, RJ, Boone, and Krstic - this should be interesting...

Nets now have 6 turnovers....early 2Q.

OK, halftime - Nets down 10 - they had chances to nip the lead further, but...just can't get it going. A few threes from Boki and RJ certainly helped them hang around. They need a whole lot more in this second half (start with playing with some passion, maybe) or they're looking at 6 straight losses.

Back in a bit with the second half, and the wrapup.

OK, 3Q, Nets already unable to handle the Jazz pressure, nice runout, and we're back to 14 less than 2 minutes in. Open looks aren't going down again.

Here it comes - Now down 18. Easy for the Jazz now, just wait for the Nets to take an outside shot, miss, and go downcourt and score. The Nets are looking helpless, and 11 games in, that's not good.

Here's a suggestion - try to run something to get yourself an easy shot. I would hate to look at the boxscore right now, but I'll do it anyway during commercial.

Looks like it's 20 with almost 9 minutes remaining in the third. The Nets are cooked. Nope, only 19, as AK 47 missed a free throw. Nets are 1 - 10 from the field, make it 2 - 11 as RJ hits a 3.

But another Net foul inside, this one on Collins. Lord help them.

Why is Kidd trying to feed Collins? Although, Kidd is 1 - 9 from the floor, so he can't do it either.

Now, the Jazz are piling it on - it's a 23 point lead, Kidd just fumbled, RJ fumbled trying to get Kidd's fumble, and now, it's a rout. Oh, this is gonna be ugly.

Back off timeout, the Nets fumble another one away. Lawrence Frank looks like he's gonna stroke out.

Another strip of Jefferson, why would you guard anyone else?

Someone asked the other day - do the Nets like to find guys who can't shoot? Who decided that Jamaal Magloire would help this team?

Why is there no Net under the basket to rebound when they are on offense?

Now it's 25 and counting...make it 26. The Jazz are still shooting 62%.

Nenad's back in the game - his first move - holding Jarron Collins. Beautiful. Hold the one guy you know won't score. Krstic on offense - awkward hook shot, then a foul on him when it misses. The score is now 83 - 58 after 3.

I expect most of you have tuned out at this point.

Milsap beats the Nets to an offensive rebound, and a nice stickback. The Nets look helpless. Pack it in and make the Nets shoot from outside. Beat 'em every time.

Eddie Gill is carrying the Nets right now. He's single-handedly bringing the Nets back from 27 (Ok, not exactly back).

Krstic just missed another long jumper. He's been next to worthless the last 5 games or so.

The Jazz are everywhere. The Nets really can't do anything, and as of 7:30 left in the game, they're still outworking the Nets.

Another brilliant block from Sean Williams to run down Harpring and reject his shot on a breakaway layup attempt off a Net turnover. But it's back to 25 again after falling to 19.

Garbage time is starting to be every fourth quarter.

I think the title of this one should be "Sand In The Vaseline". It's irritating, to say the least. (That's a Talking Heads best of CD name, by the way) Or maybe not.

With 4:24 and the Jazz unrelenting, time to wrap this one up. If Kidd was frustrated, this game won't help, since the Nets are finally close to breaking 70 points again.

The Nets have a ton of challenges right now, the worst of which is the lack of offense. They can't make shots, they're almost never easy shots that they attempt, and perhaps worst of all, they look like they haven't a clue out there. How this changes quickly, in the midst of the roadtrip, is beyond me. Spanarkel is talking about the Nets being prepared now, and really it doesn't look like they're prepared for something as relentless as the Jazz defense.

Closing in on being down 30 with the Jazz scrubs in the game. And they're taking it to the Nets scrubs right now - Williams is out there to get experience and playing time, but that's about it.

Not many bright spots tonight - the high scorer, RJ, didn't have a stellar game. Too many missed free throws. Some bright individual plays, but really nothing that says this team is ready to snap out of it.

And with that, I'll sign off, with the game review to come later tomorrow most likely.


Joe

The Angry Point Guard

Oh no, not good to read this afternoon that Kidd is ticked, at basically everyone, for not pulling their weight. "We're so quick to bail" ain't exactly a ringing endorsement.

I'm in front of the Utah game with the laptop, Kidd just made yet another silly mistake, saving a ball almost out of bounds but trying to airmail it across court, where it was easily picked off for a dunk. The Nets are already down 7 with 4:25 to go in the quarter. RJ's been quiet. Magloire continues to irritate when he's down low on offense. When Antoine Wright is your best offensive player at the moment, well, you've got issues.

But back to Kidd. Expect that Kidd is tired of the same old, same old - poor start out of the gate, hustle like hell to get back into the playoff race, tire out and die in the playoffs. He's tired of no one stepping up their games, wilting with the game on the line, and who can blame him? Maybe this is the year we reset the roster, trade Kidd and others, and rebuild with younger or draft picks. Too early to say that, but after another tepid start, you can't help but think that Thornski is thinking it over.

More to come shortly, I'll watch some more of this game (rotations should be interesting, the same starting five are on the court with 3:35 left in the first) and try to figure out how this road trip is going to go, without Carter.

Joe

No Offense, But That Offense...

Stop the season, the Nets offense needs to get off...

If only that meant in a good way. Yes, kids, the Nets are struggling, no make that s-t-r-u-g-g-l-i-n-g, and put a capital S on it.

With Vince Carter out, it's gotten worse. The struggles are magnified, since Richard Jefferson is easy to defend, and Jason Kidd should be dishing and not scoring anyway. Everyone else seems not to have gotten the memo that these Nets were stronger because they were deeper. Seems like everyone collectively is in a shooting slump.

And of course we expected more from Nenad Krstic than we had a right to. He'll a half season or more before he's right again, or at least able to catch up to the flow of the game.

Losing Marcus Williams doesn't help, he's the best free lancer on the team besides Carter.

But none of this explains how the Nets haven't actually been able to run this "new" offense that L. Frank put in specifically to guard against the ball being in Carter's hands too often, and for others to get points within the flow of the offense. Hasn't worked out that way, has it?

Why hasn't it worked out? Well, for starters, having Jefferson freed up to score, and Kidd freed up to keep the ball moving and fast break wherever and whenever, only works if someone else besides RJ and Kidd can play that way. We've seen Carter's reluctance to play that way (although, to his credit, he's done more of it this year in the first few games than he did last year), and we can clearly see that no one else except for Sean Williams can play that way.

Boki Nachbar did last year - he was great with that foreign facial jam on the break. This year, he's a mess. Maybe Hollinger was right about him (and trust me, it pains me to write that). He's playing out of position, which is most of his trouble, but the Nets need more from him regardless. The assumption is he'll figure it out. But when, exactly? When it's too late?

And the frontline has been terrible - Krstic, Jamaal Magloire, Jason Collins and Josh Boone - there have been no exceptions except for Williams and what was perceived to be a strength (or at least less of a weakness) has turned out anything but.

I could go on and on about the offense - too often it resembles every other year where they seem to be too easy to guard - but it's early and we'll try not to preach doomsday a la Hollinger just yet.

We can also say that looking amateurish against the Celtics on a night in which they were beatable is just not the way we want to see the season go.

There are no excuses at the end of the day - the Nets need to find a way to get it done, even if it means ferocious defense and wins in the 70's. At least until Carter returns. Failure to do so will cause the Nets to fall into an early hole they won't likely climb out of.

And that, Netsfans, will probably lead to the breaking up of the team.

Let's see how they play this, starting tomorrow night against the Magic.

Oh, and before I forget, Al I. has Darrell Armstrong out 2 - 4 weeks with a thigh injury (suffered in his horrific collision with James Posey's shoulder, which I forget to mention in the game review), and he reports that Eddie Gill is on his way back into town. Good for Eddie. There was no other backup on the team with Carter and Marcus Williams out (and please, Antoine Wright should never be confused with a ball handler), and so our friend Eddie returns.

Joe

Two Points Makes All The Difference

The wonders of a Blackberry...I'm in my hotel room in Cleveland, Oh, and I'm getting a final score of Nets Hornets - 84 - 82 loss. Won't watch it until late tomorrow, but I would guess they played better in the second half.

And missed Vince Carter, who certainly could have made up the difference and more.

Carter has been ruled out of Wednesday night's rematch against the Celtics, so NJ could be looking at a 4 - 4 start and a 3 game losing streak. Not good, on the eve of heading to the West Coast next week.

So much for the fast start. Heel up VC, and help me get my optimism for this team back.

I'll post more if I have any brilliant thought after reviewing the box score.

Joe

Off To The Races

Big game looming tomorrow night at the Izod (still having issues typing that). With Vince Carter doubtful against the Hornets, a young and athletic team that could give the Nets fits, it turns to RJ and whomever can step it up to carry the Nets through this one.

Who will be the one to do so? Who are the candidates?

Well, for starters, Jason Kidd needs to shoot more often. With a sizable advantage on the Hornets guards, he should look for his shot.

But who else? Antoine Wright will likely start in VC's place. We know he's got some game now, time to use it.

Jamaal Magloire could show us something, at least more than the 2 points per game he's averaging.

Oh, and what about Boki? Boki Nachbar has been struggling, perhaps this could be the game where he gets untracked.

This is where the depth should come in. Role players doing their part, getting enough scoring from others, and always playing defense.

In any case, it bears watching how the Nets deal with adversity this early. Especially with all these home games before the first west coast swing of death. If Carter's out longer than a week, then this team needs to do it with defense and hustle. Can they?

We'll see starting tomorrow night.

Another quick mention - I'll be in Cleveland tomorrow night, so the game review will not likely come until late Tuesday or Wednesday night. We'll roll with it, though, and try to get some blogging done Monday night, even if I can't update the site.

Big Cat Strut

Looking back at the Nets/Wizards game, I realize I didn't give nearly enough credit to the defense. And the role that Jamaal Magloire played in it.

Magloire was +28 while on the floor, which is huge. He was the game changer inside while RJ and VC were doing the heavy lifting on offense. Once he entered the game, the Wiz went cold, didn't find nearly as many easy looks (the perimeter was still wide open, for the most part) and couldn't get themselves oriented down low. Nice work on the boards, too.

So we look forward to more minutes in games for Magloire (we read with great interest how he was grumbling about PT already), especially when Nenad Krstic can't yet bring it all to the table.

Been watching a lot of NBA League Pass this week (a junkie is a junkie is a junkie), and let me tell you that the most impressive team by far is tomorrow night's opponent. The Celtics Big Three were really laser sharp all night against the Hawks tonight (they only won by 23). Check out these numbers - 27 points, 19 rebounds, 6 assists. That's KG in Green, folks. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen aren't doing too shabby either, and Eddie House appears to be much more than what he was in NJ. They systematically took apart the Hawks, like they've taken apart everyone else, and even with James Posey out, the Nets better bring the A+ game or else. The Celtics are the last undefeated team in the NBA, and they look like they could continue it for awhile.

Other NBA observations - Deron Williams in Utah is pretty damned good. No one gets to see him because he's in Utah, but he's been nothing short of sensational early on. He'll be the next great PG for years to come. Chris Paul in New Orleans has been great as well.

Good to see Kenyon Martin back on the court in Denver. Though he'll need some time to recover, he looks as athletic as ever.

Let me get this straight - the Knicks start 2 - 2, and already we're talking playoffs? With Marbury at the helm, well, Knickfans better take it one game at a time.

Maybe Jeff Van Gundy was the problem in Houston. That team looks almost as scary at the Celtics do so far. T-Mac, if he stays healthy, will be All NBA this season. You can quote me on that. IF he stays healthy.

No surprise the Heat are now 0 - 5 - Shaq's too old to do it by himself. Hurry back Dwyane Wade. The Wiz are now 0 - 5 too, and looks like Eddie Jordan won't last the year. Too bad, he's a good coach.

I am surprised that Golden State is 0 - 5. I can't imagine that the genius Don Nelson planned it out this way. Maybe all offense, all the time ain't the way to go. Can losing Adonal Foyle really be that big of a deal?

How the hell did Cleveland get to the Finals last year? Bizarre team they've constructed there, and yet if you have LeBron...

Nets/Celtics tomorrow night - the first "must see" game of the season.

Already know I'll miss the game against New Orleans on Monday night (I'll be in Cleveland - insert joke here). So look for some thoughts late Monday night on the Blog, and the game review late Tuesday night or Wednesday to post.

Joe

Beware The Bite

News of the day (and of the weird, frankly):

Jason Kidd has not one but two bruised thighs. He got nailed by Luol Deng in the opener when they collided (could that explain the horrific performance agains the Raptors?) and then got nailed by Sam Dalembert against the Sixers.

What the Nets don't need is a banged up captain.

Also, we found out that Vince Carter's thumb has been bothering him since it was hit on opening night. That would explain the bad shooting and horrible numbers, plus the timidity. Forcing him to become a passer does wonders for the opposition.

Beware the bite of the injury bug, because even with depth, without two of the three stars, the Nets could find themselves middle of the pack at best.

Some random musings - when will Boki show the form of the preseason? If anyone needs a breakout game, it's Boki.

Is Antoine Wright for real? He's been out there at the end of games, which has been working out thus far. Can he continue the roll, and play over his head in the quest for a new contract?

Why has Josh Boone been the one (mostly) on the end of the forward rotation? Seems like Lawrence Frank is determined to make the Jamaal Magloire thing work, at almost any cost.

Can the rotation possibly stay at 10 or 11? That seems alien to L. Frank's thinking.

Will Jason Collins score a point this season? He's now 0 for his last 10 - games, that is, including last season.

See you all tomorrow night at the Izod Center.

Joe

Hollinger Would Be Proud

Well, it's not exactly the sky is falling, but things haven't quite been what we'd thought despite the Nets 2 - 1 start.

Nets Mensch John Hollinger would be proud.

Despite the crowing about depth, the Nets haven't shown all that much beyond the starting five. Antoine Wright has been a good sixth man, but Boki Nachbar's been cold, Jamaal Magloire's been non-existent, Darrell Armstrong hasn't provided much to be excited about, and Malik Allen has been up and down. Josh Boone's barely getting PT, Marcus Williams is still hurt, the rook Sean Williams will be lucky to get into half the games and what else can you say?

It's not like Vince Carter's been lighting the world on fire.

In fact, aside from Richard Jefferson, who seems bound and determined to prove his worth to the world (and the fact that he still has upside), and Jason Kidd, who could roll out of bed and get a triple double, apparently, there hasn't been much to crow about.

Nenad Krstic is looking tentative, but it's good to see him starting to do things he used to do. Jason Collins has no points in 3 games but has been the best big man (huh?). And Lawrence Frank hasn't found the right combinations, or the answers, just yet.

The good news is, they can play so much better. Tough Atlanta team coming into the Izod on Tuesday. Four straight at home. Hopefully, they can start working out some of the kinks down in East Rutherford.

Somewhere, John Hollinger is saying "I told you so". Damn we hate him and his narrow viewpoints...!!!

Joe

Raptor Embarassing

OOH, that one's gonna leave a mark.

Two games into the season of promise and hope, and the Nets were laid bare by the swarming Raptors. Give 'em credit, Toronto took a ton of outside shots they didn't miss, and they bothered the hell out of the Net offense with long arms and double teams.

The Nets were flat, flat, flat, and no one save RJ truly showed up to play. If this is what the Nets will look like (up, then down, way down), we're in for a turbulent season.

Vince Carter was again invisible, helpless against the never ending Raptor defenders.

Sean Williams got extended second half PT as the Raptors made a mockery of the Net subs on the floor at any given moment. 4 blocks, got his feet wet in the NBA, not all bad at that.

A quick chance to bounce back at Philly (the starters should be well rested).

Not much else to say about this one. PU

Joe

Game 1 Reflections

Joe was at the game last night - here are some thoughts...

The ol' CAA, I mean Izod Center, looks pretty good. The seats appear to be new, the hockey boards are gone, there are more plush seats and tables with video monitors (can you say big bucks?) and the entire place feels like a fresh coat of paint.

Oh, the parking is an even worse nightmare (wow, I think I walked halfway through Bergen County to get to the Arena from our parking spot), the food is still the same mediocre fare, and the intertainment was lacking, but it feels like Nets central now that the Devils are gone.

And who doesn't live for an appearance by Mr Big Hair himself Donny Trump, plus the Gov, Chris Rock, JayZ and your most fabulous of hosts, Brett Yormark (where was the tux, Brett?)

The game itself, was of course a study in contrasts - a blast of a first half on both sides of the ball, a 3Q nightmare, a 4Q preservation, and an OT knockout. Not only was Jefferson the man, but big time Antoine Wright showed us what we didn't know existed.

Was not happy with the 2 minute prevent offense the Nets were running in the 4Q. After moving the ball around all game, they come up lame, like they were protecting the lead, with three straight airballs. This after two straight bad turnovers earlier in the fourth (why would you ever hand the ball off the Jason Collins under pressure - as the guy next to me said, it's not like he can even put the ball on the floor...).

Fouls ruled this one too - the Nets went to the line 19 times in the first half, helping them to a 15 point lead. The shoe was on the other foot in the third, but hey, that's why they play the games.

Nenad's not quite ready to defend, and he was way tentative taking the ball to the hoop, but hopefully it's a series of small steps of improvement for him.

A good start, full of room for improvement and a win over one of the East favorites. We'll take it every day. Now to whip the Raptors tomorrow.

Who is Freddie Jackson anyway?

Joe