Joe Netsfan.com - Archive - 2003/2004 Season



2003 - 2004 The Start Of The Breakdown Broken down and broken up. That's how the Nets ended the 2003 - 2004 season. From the re-signing of Jason Kidd and the addition of Alonzo Mourning, it all went downhill as Kidd gets injured, the team gets put on the block and is sold to a Brooklyn developer, Byron Scott is fired and so much more...Read on... Joe's Final Grades Jason Kidd: B Breaking down from Game 1 of the regular season, Kidd still managed to string together some impressive performances. When healthy, that is. We'll always remember that Game 7 performance when the wheels came off, unfortunately. Kenyon Martin: A- Just missed averaging a double-double, but he still couldn't will his team to victory often enough. Jason Collins: C Took a step back in Joe's eyes, and he still can't finish around the basket. Richard Jefferson: A The new future of the Nets organization made giant strides forward. Aaron Williams: C- Injuries hampered him far more than he let on - couldn't find any consistency and didn't bring the lift of the bench necessary. Lucious Harris: C- Seemed to play with the tank near empty on most nights. Kerry Kittles: B What can you say except, "Kittles was Kittles" again this year? Zoran Planinic: D Overhyped, under-delivered as Kidd's backup. Brian Scalabrine: B Binky's boy found himself movin' on up in the rotation and making some important contributions, especially in the playoffs. Tamar Slay: Inc Tamar, we hardly knew ye...good luck in Charlotte. Alonzo Mourning: Inc Excitement quickly gave way to dred, as 'Zo went from Insurance policy to insurance liability. Rodney Rogers: D+ The Fat Man was in the Eye of the Needle all season long - too bad he never could squeeze through it. Robert Pack: F Wasn't Anthony Johnson, that's for sure. Brandon Armstrong: C- Got some time, made a few shots, but showed that he's not worthy of that first round status.	2003 - 2004 Game x Game From the lowest of lows (the stinkeroo in Memphis) to the highest of highs (how 'bout that 14 game winning streak?), relive every '03-'04 game right here, right now... 2004 NBA Playoffs After two straight NBA Finals appearances, it was not to be again in the year 2004. Take in the Nets' sweep of the Knicks and seven game battle against the Pistons, plus the annual playoff picking contest, right here. 2003 - 2004 Diatribe Sixteen of Joe's best harrangues, from the news of the team being up for sale, the release of Dikembe Mutombo, Joe's request to show some Jersey pride and his glee over facing the Knicks in the playoffs, all the way to that critical Game 7 against the Pistons and Joe's wrath at the ownership group led by Bruce Ratner. They're all here... 2003 - 2004 Out Of Bounds Where have you gone, Mad Mike? Our pal McGann found himself intrenched in politics and managed to only spew off four Out of Bounds columns. But they were right on target, as usual. Check them out right here... 2003 - 2004 Specials We started asking you for your views, and we got them. Fourteen of them, to be exact, from the Byron Scott conundrum to the loss of Alonzo Mourning and the sale of the team. Plus, we were blessed with the NBA stylings of SwampDragon2 and his Enter The Dragon commentaries. All that, plus our Suggestion Box entries for a slogan change, buying the team, and the Name Game, our annual pre-season previews, our expert panel and their predictions of glory, Dragon's NBA preview, and our Net report cards. Come on in and check it out... 2003 - 2004 Media Continuing to be an underdeveloped backwater, Joe's media section contained three parts: your guide to all NBA teams' local media and website; Joe and Champy's ever-burgeoning quote list; and a special section for post game comments from that amazing triple overtime playoff win against Detroit. 2003 - 2004 Backlash Ah yes, the Backlash. A place where you get to scream your head off about anything related to the Nets or the NBA. The quantity may have decreased in '03 - '04, but the venom certainly did not as you vented over Byron Scott, the sale of the team, Bruce Ratner and so much more. All your faves, from Binky to Leslie Montiero to NJAmericans67 to the King of All Backlash, NetsNut...It's all right here... 2003 - 2004 Opponents Eighty-two regular season games means eighty-two opponents. Join Joe, Champy and Dragon as they preview the teams' matchup before each and every contest... 2003 - 2004 Heckle Always funny, those Heckles.... New Jersey Nets 2003 - 2004 Season Nets Record: 47 - 35 Home Record: 28 - 13 Away Record: 19 - 22 Division Record: 18 - 7 Conference Record: 34 - 20 2003 - 2004 Playoffs: First Round New Jersey Nets (2) vs. New York Knicks (7). Nets win series 4 - 0. 2003 - 2004 Playoffs: Conference Semifinals New Jersey Nets (2) vs. Detroit Pistons (3). Nets lose series 3 - 4. Individual Accolades • Jason Kidd named to the 2003-04 All-NBA Defensive second team. • Jason Kidd named to the 2003-04 All-NBA first team. • Kerry Kittles, Atlantic Division winner of the 2003-04 NBA Sportsmanship Award. The NBA winner of the award will be announced after the regular season. • Richard Jefferson, Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Mar. 29, 2004 – Apr. 4, 2004. • Interim Coach Lawrence Frank, Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for Feb. 2004. • Kenyon Martin, Eastern Conference Player of the Month for Feb. 2004. • Interim Coach Lawrence Frank, major sports professional record 13 straight wins to start a coaching career, Jan. 27, 2004 – Feb. 24, 2004. • Kenyon Martin, Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Feb. 2, 2004 – Feb. 8, 2004. • Jason Kidd, 2004 All-Star reserve. • Kenyon Martin, 2004 All-Star reserve. • Jason Kidd, Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Jan. 26, 2004 – Feb. 1, 2004. • Jason Kidd, Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Dec. 22, 2003 – Dec. 29, 2003. • Byron Scott, Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for December. Archive \| Backlash \| Bio \| Calendar \| Champagne's Blog \| Diatribe \| Game x Game \| History \| Home \| Joe Netsfan's Blog \| Media \| Opponents \| Players \| Playoffs \| Search \| Specials © 2004 Shawn Belschwender and Michael Kozlowski	'03 - '04 Roster Together again was the theme, but we all know how that turned out. Here's the final '03-'04 roster, which of course looked a lot like the roster from the year before. Check out what we said about each player in the pre-season by clicking on their name (and hey, we're not always right...) 1 Brandon Armstrong, G 35 Jason Collins, C 44 Hubert Davis, G* 12 Lucious Harris, G 24 Richard Jefferson, F 5 Jason Kidd, G 30 Kerry Kittles, G 6 Kenyon Martin, F 33 Alonzo Mourning, C 9 Robert Pack, G** 10 Zoran Planinic, G 54 Rodney Rogers, F 21 Brian Scalabrine, F 8 Tamar Slay, G-F 34 Aaron Williams, C-F * signed January 26, 2004 ** signed November 13, 2003; waived January 8, 2004 Head Coach: Byron Scott * Interim Head Coach: Lawrence Frank** Assistant Coaches: Don Newman Larry Drew Tom Barrise Brian Hill Strength-and-Conditioning Coach: Rich Dalatri Trainer: Tim Walsh * Fired January 26, 2004 ** Named interim head coach