Nets on the Net: 10/7/09 Edition
Oct 7, 2009 Brett Yormark, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee, Devin Harris, Nets on the Net
Devin Harris was practicing today and Courtney Lee is expected back Thursday. Both suffered ankle injuries at the hands of Terrence Williams on Tuesday.
Nets CEO Brett Yormark is in London trying to secure international sponsorship, New Jersey Newsroom reports.
Chris Douglas-Roberts is confident he’ll be a factor this season, Al Iannazzone reports.
Hardwood Paroxysm on the Nets: “The Nets are not going to make it to the second round of the playoffs or anything, but I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see flirt with 40 wins.”
Yi is Staying Stateside
Oct 7, 2009 Yi
So all of the talk about Yi Jianlian missing preseason games and possibly the season opener in Minnesota so he could play in the Chinese national games has been rendered moot. The Star-Ledger’s Dave D’Alessandro is reporting that Yi will not play in the Chinese national games later this month, despite considerable pressure from China to do so.
Earlier this month, the Nets had conceded that they were going to lose Yi for at least a portion of the preseason, most probably between October 13-18. Then the dates of the Chinese games changed from October 16-28, Dave D., an apparent dealbreaker for the Nets who are breaking an agreement originally inserted into Yi’s contract by the Bucks by not allowing him to go.
D’Alessandro warns that this issue among the Nets, Yi and China, may not end with this decision:
Case closed? Maybe. Just don’t count on it. When he goes home again, Yi is probably going to hear about it. What the ramifications will be remains to be seen. But if he can say that he wasn’t the one making the decision, maybe they go easy on him. It could be a very sensitive situation.
Personally, I’m happy to hear this is the outcome. If Yi was coming off a strong, injury-free season, I might be more willing to lose him for a week or two in training camp. But the fact is, there are great expectations on Yi’s shoulder this year, despite having proven very little on the court in his first two seasons to warrant it. The Nets are a young team with potential, and the only way they’re going to reach that potential as a team and individually is if these players spend every possible minute on the court together, working in an NBA environment. I understand that it’s difficult to stand between a man and his national pride, but his growth as an NBA player is more important, especially when it’s the NBA that’s paying your bills.
Starbury Wants to be a Brooklyn Net
Oct 7, 2009 Brooklyn, Just For Fun
I was originally going to throw this up in tonight’s link dump, but I’m so amused, I thought it warranted its own mini-post.
So, apparently the currently unemployed Stephon Marbury, fresh from playing himself out of Boston last season, is using Twitter to lobby for a job with the “Brooklyn Nets” (hat tip NetsDaily for pointing out the tweet).
In a tweet from yesterday, Marbury writes, “Rod Thorn is my man. I want to play for the BROOKLYN NETS. I said it.”
For those who don’t remember their Nets history, Thorn traded Marbury before the 2001-02 season for Jason Kidd, changing the Nets from bottom-feeding laughingstocks into back-to-back Eastern Conference champions.
Marbury’s desire for Brooklyn is logical. He was born in Brooklyn and attended Abraham Lincoln High School there as well. Of course, even if the Nets break ground on the Barclays Arena by the end of the year, they are still a few years away from playing in Brooklyn either – meaning Marbury will be in his mid-30s at that point. And if his NBA employment status remains as it is now, he’ll also have been out of basketball for a few years by that point. Still, in a summer where J.R. Rider and Arvydas Sabonis have been linked to the Nets, I guess this is not the strangest piece of free agent gossip we’ve had this off-season, even if it originated from the player himself.
On the plus side, people who don’t believe the cache of Brooklyn won’t draw in NBA free agents, look no further than this tweet.
Rip Hamilton: The Best Without The Basketball
Oct 7, 2009 Detroit Pistons, Rip Hamilton, Truehoop Network, Xs and Os
Yesterday, everyone a part of the TrueHoop Network took part in a “GM Poll” asking a large number of NBA-related questions (I couldn’t vote for any Nets’ related players so if Terrence Williams doesn’t get a ROY vote, that’s why). It basically is the same thing as the actual GM polls except that us bloggers were answering the questions. There was one question that really caught my eye, and it went something along the lines of “Who moves the best without the basketball?” My answer. Rip Hamilton.
As I have said many times on this blog (probably to the point where you are tired of hearing it), I am a big Xs and Os guy. My dad was a coach, and I guess that is something he instilled in me. Sure I enjoy talking stats (probably not as well as some people in the network), but deep down, I love the Xs and Os part of the game.
So it shouldn’t surprise you that when I was younger, I used to love watching Reggie Miller play. I can remember sitting down on the couch every time the Pacers were on TV on many occasions. He was the best without the basketball, and when he retired I was wondering who I could watch next. Enter Rip Hamilton. Watching Rip play is just a joy really. The way that he uses his hands, his body to get defenders off-balanced and set them up for screens was amazing. I don’t think I have seen such a good shooter get so many wide open looks just because he knew how to set up screens.
That was the thing that always got me, in the NBA you basically know everybody’s sets. All the games are on TV, and you got coaches who’s job it is to figure out what sets are run when. With that being said, defenders knew that screens were coming, but Rip always found a way to wiggle open. My favorite was watching him run off double screens. If the defender somehow managed to stick with Rip after the first screen, Rip would find a way to make sure he got blasted by the second.
To make this Nets-related (and I guess we should since this is a Nets blog), we can look back to when Rip slammed the door on our playoff chances last year. It was the 79th game in early April, and the Nets were clinging on to their playoff lives. Down by five with about 30 seconds, the Nets needed a stop, but it didn’t happen because…well…Rip happened. Now I am not going to bother you with the whole post (you can click here if you want the in-depth break down…which you should, because it’s awesome), but here is the short video clip of the play.
Just watch Rip. The subtle slide down to set up the screen and to make sure the help takes longer to get there. The way he steps into the pass to receive it, the shot. It is all beautiful to watch…I mean seriously, you are the team’s best shooter and you manage to get that wide open, you have to be doing something right.
Open Letter to the NY Daily News
Oct 7, 2009 LeBron James, Nets vs. Knicks
Dear Daily News:
I think everyone who’s an NBA fan is well aware that LeBron James is going to become a free agent at the end of this season. The summer of 2010 may be the most ballyhooed free agent class in the history of the NBA, which has already captured the imaginations of fans of teams who have cap room opening up after the season. This includes two teams that you cover regularly, the Knicks and the Nets.
So it’s with that in mind, I question both the concept and the placement of your “Countdown to LeBron” graphic, which you’ve been running since training camp opened last week. Counting down to something that everybody knows is coming and is about a year away seems a bit frivolous. I’m sure Macy’s is very excited about the holiday shopping season this year, but walking by Herald Square in the morning, I don’t see any “Countdowns to Christmas” signs in the front window. They’re just stocking the shelves with Christmas paraphernalia – just as the Daily News could probably ingratiate itself to its readers if they mention LeBron’s pending free agency when it’s relevant, which I just don’t think it is in October 2009.