Nets Are Scorching

Jarvis Hayes is the newest Net suffering from an injury. Shin splints should keep him out a week.

Rafer Alston talks to Ben Couch and says he knows why he’s backing up Devin Harris this year – Devin is an all-star.

A piece in New York Magazine heaps some praise on the Nets rebuilding effort and hints that New York fans might have a tough choice to make if the Nets make their move to Brooklyn.

An editorial in the Daily News asks for yesterday’s court proceedings to be the “last gasp” for Atlantic Yards opponents.

Al Iannazzone says that if he becomes majority owner of the team, Mikhail Prokhorov needs to break the Nets’ lease at the Izod Center and play in Newark until an arena in Brooklyn is ready to be moved into.

Yahoo’s Marc Spears via Twitter said Chinese officials begged NBA Commissioner David Stern to allow Yi to play in China this month, to no avail.

NAS commenter and Daily News Knicks writer Frank Isola talks with New York’s Larry Hughes who believes LeBron James is staying in Cleveland. Wonder what this means for the DN’s “Countdown to LeBron?”

(That’s right Mark!  I see your dunking Raptor and raise you a dunking SuperBuck…)

Team: Milwaukee Bucks

Last Year’s Record: 34-48 (5th, Central Division)

Head Coach: Scott Skiles

Comings: Hakim Warrick, Carlos Delfino, Kurt Thomas, Walter Sharpe, Roko Ukic, Brandon Jennings (No. 10), Jodie Meeks (No. 41)

Goings: Ramon Sessions, Charlie Villanueva, Malik Allen, Richard Jefferson, Amir Johnson, Sonny Weems, Bruce Bowen, Salim Stoudamire

Blogger Thoughts – Jeremy Schmidt – Bucksketball.com

“In yet another rebuilding year the Bucks seem to have taken it more serious this time. Dumping key players from last year Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions in order to get their financial house in order was drastic … and not so well received. But the Bucks felt like they had to do what they had to do. With them gone the Bucks now boast one of their deepest squads in years. New Bucks Ersan Ilyasova (kind of new at least), Kurt Thomas and Hakim Warrick will battle for minutes at the power forward spot next to seemingly healed center Andrew Bogut. Rookie point guard Brandon Jennings will either sit and wait (not so) patiently behind Luke Ridnour or take over for the veteran. Michael Redd is back again at the two guard and standout defender Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will likely hold down the small forward spot.  It’s likely the Bucks will be better than you’ve been hearing, but it’s unlikely they’ll be very good unless Brandon Jennings is much better than advertised and Bogut and Redd are much healthier this year than they were last year.”

Thoughts on the Nets

“They aren’t likely to be much better than the Bucks from what I can see. Bobby Simmons? Been there, done that. Courtney Lee, the awesome Devin Harris and Brook Lopez are interesting, but I think giving up Ryan Anderson in the VC trade was damaging. I specifically remember him coming to the Bradley Center and lighting the Bucks up last year. When the Nets play the Bucks this year it’ll likely be a battle that A. no one watches and B. will be talked about as a battle of rebuilding teams. With the aforementioned trio of youngsters I think the Nets are ahead in that battle.” Read more…

Prior to yesterday’s Albany hearing about the Atlantic Yards complex and the Nets proposed move to Brooklyn, Daniel Goldstein, the lead plaintiff in the case spoke on the steps of the New York Court of Appeals. Here’s the video of that press conference:

Here’s the plaintiff’s attorney, Matthew Brinckerhoff:

When discussing Terrence Williams, one idea that many analysts keep coming back to is that he may not be elite in any one particular area, but he does do lots of little things well. While this may ultimately be in true, TWill has not reflected this versatile, “jack of all trades” player in the Nets’ first four preseason games.

Williams is averaging 7 points on 34 percent shooting in four preseason games, including two starts. What’s even more alarming is TWill has not been able to help the team with the two most highly praised components of his overall game – his passing and his defense. He has amassed 6 assists to go along with 8 turnovers and his +/- is -24.

Cue the part where you tell me that this is only the preseason, that Williams is a rookie, and that it’s very unfair for me to be passing judgement so early in his professional career. Overall, I agree with these sentiments, but I feel like the slow start could be a sign that it may take TWill some time before he can start making some positive contributions to the Nets, much to the chagrin of his fans who want to see Williams get every chance available to him to prove he can be a contributor in an NBA rotation.

There were a few specific plays from Tuesday’s loss to the Celtics that I believe showcase some of Williams’ passing and defensive issues:

1st Quarter, 3:32 left: Brook Lopez rebounds the missed Rajon Rondo shot and outlets the pass to Devin Harris, who brings the ball up to the top of the key before passing it to Terrence Williams, already in motion, streaking towards the rim along the right blocks. Williams has Rasheed Wallace beat to the rim but instead head fakes before flinging the ball with one hand across the court to Courtney Lee in the left corner. Lee’s sightlines towards the rim are being screened by Eddie House, who anticipates the Williams pass and runs over to get a hand in Lee’s face. Lee however, doesn’t make the catch and the ball goes out of bounds.

4th Quarter, 10:30 left: Williams has the ball near the top of the left wing when he makes a move to his left freeing himself up for an open jumper. Meanwhile, Eduard Najera is rolling towards the rim, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Tony Battie are standing in the paint, and Jarvis Hayes is crossing from the right corner to the top of the key. In mid-air, Williams opts to skip on the jumper and pass to Hayes, who’s not quite at his spot yet. The pass is intercepted by Rajon Rondo.

Read more…