Nets Are Scorching

Don’t expect Devin Harris back for Wednesday’s preseason game in Newark.

The NBA is beginning its background check on Mikhail Prokhorov. While the list of owners who were rejected for ownership isn’t terribly long, Prokhorov is no slam dunk to be come the first Russian oligarch to own an NBA team.

Chris Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams have developed a friendly rapport and rivalry with each other in practice. Meanwhile, CDR blogs about his time at the SF.

Josh Boone is impressing Lawrence Frank in practice on the defensive end, which naturally contradicts every observation I made about the Nets frontcourt in my rotation piece today.

A Net will visit your home, office, or school for one hour for just $25,000 or 4 courtside tickets to 10 Nets games. Yet another marketing ploy from Brett Yormark.

Opponents of the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, the proposed site that would contain a new arena for the Nets, filed another lawsuit today at the State of New York Supreme Court designed to sink the project once and for all.

In the suit, project opponents, which include the group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and 19 other community groups charge that the Empire State Development Corporation illegally abandoned the original purpose of the project, which was to remove blight from the Propsect Heights, Brooklyn neighborhood.

“Victory by the petitioners would doom the besieged development plan,” said a statement released by DDDB earlier today.

Cause for the suit come from a recent deal made between Forest City Ratner, the developer (and current Nets owner Bruce Ratner’s development company), and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority over the 22-acre rail yard site needed for the development. As explained in a Reuters report, Ratner originally agreed to buy the site for $100 million in cash at the time of closing, but the agreement has been revised to allow him to pay $20 million at closing and the remaining $80 million over a 22-year period. DDDB claims in its suit that this new payment plan will keep the site blighted and underdeveloped for decades.

Click here for more details of the suit from DDDB.

This is the fourth lawsuit filed over the site. Last week, a hearing was held in the Court of Public Appeals in Albany to contest the use of eminent domain for the project. Project opponents also filed a separate suit last week challenging the “sweetheart” real estate deal which involved the MTA selling the Vanderbilt Rail Yard to Ratner.

Not to sound like a broken record here, but at the end of the day, this all comes down to timing. December 31 seems to be an unofficial deadline for financing to be in place and construction to start on the Barclays Arena. In addition to any legal merit these lawsuits may carry, they also ensure that this timeline is disrupted, ultimately making this a game of clock management. The reason why this is important from a basketball standpoint is no Brooklyn means no Mikhail Prokhorov and his billions, and it also means this team will probably be up for sale again. And unless an ownership group looking to keep the team in Newark comes forward, who knows what that means for the future of the “New Jersey” Nets.

(I love dunking mascots…)

Team: Indiana Pacers

Last Year’s Record: 36-46 (4th, Central Division)

Head Coach: Jim O’Brien

Comings: Luther Head, Dahntay Jones, Solomon Jones, Earl Watson, Tyler Hansbrough (No. 13), A.J. Price (No. 52)

Goings: Maceo Baston, Marquis Daniels, Jarrett Jack, Rasho Nesterovic, Jamaal Tinsley

Blogger Thoughts – Jared Wade – Eight Points Nine Seconds

“The Pacers season could go one of two ways. In scenario one, Mike Dunleavy, Jr. plays 60-70 games, performs productively and the Pacers contend for the 7th or 8th seed. In scenario two, MDJ plays fewer than 50 games while struggling with knee problems and the team wins 30 games. This season will come down to Mike’s knee. If he doesn’t recover fully, things could get ugly in Indianapolis.”

Thoughts on the Nets

“I like the Nets future, but the present will not be great. Devin, Brook, Courtney and CDR comprise a good nucleus, Terrance Williams has some promise and Yi may become a decent pro yet. But even while waiting for tens of millions of dollars of cap space to free up next summer, I think the team still has the chance to flirt with 40 wins if all the cards fall into place. (My in-depth look can be found here.)”

Blogger Thoughts Part 2 – Sean Stevenson – Indy Cornrows

“Depending on how much you valued Jarrett Jack and how optimistic you are on the injury status of Mike Dunleavy and rookie Tyler Hansbrough, you’re expectations for the Indiana Pacers season could vary greatly. While it’d be easy to expect another 36-win season behind the helm of all-star Danny Granger, it’s the second-hand, bench players who will make or break the season. The additions of Dahntay Jones, Earl Watson, Solomon Jones and Hansbrough suggests a change in team philosophy to defense. But will it be enough to sneak into the playoffs or are the Pacers headed back to the depths of the lottery? Based on previous years on under coach Jim O’Brien’s lead, the team is headed to 33-37 wins.”

Thoughts on the Nets

“Similar to the Pacers, the Nets are a team starting over and on the rise (fingers crossed) in a wide-open Eastern Conference. Stay healthy, find some great team chemistry and get some good luck and teams such as the Nets and Pacers could sneak into the playoffs. The Nets have the future in Courtney Lee and Brooke Lopez, now it’s just finding the pieces to build around them. Seems eerily similar to what we’re feeling in the heart of Indy. Better get your flu shot before this season begins, we’re all going to need it.”

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There have been 7 of these?  Good lord…Anyway, in this week’s episode Mark and I talk about preseason performances (mostly coming from Friday night’s game) and some stuff we like and some stuff we don’t like (Bobby Simmons).  The podcast is after the jump, you can view it here or check it out on iTunes.  Oh and in case you are wondering, and I am sure you are, we will be doing the podcast weekly from now on. Read more…

A combination of injuries and inconsistency up and down the Nets roster has made coach Lawrence Frank noticeably coy about declaring his likely rotation for opening day, which is less than two weeks away.

The Star-Ledger’s Dave D’Alessandro recently asked Frank about his plans for the rotation, and Frank expelled a lot of verbiage, but little tangible information:

“First and foremost, we have to get everyone to understand exactly what we have to embody as a team and as individuals, what each man must contribute in order for us to have a chance to win, get everyone to recognize that there’s no substitute for a good work ethic and believing in each other, continue to prioritize defense and being unselfish at the other end, sharpening the saw that you had created in the prior 13 practices, and you want to establish the rotation that you’ll go into the season with,” the Nets coach said.

Long story short: “Let’s just say there are still jobs up for grabs,”Frank said.

A lot of this is understandable. Keyon Dooling hasn’t seen any game action this preseason as he recovers from hip surgery. Devin Harris and Courtney Lee have been in and out of the infirmary. Jarvis Hayes, who seemed headed towards a starting spot at the three, has been battling shin splints and a rising Chris Douglas-Roberts has probably been the team’s most consistent performer in October. Cagey veterans Eduardo Najera and Tony Battie are battling assorted aches and pains.

Provided everyone is in good health, the starting lineup for opening day is shaping up to be Harris, Lee, CDR, Yi Jianlian and Brook Lopez. Of those five, only CDR is a real surprise to me. It’s very clear that Douglas-Roberts has worked hard this off-season and he’s certainly playing well enough to start on this roster, but I still think it’s a major mistake. It’s true the team needs to find as much offense as they can with Vince Carter no longer on the roster, but inserting CDR’s scoring punch into the starting lineup may be a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. With CDR in the starting lineup, the bench is left with three guys who could potentially put the ball in the hoop: Hayes, Bobby Simmons, and, when healthy, Keyon Dooling. All three are primarily jump shooters who take more than 76 percent of their shots away from the basket, according to 82games. We know we can’t expect much offensive versatility from the frontcourt reserves. Sean Williams’ only real offensive talent is on inside shots and putback dunks. Ditto for Boone. Najera was a decent jump shooter in Denver but hasn’t been healthy enough to establish anything during his Nets tenure. Terrence Williams is still inexperienced and is a very streaky shooter. Rafer Alston, the back-up point, is another jump shooter – another inconsistent one at that.

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