Nets Are Scorching

Disclaimer:  Before we get started, this isn’t a post about Ryan Anderson.  He will not be mentioned here, and I don’t expect to see his name in the comments.  If you read this and still feel like telling me that Ryan Anderson is a better player, send me an e-mail, it is on the site.  This is just an evaluation of Courtney Lee.

Onto Courtney Lee.  The season is 17 games old.  It is nearly a quarter over already, and I thought that now is as good as a time as any to take a look at Courtney Lee’s game.  Oh and yes, I am in fact serious about the title by the way.  Courtney Lee has been getting bashed by Nets’ fans for his poor performances, but I really do not know why.  When I sit down and think about it, there are two reasons.  The first, people tend to just look at the shooting numbers and the points.  The second reason is that people have expected him to improve greatly from his rookie season right away (I fall into this group), not really taken into consideration he left a really good team where he was the 4th, 5th, or 6th option and went to a team that he is the third option where defenses focus on taking him away.  Courtney taking Vince Carter’s (and in some fans eyes, being traded for him) roster spot probably has something to do with it too, no matter how unfair that is.

The numbers aren’t bias though, and what the numbers tell us is that if you exclude the shooting (don’t worry I have an explanation for this) Courtney Lee is doing everything else better than he was doing in Orlando.  It isn’t because he is getting more minutes either.  Through 11 games this year, Courtney is averaging the same minutes per game as he was in Orlando during the regular season (25.2 MPG).

All other data used in this post is from Hoopdata.com

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When talking with reporters after Lawrence Frank was fired Sunday, Rafer Alston said that sometimes “players need to go” when a team is struggling as the Nets have. I hope Alston believes these sentiments, because coincidentally, Rafer would be the first person  I would fire based on poor performance, with Bobby Simmons running a very close second.

Yes, Alston and Simmons have been that bad this season. These two players are so bad, they hardly resemble NBA players anymore, yet because of injuries, and coaching decisions, they both have logged major minutes all season, and have played a pivotal role in the Nets historically heinous start.

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Devin Harris says he’s moved on from his benching by Lawrence Frank last year against Boston, wishing the former head coach well.

The New York Times talks with Nets players about the losing streak. Chris Douglas-Roberts said he ran out of things to say about it six games ago.

Gary Sussman looks back at the “Little General.”

An AP report talks about how the Nets are stuck between a hopeless present and a hopeful future.

ESPN’s Chris Sheridan: the Nets are a mess.

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel thinks the losing streak ends on Sunday against the Knicks.

Bleacher Report jokes that dismissed Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weiss has been named new head coach of the Nets.

The LA Times looks at Mikhail Prokhorov’s bid to own the Nets and the current state of foreign ownership in sports.

The Blowtorch makes fun of Courtney Lee.