Nets on the Net: 1/25/10 Edition
Jan 25, 2010 Advanced Statistics, Al Iannazzone, Dave D'Alessandro, Nets on the Net
Dave D’Alessandro always has a way of cutting through it all and asking the obvious but important questions: Which raises the question: If they spent nearly four hours practicing defense on Tuesday and another 90 minutes reviewing their principles on Thursday, what was the emphasis exactly?
Al Iannazzone talks about how the Nets are actually getting worse: But here’s looking at a small sample of games before we go big picture. Over the four-game trip, the Nets allowed the opposition to shoot 55.4 percent and average 112.8 points per game. They were beaten by an average of 25 points, prompting one of most honest answers a player ever uttered.
The always super Hardowood Paroxysm looks at PER and usage rate midway through the season for every team – including the Nets, who contrary to popular belief, are still part of the NBA.
Iannazzone Weighs in On the Decade
Jan 1, 2010 Al Iannazzone, Retrospective
Happy New Year everyone!
I’m hopeful that most of you read Nets Are Scorching’s retrospective of the 2000’s yesterday. In lieu of a full link dump today, I thought I’d link back to the always fantastic Al Iannazzone of The Record and Nets Insider, who runs down all of the key moments of the decade, both good and bad.
Iannazzone mentions a few rarely talked about facts regarding how the foundation for the back-to-back Finals teams were built. For starters, in 2000, if the Nets didn’t get the number 1 draft pick (to get Kenyon Martin), Rod Thorn likely wouldn’t have become team president. Second, before they traded Stephon Marbury to Phoenix for Jason Kidd, Thorn nearly sent Starbury to the Clippers for Keyon Dooling and the No. 2 draft pick.
Also, Iannazzone mentions the Nets getting the #1 pick in 2000 as a top moment, and on second blush, I’m starting to question whether or not I should have included that in my list as well. Good old Al, making me think.
Unless something dramatic happens this afternoon/evening, Sebastian and I will be back tomorrow for our Cleveland/Nets coverage.
Iannazzone: Lots of Blame to Go Around For Nets
Nov 22, 2009 Al Iannazzone, Lawrence Frank
In his most recent column on Nets Insider, beat writer Al Iannazzone comprehensively looks at the many factors that have led to an 0-13 start for the Nets. There are some things mentioned that we’ve heard before: Bruce Ratner’s interest in real estate rather than winning basketball, poor drafting, like passing on Gilbert Arenas for Brandon Armstrong or Danny Granger in favor of Antoine Wright, injuries to a bunch of key players this season, and not doing anything to provide quality depth this year after trading away Vince Carter.
However, there were two points in particular in Iannazzone’s column that caught my eye. First, the Nets’ propensity to go “small” with their lineups:
You can win a game or two by playing small, but you won’t win regularly unless you have the perfect mix. The Nets don’t and the past two years have gone small too much. This season, coach Lawrence Frank has been forced to play that way at times because of the injuries, but the Nets aren’t a good rebounding team. They need their best rebounders on the floor late in games because they give up too many late offensive boards. That’s all about heart and will and the Nets just have to keep guys off the boards.
Then, for something even more alarming, the idea that the Nets tend to play “not to lose,” which is always a surefire sign of a losing ballclub:
They’re playing not to lose instead of playing to win. They don’t know how to win yet. The Knicks were picking-and-rolling them to death yesterday and then after a timeout late, the Nets knew it was coming and yet David Lee made the pick, rolled and scored to put the Knicks up four with 1:44 left. The Nets also gave up two big offensive boards late. They come out slow every third quarter and it seems to set them back mentally. When Dwyane Wade fumbled the ball on Nov. 14, Trenton Hassell should have grabbed it but was afraid he would be called for a reach against a superstar. All of that and not getting a shot off in both games against the Sixers when the Nets lost both by three are marks of a team that can’t get out of its own way.
I tend not to get caught up in columns like these, because they’re usually crafted by people who don’t follow the team day-in and day-out, but Iannazzone is a beat writer who has covered the Nets since 2004, so I think his opinions and observations carry a little more weight.
Both of these points come down to coaching and preparedness. The “wildcat” offense that Lawrence Frank talked about in preseason, has been a definitive flop, in large part because without a playmaker like Devin Harris running it, there’s not enough speed and versatility on the court to make up for the lack of height and strength. Meanwhile, Frank is obsessed with pigeon-holing Bobby Simmons at the four, when a guy like Sean Williams is proving to be a better option (more on this tomorrow).
As for the “playing not to lose” thing, it’s interesting that Iannazzone mentions the Wade shot, because after watching it a few times last weekend, I still don’t understand how after losing the ball for a second, he was still able to get that shot off. Meanwhile, the Nets have had a number of close and late situations, two of which ended without even getting a shot off against Philadelphia, and one other instance on opening night against Minnesota, where the team played so tentatively on the final play, they ended up getting beat on an offensive rebound anyway.
Yes, it’s easy to beat up on an 0-13 team, and it’s even easier to rewrite history and talk about how the Nets catered to Jason Kidd too much, or should have retained Kenyon Martin on a max deal (was he really worth it given his injury history?). But still, Iannazzone makes a number of good points that go beyond the “Nets are too injured” excuse. It appears to me that a legitimate case is starting to be made against Lawrence Frank, so this is going to be fascinating to watch, even if the Nets continue to lose games.
Nets Are Scorching Interview – Al Iannazzone
Apr 20, 2009 2009 Offseason, Al Iannazzone, Interviews
Al Iannazzone covers the Nets for the record, and his writing about the Nets can be found all over the internet (In the ‘Zzone & The Nets Insider). Al Iannazzone has been writing about the NBA since 1996 for the North Jersey Herald News and The Record. He covered the New Jersey Nets for the Herald News from 1996-2000. From 2001-04, Al was The Record’s New York Knicks’ beat writer, but also covered the Nets in their playoff runs those years, which included two trips to the NBA Finals. In 2004, Al returned to the Nets’ beat for The Record and has been covering them since. He also has been YESNetwork.com’s Nets’ Insider since the start of the 2004-05 season and has contributed to the YES Network’s pregame show the past two years. Al resides in New Jersey with his wife, Donna, and their son, Anthony.. Mr. Iannazzone has allowed me to ask him a few Nets’ related questions, and here is the interview.
NAS: Looking back on it, was the Richard Jefferson trade a complete failure?
The trade doesn’t look good today, but it’s too early to fully judge it. We have to see if Yi Jianlian becomes a player or whether he and Bobby Simmons can get the Nets something via trade or because Simmons’ contract expires earlier then Jefferson’s. There were many reasons the trade was made. It was about getting salary-cap flexibility, but more than that. The Nets wanted to change their locker room up, and it’s no secret anymore that Jefferson and Lawrence Frank had more than their share of philosophical differences. Jefferson also was close – and still is – to Devin Harris. Jefferson could have influenced Harris negatively. So the Nets wanted to try to prevent that possibility.
NAS: How impressed were you with the rookies this year?
Mr. Iannazzone: I was very impressed. I didn’t think any of them would turn out to be as good and productive as they were, starting with Lopez. I figured we’d see signs of him becoming a serviceable big man and then with work a good player. Well, he showed he can be a franchise center, which are few are far between in this league. He cares about getting better, so he will. He’s also very mature for being 21, even if he acts like a kid a lot. I like Anderson’s work ethic and nose for the ball. Like everyone else, I thought he would just knock down shots. But he was a better rebounder and hustle player than shot-maker this season. He mixes it up inside, which is a great trait. And Douglas-Roberts, the most heralded of the three, was just waiting for his opportunity to show what he can do. He’s one of the Nets’ most competitive players, which they love about him because you can’t teach that. Overall, it was a great draft by the Nets.
NAS: I think we got a diamond in the rough with CDR. Do you think CDR can be a starter for the Nets someday?
Mr. Iannazzone: I think he can be, but not while Vince and Devin are here. You have to let the kid develop. He needs to improve in all areas, including his shot making. But he’s a tough kid and comes from a winning program. He also has a chip on his shoulder to prove not only he belongs in the NBA but can be a very good player in the league. It’s going to make him work harder.
NAS: Would you conisder the Nets season a failure?
Mr. Iannazzone: No, it wasn’t a failure, but it’s hard to call 34 wins a success. Part of the plan was developing the young guys and other than Yi, the Nets did that. The Nets were young, but still had some veterans in Carter, Harris, Keyon Dooling, Jarvis Hayes and Eduardo Najera who had been on winning teams. So they expected a lot of themselves. Overall, though, it was a better-than-expected season. But when you start the way the Nets did, the players became a possibility and they just couldn’t close it out. Better than expected season, not a successful season, but not a failure.
NAS: What is your opinion on Vince Carter? Is he staying or going?
Mr. Iannazzone: I think he’s staying, in part because his contract is tough to move, and I think he should stay. I think Vince was great as a leader and a player. I would have liked to see him do more offensively from a scoring standpoint. But remember, it was about developing the young guys so he had to take a little of a backseat. Vince handled it well, better than expected. And I say this with complete confidence: if he’s not back, you’re not going to get equal value for him, and players like Harris, Lopez, Hayes, Simmons, Anderson will not get the open looks they got or score as easily. Carter makes players better, plain and simple.
NAS: Does Lawrence Frank need to go? If so, who would you like to see replace him?
Mr. Iannazzone: I think Frank deserves to come back. He did a great job this year considering the mission statement. You can’t point to some of the things he did wrong – too much Yi, too much Hassell, the small lineup too often – but overall he got a lot out of these players. We’ll find out in a few days if he’ll be back. If not, you look at what’s out there, starting with Eddie Jordan. Other big coaches are available, too. So we’ll see what happens
NAS: What do you think the Nets are going to do draft wise?
Mr. Iannazzone: I think you have to wait and see what happens in the Lottery. If they move up to No. 1 they’ll take Blake Griffin. If not, they probably will try and trade up to get a Blake Griffin. If they stay in the 11, 12 range, they could go for a DeJuan Blair of Pitt, Tyreke Evans of Memphis, or Earl Clark or Terrence Williams of Louisville. But it’s way premature,
NAS: Yi. Do you think he will be on the team next year? If so, is he just going to be riding the pine?
Mr. Iannazzone: I think he’ll be on the team. I think the Nets will see if there’s interest but if a second team in two years tries to move Yi then it could raise red flags about him and and a team could try and fleece the Nets. It’s too early to say what he will be next year for the Nets if he’s back.
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The only thing that I disagree with him about is his opinions of the Yi-Richard Jefferson trade. In my opinion it isn’t too early to say that the trade is a failure. This is because Yi was expected to help out this year in replacing Jefferson’s production (I wasn’t expecting him to do it himself, I was hoping a combination of Yi/Brook/Harris increase in production). Would replace Richard Jefferson’s numbers. Now I know we do have an expiring contract that is easier to move with Simmons, but that wasn’t the main part of the deal it was Yi AND the contract. Just my opinion though and Mr. Iannazzone brings up some valid points.
I wanted to thank Mr. Iannazzone for taking the time to answer some questions for me. I really enjoyed reading his answers, and I agree with him (for the most part) on his opinions.
Tags: Al Iannazzone, Interview, NJ Nets