Nets on the Net: 3/12/10 Edition
Mar 12, 2010 Brett Yormark, Brooklyn, Nets on the Net, Terrence Williams
Sebastian was talking Brooklyn over at the Daily Dime last night.
Our good friend Henry Abbott at the TrueHoop mothership asks what Brooklyn native and renown Knicks fan Spike Lee is going to do once the Nets officially move in.
Al Iannazzone depicts the daily beat writers struggle when talking about Bruce Ratner’s victory lap yesterday: As a colleague said to me last night, it’s wrong that Ratner goes on these shows when these major things happen and doesn’t talk to the regular guys covering the team. We haven’t spoken to Ratner since last April.
Terrence Williams is ready for the grown-up table: Maturity is a word mentioned often. Vandeweghe said Williams’ “maturity level is rising.” Even Williams admits he’s grown up some and is concentrating on playing.
Here’s some video of CEO Brett Yormark on Fox Business News yesterday:
Nets on the Net: 3/8/10 Edition
Mar 8, 2010 Chris Douglas-Roberts, Josh Boone, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net, Terrence Williams, Yi
In a report by Al Iannazzone, John Calipari, who coached Chris Douglas-Roberts at Memphis, still believes in the former All-American: “At the end of the day,” Calipari said, “I think he’s going to be a guy in the league that plays significant minutes, is a significant player, is a starter on a team that’s doing well. I truly believe that.”
Yi Jianlian will not travel with this team on their four game road trip because of his ankle injury.
Terrence Williams and Josh Boone talk with Fred Kerber about their Big East Championship memories.
NetsDaily begins their series on Mikhail Prokhorov, dubbed “the most interesting man in the world.”
Looking At Terrence Williams’ Offensive Game
Mar 5, 2010 Analysis, Terrence Williams
It has taken a lot longer than expected, but I think Terrence Williams game (on the offensive end) has finally reached a level that Nets’ fans were hoping to get from him at the start of the season. Before looking at his game Wednesday night, let’s talk about what the problem was early on. I attribute it to him logging so many minutes early at so many different positions that he was unable to get comfortable and learn. Yesterday, Williams talked to Colin Stephenson about it:
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” he said Thursday. “I tried to come here and use the same game that I used in college, but my shot wasn’t falling. I had to re-evaluate myself as a player and change my game to more so going to the hole, but still do the other little things that I do and love to do, as far as, like, passing, playing ‘D’ and rebounding.”
The little things are coming along for Terrence Williams, and they added up to a great game against LeBron James and the Cavs. Let’s look at what makes him a threat on the offensive end.
In The Halfcourt
Terrence Williams’ first step is amazing, and he is starting to really use that to his advantage now. Look at the above clip. When he makes the catch, Anthony Parker (his defender) doesn’t even worry about Williams’ shot. He is defending the drive, and that is what makes this move even more amazing. He takes the space that Parker gives him, puts him on his heels, and crosses him over, getting right to the rim to convert the lay-up.
Nets on the Net: 3/5/10 Edition
Mar 5, 2010 Courtney Lee, John Calipari, LeBron James, Nets on the Net, Nets vs. 72-73 Sixers, Newark, Rod Thorn, Terrence Williams, Vince Carter
Ben Couch gives a nod to us, so let’s nod right back and mention his great piece on Courtney Lee, who was really settling into a groove recently until he injured his ankle: “Once you start getting back to your normal self and playing well, something always pops up. I just look at it as adversity, and I can overcome it: just continue to work on my game and just work myself back into shape and being healthy and go from there.”
However, Kiki lists Lee as “doubtful” for tonight’s game against his former mates.
Make sure you check out njnets.com at 1 p.m. as the live stream their press conference from the Prudential Center.
Rod Thorn, meanwhile, is unsure of the impact Newark will have on this year’s free agent class: “It’s hard to say,” Thorn said when asked if the Nets will have an edge because of their arena situation. “I think Newark will be a good place to play but I don’t know what it means for free agents.”
Kentucky coach, and former Nets coach, John Calipari talks with Al Iannazzone and pays a compliment to the current Nets roster, while naturally saying how bad the roster he took control of was in the 90s: “You got other guys that are legitimate NBA players,” he said. “I go back and look at our team my first year [1996-97], and whew. You look at our roster … when we won our 10th game I had a celebration because I thought we were only going to win nine. The team I had, I couldn’t believe it.”
Terrence Williams has been playing better lately, but as Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger captures, it hasn’t been easy for him this season: “I really didn’t know what to expect,” he said Thursday. “I tried to come here and use the same game that I used in college, but my shot wasn’t falling. I had to re-evaluate myself as a player and change my game to more so going to the hole, but still do the other little things that I do and love to do, as far as, like, passing, playing ‘D’ and rebounding.”
Al Iannazzone looks at whether or the not the Nets miss Vince Carter’s leadership.
Dave Markowitz of the Daytona Beach News Journal assures Nets fans that the 72-73 Philadelphia 76ers were worse. Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel looks at the worst team’s in sports history and mentions an NJIT team I believe Sebastian is familiar with.
Another “Buckeye” argues against LeBron bolting for NYC.
So Apparently I Can Tell The Future
Feb 17, 2010 Analysis, Coaching, Kiki, Opinion, Terrence Williams
I am being dead serious. Need proof? Well, there is a post that I did 16 days ago entitled “The Nets Are Learning How To Win.” I was pretty confident that the Nets were ready to turn the corner after coming off a close loss against the 76ers. Turns out the post was a little premature because after the Sixers’ game the Nets went on to lose 6 more games. 5 of these losses were close losses where the team just didn’t play well late.
But that doesn’t mean my post was wrong. The Nets were learning out how to win, but in true Nets fashion, it took a little longer than it should have. The result? A win 15 days later. I thought it would be fun to look at my old post and match it up to the game today to prove that the Nets are learning how to win (everything in block quotes was created 15 days ago):
Nets on the Net: 2/17/10 Edition
Feb 17, 2010 Coaching, Mikhail Prokhorov, Nets on the Net, Rod Thorn, Terrence Williams
Mike Krzyzewski sounded pretty definitive on the Michael Kay show yesterday when asked if he would consider leaving Duke to coach the Nets: I would not. I was asked over the weekend about that after the game. First of all, I have a lot of respect for them. I think it’s a good job, it’s just not a good job for me, and the Nets haven’t offered that. I hate to comment and make it appear that the Nets have done something that they haven’t done. They haven’t done that.
And Rod Thorn sounded pretty definitive about the chances for activity before tomorrow’s trade deadline: “I’d say probably nothing,” Thorn said when asked what the Nets would do. “But you never know. Somebody could call looking for an expiring contract and then we’d be in business. But right now, I don’t see anything of any importance that we have out there.”
Dave D’Alessandro shares his conversation with Mikhail Prokhorov while the two were in Vancouver. Prokhorov still can’t talks basketball until he is officially approved by the NBA.
Is his annual trade deadline list, ESPN’s Bill Simmons lists Brook Lopez as the 14th most untouchable guy in the NBA.
Terrence Williams should have been in this year’s Slam Dunk competition, but when asked about his participation next year by Al Iannazzone, he sounded unsure if he would do it.
The Nets are getting into the pizza delivery business.
TrueHoop’s old friend Kurt Helin talks about the Rod Thorn situation over at his Pro Basketball Talk blog with NBC Sports.
Lifting the Bench
Feb 4, 2010 Chris Douglas-Roberts, Chris Quinn, Kris Humphries, Roster Moves, Terrence Williams
Before the season started, I thought the depth of the Nets bench was going to be the team’s strongest asset. Veterans like Rafer Alston, Keyon Dooling and Jarvis Hayes would provide shooting and leadership, while big men like Josh Boone, Tony Battie and a healthier Eduardo Najera were hypothetically going to provide a little grit and toughness, especially on the defensive end. And rookie Terrence Williams was potentially a jack-of-all-trades player who could fill a stat-sheet in a number of categories.
But a funny thing happened. A bunch of injuries to the team’s starters forced guys like Alston, Boone and TWill into bigger roles than expected, exposing them as below average, bordering on awful rotation players. Injuries to Dooling, Hayes and Battie kept them out of action for prolonged periods. And Eduardo Najera looked to be all but finished in the NBA. A perceived strength was now the team’s biggest weakness.
In a recent post, Sebastian mentioned that the Nets may have one of the weakest 6-12 guys in the league, referring to the bench, but through a series of roster moves and health upgrades, I’m starting to see positive signs with the bench again.
What Bringing CDR Off The Bench Means
Feb 2, 2010 Analysis, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Jarvis Hayes, Terrence Williams
Alright, so yesterday, Chris Douglas-Roberts has informed the twitter world that he is coming off the bench tonight. Before we get to the nitty-gritty, I think it is fairly obvious that Kiki had to make a switch when it comes to the rotation. I did a post on this a little while back, but it became evident that a change was needed when the Nets beat the Clippers without their 2-starting guards and with CDR and Yi playing limited minutes. As I mentioned, the only two rational candidates for a movement to the bench are CDR and Yi (I don’t count Courtney in this group because I value the defense/aggressiveness that he brings to the starting lineup). The combination of Yi playing better, Kris Humphries returning back to earth, and Jarvis Hayes/Terrence Williams playing really well right now made CDR the obvious choice for the guy to go to the bench.
The Nets Are Learning How To Win
Feb 1, 2010 Analysis, Kiki, Opinion, Terrence Williams, Yi
I know that “learning to win” is funny to say now that the season is halfway done (especially when we are talking about a 4 win team), but after the Nets past road trip, the Nets were at an all-time low. I mean, look what Mark had to say after the loss at Utah:
As it stands, and I hesitate to say it, but THIS might finally be rock bottom for the 2009-10 Nets. Because if it gets any worse that it’s been the past two games against Utah and the Golden State Warriors, the league should really consider contracting the organization, throwing Bruce Ratner in jail for fraud and blacklisting Rod Thorn and Kiki Vandeweghe from ever having a role with an NBA roster again.
And you know what? I agreed with him, as did just about every single Nets fan. In the past three games though, the INets have been able to keep games close winning 1 and losing 2 by a combined 6 points. With all of the Nets losses this season, none of them have really been close. So what has changed for the Nets? I think that the Nets are now finally playing the type of basketball that will get them wins moving forward (or at least keep the games close).
Nets on the Net: 1/29/10 Edition
Jan 29, 2010 Devin Harris, Keyon Dooling, Kris Humphries, Nets on the Net, Terrence Williams
Henry Abbott from the TrueHoop mothership talks about Devin Harris’ awful season, but then makes a comparison to another PG in Nets history who could never turn the team around – Stephon Marbury. This article has apparently rankled some Nets fans out there so let me quickly react and say, while there are many reasons to be down on Devin Harris this season (injury prone, can’t shoot, no defense), the one thing I haven’t heard anyone say about him that would make him Marbury-esque is that he’s being too selfish. In fact just the opposite this season, where all reports from the beat writers suggest the guy is following the team’s mantra of feeding the bigs down low to a fault. So I think Abbott’s comparison is a little off the mark here, though I appreciate his ability to get people talking about it.
Al Iannazzone reports that the Nets are doing their due diligence by letting teams know they are willing to make a trade. Will it work?: One source said they don’t expect the Nets to make a big trade before the deadline, but added there is still plenty of time and things can come together quickly.
CC Sabathia, Nets motivational speaker?: “I was in Cleveland for a couple of years when we lost everybody,” Sabathia said, referring to the 7-1/2 seasons he spent with the Indians. “So it’s tough (at) times, but you just have to grind through and keep playing hard because these times will make you better.”
Even WFAN radio man Chris Carrino is affected by the Nets poor play: “I will never complain about this job that I dreamed about doing since I was a little kid,” Carrino said. “But the thing I miss is really being able to dig down, get emotional about the game, get excited about the game, deliver big calls, get into important strategy.”
After his terrific performance Wednesday, the Nets were heaping praise on Kris Humphries at practice yesterday: “Kris is probably one of those guys who’s talented enough to be a starting power forward in this league,” Dooling said. “He just hasn’t found that right situation yet and he’s making the best of this situation.”
As Dave D’Alessandro reports, maybe the Nets snapped themselves out of their funk on Wednesday because Keyon Dooling snapped himself out of his: “Over the last three weeks, I’ve fallen victim to the frustration — I let it get to me, I wasn’t lively, I wasn’t talking a lot,” Dooling said Thursday after the team’s practice session. “I had a talk with myself, and then I had a talk with Kiki. And we agreed that I just had to get back to who I am – being positive, being the guy who lightens up the room.
The Huffington Post (?) posted some video of TWill’s dunks from Wednesday night. Classic reaction from one reader on the blog: No one cares you lowly intern. go work at espn.
A great edition of Dave D’Alessandro’s mailbag. I’m going to touch on this in a bit.