Nets Are Scorching

Now that 2011 is upon us, I’ve taken the liberty of deciding what the resolutions of our favorite basketball team should be. Am I a few days late? Maybe. But better late than never, right? … Right?

Without further ado, in no particular order, your 2011 New Jersey Nets New Year’s Resolutions:

Brook Lopez: Much has been made about your rebounding woes this season, but in all honesty it’s the scoring inconsistency that has me worried. There are some games when you looks like the dominant force we all expected – destroying interior defenses with your dizzying array of post moves & counter-moves, and utilizing your ridiculous reach to loft a right hook above any defender. Then there are games where you struggle to get position, forces bad shots, and spends the entire game drifting around the perimeter. I know that mononucleosis can take a long time to recover from, so I’ve given you the benefit of the doubt up until this point. But shooting the way that you are, that excuse is beginning to wear thin. I know the Nets aren’t running enough sets for you inside, but you also have to post up there with more strength. Get inside and get your offense going within ten feet, every single game.

Point Guards: I’m lumping you two (well, three) together because you all suffer from the same issue. For the facilitators of the offense, there have just been too many times this season where it’s clear that none of you trust your teammates, instead looking out for yourself above all else. With the scoring talent of our bigs around the rim and our widely spaced offense when Anthony Morrow comes back, Farmar & Harris (and to an extent, Uzoh) have got to be the guys who look to pass first, and shoot second.

With Harris, this rule is a little less hard-lined because Harris’s biggest strength is his ability to slash and create scoring opportunities by getting to the rim. But let me paint you a picture. Go back to the recent Bulls-Nets game. With 9:45 remaining in the second quarter, Harris, dribbling at the top of the key, specifically called for a pick & roll with Derrick Favors. After receiving the pick, Harris dribbled lazily off to the left side, without even looking at Derrick (who rolled well and had his hand up looking for a pass), the basket (which is where you want to look if you’re going to score), or anything else that might have helped the Nets run something even resembling an offense. It was an absolutely disgusting few seconds from a guy who’s supposed to facilitate – and it wasn’t an isolated incident.

Sasha Vujacic: Sasha, you’ve been a bright spot in this team’s dark cloud this year. You’ve exceeded my low expectations. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing, and don’t let the depressing stink of New Jersey seep into your brain.

Travis Outlaw: Guess what I’d ask from “Mr. Pump Fake”? Outside of shooting the damn ball in rhythm, I know that most folks consider your signing a massive disappointment – given your lackluster production, you’ve been a pretty easy scapegoat & lightning rod for all things bad about this year’s Nets. Truthfully, I still think you can be a very valuable weapon off the bench. At the very least, you have to remember the mentality that made you such an effective bench weapon in the first place. There have been comments from Avery that your conditioning’s not where it should be – and given your dubious history with conditioning I hope something clicks there soon as well.

Anthony Morrow: You made a career out of transition three-point shooting in Golden State, spotting up on the wings and just letting the ball fly out of his hands the moment you caught it. This year, you’re hesitating before shooting on too many occasions, which usually results in being forced to pass out or shoot a long contested two-pointer – the most inefficient shot in basketball. Having a guy who can make 2-4 threes a game on 45% shooting is highly valuable – and when you come back from injury, you’ve got to be that guy.

Carmelo Anthony: Just kidding.

Kris Humphries: You’ve been the surprising silver lining in the Nets rotation, shooting 53.6% from the field with a ridiculous 31.7% defensive rebound rate. (How ridiculous is it? It’s 3rd in the NBA, behind only Marcus Camby and Kevin Love, and ahead of names like Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, & Blake Griffin.) But for everything you bring on the glass, you don’t bring in system defense – the Nets are a full nine points worse defensively with you on the court. Given my subjective eye, you seem tentative playing help D, often refusing to leave your man to help out on slashers who have somehow broken through the Nets’ matador defense. You have certainly had your share of eye-popping blocks – LaMarcus Aldridge and Eric Maynor may never be the same – but defense is about every play, not just the highlights.

Damion James: Incomplete.

Derrick Favors: Assuming you’re not traded yet, Avery Johnson said it better than I ever could: you’ve got to dunk on three people a night. I get that you’re a mostly passive, laidback guy and that this team doesn’t exactly breed aggressive players. But you’re not going to be a great player – or even earn a starting spot – until you show a little fire on the court. Dunk in someone’s face. Pound your chest. Yell at Jordan Farmar when he doesn’t pass to you when you roll off the screen. Get the competitive juices flowing. You’re just too good to fit in this well with a team this bad.

Troy Murphy: Truth be told, I don’t blame you for being frustrated. Avery really bungled your situation, and given your back injury and completely volatile position in the rotation you still doesn’t really seem to be used to game-tempo situations yet. That being said, Avery’s not the one missing his shots; you are. A 32% field goal percentage, 17% three-point percentage and 53% free-throw percentage isn’t any coach’s fault, and it’s hard to justify giving you minutes if that’s your level of production.

Quinton Ross & Stephen Graham: I appreciate what you guys can bring to the table defensively, but don’t be upset when Damion James & Anthony Morrow come back and your minutes disappear. It just needs to be that way.

Johan Petro: Enjoy every dollar of your paycheck.

Avery Johnson: While my colleague Mark has had a little trouble with your, shall I say, Calipari-like stranglehold of this team, I think that’s exactly what the Nets have needed from their head coach. Your no-nonsense personality assures the players that YOU are running the show – and for a franchise coming off a 70-loss season, that force of personality makes a huge difference.

However, it would be foolish to deny that you’ve definitely had some issues dealing with his personnel. Although he’s gotten a little more playing time recently, Troy Murphy has essentially been blackballed from the rotation with little explanation and increasing frustration. Even when he’s getting position, Brook Lopez isn’t getting nearly enough touches in the post. The offense essentially seems to be “pick & roll, dribble around for 15 seconds without so much as glancing at the roll man, and launch the first shot you can get.” Given the amount of talent the Nets have in their coaching staff and on the floor, this kind of lackadaisical offense makes no sense.

Billy King: Hi Billy! Keep showing some cojones in the ‘Melo sweepstakes. Even though it was just an anonymous report, I appreciated the candor. The way Ujiri has treated this deal is nothing short of absurd. If they really want five first-rounders, laugh and hang up. Remember: the Nuggets have much more to lose in this than the Nets do.

I know that Carmelo’s going to bring the Nets – a team currently dead last in attendance and probably also dead last in jersey sales – a lot of money. The force of star power, combined with a market like Brooklyn in two years, is huge. Just make sure that what you win in the box office isn’t equated by what you might lose on the court. & remember, my e-mail is always open if you have any “anonymous” tips.

Finally, Mikhail Prokhorov & Jay-Z: Keep ballin’, my friends. Keep ballin’.

Lots of shots have been fired back & forth between these two teams. A short, incomplete list: Mikhail Prokhorov & Jay-Z on the “Blueprint for Greatness,” Amare Stoudemire on the “You, Us, We, Now,” Prokhorov’s response to that advertisment (“he looks very sad. He looks like he wants to play in Brooklyn”), and most recently, an ad run on MSG radio with this quote:

“Hey Nets: you can walk like us, you can talk like us, but you ain’t never gonna be like us.  Knicks, Nets, Tuesday, 7:30, MSG.”

Mikhail Prokhorov & Brett Yormark both had quick, witty responses to the ad. Yormark mentioned that “The Knicks seem to be spending a lot of time thinking about us lately. They must have seen the steel rise at the Barclays Center,” while Mikhail Prokhorov’s response was short, sweet, and stinging: “I don’t think we want to be like the Knicks. I think we’d more like to resemble the Lakers.”

While it seems like the Nets have the upper hand off the court, the Knicks currently sport a better record and are playing at home. This will be a tough but fun match-up in what’s becoming a fierce rivalry in the press.

On that note, here are a few things to look out for in tonight’s game.

The battle down low. The Knicks lack bangers in their frontcourt, and while Brook Lopez has been floating away from the rim all three of the Nets’ power forwards make much of their living inside. Amare Stoudemire & Danilo Gallinari are also not defensive wizards, so there should be a number of opportunities for the Nets to get easy buckets inside.

Bring it, bench! The bench has averaged 27 points per game in the six wins the Nets have had this season. The Nets are able to win games because they have a deep team with skills that complement one another; if the bench isn’t producing, any game becomes difficult to win. Wilson Chandler & Toney Douglas lead a relatively strong Knicks bench, and hopefully the Nets can counter adequately.

Do not panic. This goes for those of us watching as well as those guys on the court. This is becoming a rivalry, but rivalries are won by the team (& the fans) who can hold it together better. Just because this is the Knicks doesn’t make it any different of a basketball game; the rules are the same, the baskets are the same height, and the refs will still make questionable calls. If the Nets can keep level heads in the Garden and not force bad decisions, I think we’ll see a victory tonight.

*Edit: One more big thing to watch out for is the battle to control the pace. The Knicks play the second-fastest pace in the NBA at 96.7 possessions per game, while the Nets are on the opposite side of the spectrum: at just over 88 possessions per game, they’re dead last. I’m firmly on the side that the Nets should run more, but against a team like the Knicks, it may be smarter to disrupt their speed and play more within a half-court offense as much as possible. Whichever side does a better job of controlling the pace may very well end up with the W.

For more coverage on the New York Knicks, be sure to check out TrueHoop affiliate Knickerblogger.net.

Here is audio from Rod Thorn’s conference call:

(Remove the audio player – it played automatically and it was getting annoying)

If the above player doesn’t work, click the link here. It is a pretty interesting listen, so if you get the time, check it out.  The big thing that I took from this conference call is that Rod Thorn is going to be willing to spend in 2010. Thorn said that  if he chooses, the Nets can offer two-max contracts.  Having money is just half of the equation though, players are going to have to want to come to Nets (notice I didn’t say New Jersey).

Will that happen (I know this is real early to start talking about this, but this a much talked about topic among Nets fans)?  Pessimistic Nets fans (and there are a lot of them) will tell you that it won’t.  They will say things like “When have the Nets ever signed a big time free agent?” Or “Why would LeBron or anyone want to come to the Nets if they are still in NJ?”

Maybe I am just an optimist, but I think all that is a load of bull.  Yes, I know the Nets haven’t signed a big time free agent in recent memory, but when have they been in position too?  For as long as I can remember, the Nets have had a solid core of playmakers (Kidd, Martin, RJ, and Vince Carter have all been a part of the Nets at some point), and haven’t really had a need to go get a big-time free agent.  They were always adding veterans who were supposed to be (excuse me for using a now tired theme after this draft) pieces to a puzzles, and it worked for the most part.  The Nets were always in the playoff hunt, and while they were never seriously considered championship contenders, they were always competitive.

Despite this competitiveness, Thorn wanted a title team, so he decided to re-tool and start a youth movement.  Brook Lopez, CDR, Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, and Terrence Williams are all under 25, and they are going to be big parts of the team this year.  Despite the fact that we might be terrible next year as these young guys learn how to play, the future looks bright.  Real bright.  When looking at this young core (we also get 2 first round picks next year), a big-time free agent might see themselves as the guy who put them over the top.  Take into account that most of the big free agents in 2010 are buddy-buddy, once one signs we might be able to snag another.  Just imagine Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh joining up with Devin Harris and Brook Lopez.  What free agent wouldn’t want to be a part of that team?

As for the whole Brooklyn/NJ thing.  Brooklyn is going to happen, whether it be for 2 years from now or 3, it is going to happen.  Now if Thorn can guarantee these potential free agents at least 1 year in Brooklyn (by this, I mean that we would need to at least break ground before next offseason), then in my opinion this won’t even be a factor.

One final thing I wanted to touch on that negative fans choose to ignore all of the time is our part owner.  Yup, I am talking about Jay-Z.  In our era, Jay-Z is an icon, a legend.  A lot of these players would love to be able to say that they are playing for Jay-Z and having him watching all of their games.  It is already common knowledge that Jay-Z and LeBron are BFF, and I am sure that Hova would be willing to use his “charm” to try to convince players to come over and play for the Nets.

When you combine all of these factors then add in all of the money,  I think there is a very good chance that we land a top tier free agent in 2010.  If not two.