Sat 1 Mar 2008
Talk about a spirited first game for Devin Harris and his new team, the New Jersey Nets. I don’t know how you guys felt, but I thought his being here on Thursday affected the entire team. The energy on the court was so solid, from the starting lineup, down to the bench. It almost felt like the team knew they were starting a new chapter. They could put the first 57 games of the season and all the up and downs behind them and focus on cementing a playoff spot. While the Nets will have to get very hot down the stretch to give them a possibility of making it past the first round this year, they can make things very interesting down the stretch.
Only two games behind Washington for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, the Nets would obviously rather play Toronto first in the playoffs than Boston. In order to do that though, they are going to have to get significant contributions from everyone on the court. With that being said, outscoring the Bucks bench 48-8 is a pretty damn good start.
I love the way this team has options now on the bench and doesn’t have to force guys like Nenad Krstic and Marcus Williams to get back in the swing of things. Harris looked amazing off the bench and was able to get right into the game once he checked in. DeSagana Diop was also solid off the bench on Thursday, as was Bostjan Nachbar and Josh Boone may not be a superstar, but he’s doing a solid job on the boards and is scoring in double digits much more than he was earlier in the season.
Williams lost in the crowd?- I am worried about the amount of playing time Sean Williams has been getting lately, having not played over 20 minutes a game since February 13, but he’s going to have to establish himself more in the low post if he wants to get into more games. As far as I’m concerned, this kind of competition and the Nets newly improved bench could prove negative for Williams’ development, but at his age, the competition could be good for him.
Nonetheless, things are about to get much harder, with a few games against San Antonio on Sunday and Tuesday and Dallas and Houston on the horizon. This is where this Nets team can begin to solidify their spot in lower playoff brackets and make life easier for themselves.
March 1st, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Williams’ inability to get minutes is not going to be improved by him playing better in the low post. It’s all about his continuing failure to guard against the pick-and-roll.
Swift and particularly Diop are better at it and their shot-blocking skills are almost as good.
Look for Sean Williams to get fewer minutes until he can defend better…and get fewer fouls in the process.
March 6th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I think Devin Harris is going to be a very very good guard for the Nets. I would keep Harris, Diop and Hassle. They have shown that all three can contribute. If Dallas makes the playoffs we also have an extra first-round pick this year. This team needs to be rebuilt.
Keeping Jefferson and Carter needs some serious consideration. What could you get for both or even one. Of these two players I think Jefferson is the most regular contributor. For what Vince Carter makes I don’t think he’s contributing enough but I would give him more time. Our young Bigs and Kritec are keepers. In my opinion everyone else is expendable. Between the draft, free agency and trades this team could be vastly improved. I am a big Jason Kidd fan but at this point I’m glad he’s gone. He was no longer helping the team and he certainly didn’t want to play for us anymore.
March 31st, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Bobo, you’re absolutely right in your assessment of Sean Williams. I think that he has a multitude of talent that needs to be cultivated and nourished. This is going to take time. Most big men do not develop as swiftly as Krystic did. He had real good training in Serbia. Some things that I would like to see the Nets do in the draft is to draft another big man, a good power forward who could shoot the ball consistently and a shooting guard. I don’t know too much about Eger because he hasn’t played that much for us. Hassel has possibilities but I’m not sure if he will fit in with this team. We need a power forward like I said and someone to back up Jefferson on the small forward side who also could shoot the ball with some sort of consistency. Boki is too inconsistent for me. He has a lot of talent but he’s too streaky.
If they don’t address these issues totally through the draft and they have to go to free agency. This team can not repeat this season all over again. That really could hurt attendance record.
Stanley