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Tuesday, October 31, 2000
Nets: Hard-luck franchise has little hope
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Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason / 1999 | Roster
Last year: 31-51, sixth in Atlantic, 12th in conference
Coach/GM: Byron Scott/John Nash
Arena, first game: Continental Airlines Arena (20,049); Oct. 30, 1981
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 776-1,160/0
Notable: Nets began last season going 2-15
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THE TOP EIGHT
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Pos
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Player
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Key Stat
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Skinny
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PG
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Stephon Marbury
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8.4 apg
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The real deal was all-NBA third team
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SG
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Kendall Gill
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1.83 spg
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First I'm a Laker, then I'm a Net
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SF
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Keith Van Horn
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.445 FG
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Out 4-6 weeks with broken leg
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PF
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Kenyon Martin
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--
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First overall pick needs to produce
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C
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Jim McIlvaine
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117 blocks
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230 rebs, 205 fouls; hey, the guy tries
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6th
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Johnny Newman
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10 ppg
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Instant offense, will start for Van Horn
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7th
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Aaron Williams
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5.1 rpg
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Big free agent signee will board more
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8th
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Evan Eschmeyer
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2.9 ppg
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Don't laugh, he might get a lot of time
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The Nets need to get healthy. Keith Van Horn is out with a broken leg to start the season. They have already lost Jamie Feick and Lucious Harris. Feick may have started, and Harris was a player they counted on off the bench. The Nets don't know if they will have Kerry Kittles at all. If they have all their players, they could be a pretty good team. That's what it's been for the last couple of years, but new coach Byron Scott will push them hard. I expect Kenyon Martin to be a solid player. Sherman Douglas is as trim as he was as a rookie. And Stephon Marbury is an All-Star point guard.
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By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com
The Good
After a horrendous season, the Nets managed to win the lottery
and secure Kenyon Martin with the No. l pick. Martin needs to put on weight
to battle the fours and fives on this level, but he could be a
defensive force. He'll help what has been a weak frontcourt since Derrick Coleman was dealt off early in 1995. Stephon Marbury is among
the top point guards in the league. After finishing in the top 15 in scoring
and assists, he was named to the All-NBA third team. Quite a feat,
considering he was the only player on any of the three teams who did not
play for a playoff team. Sometimes, there's enough talent to outrun,
outshoot and outscore anybody. Keith Van Horn has shown flashes, but he won't play in November after breaking his leg in the preseason.
The Bad
More bad luck for this snake-bit franchise. The one year they
win the lottery, there was no franchise talent or potential superstar to
build around. They still don't have a dominant inside presence at the
offensive or defensive end. After having Jayson Williams forced to
retire because of leg injury, they might be in the same boat with Kerry
Kittles. Their starting shooting guard has a bone-on-bone condition in one
of his knees, making a return iffy. Kittles has been a major
disappointment in his four seasons, averaging only 15 ppg on 42 percent
shooting, and failing to play full seasons in each of the last two
years. Even with him, they don't have a first-rate starter at the
position. Has anyone recovered from last season's nightmare? The Nets
played a lot of close games, lost a lot of heart-breakers. Their 6-14
record in games where the final margin was three points or less was the
worst in the NBA. The 14 losses were most among all 29 teams. They
played 15 overtime games, losing 12. With so many young players, you
have to worry about all the scars from losing.
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THE BIG QUESTION |
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There are several. Can Scott coach? Who replaces Williams as the energizer? Is Van Horn ever going to become a
take-charge offensive force? Without Williams, there was a noticeable
sag in everyone's energy levels. This team needs to find a new
sparkplug. Martin will blocks shots and be active on the defensive glass.
But he has limited offensive skills and won't be able to guard bigger
players until he bulks up. Can this
franchise ever get it turned around?
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Whose team is this?
It's Marbury's, first, rookie coach Byron Scott's
second. An enormous talent, Marbury doesn't have a lot of faith in his
teammates. Sometimes he feels he has to do everything himself. Marbury
sometimes gets down with all the losing, but he has no one to blame but
himself for choosing to come to the Nets. He had it made in Minnesota
with Kevin Garnett, but decided he wanted to come home and be the star.
Not a great decision. Scott will have his hands full trying to get
Marbury to get his teammates involved and keeping his star focused and
happy.
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| Marbury |
How they'll play
They're going to have to run to win games. Their
players are made for running game, not for halfcourt offense. When the
pace slows, they will struggle, as evidenced by their 43 percent field goal
percentage last season. That was third-lowest in the league. They were
also held under 100 points on 63 different occasions, second-most of any
team. Van Horn, who has to be more assertive, needs isolation plays on
the wings. That allows him to take advantage of slower fours and
smaller threes. When Chuck Daly was coach, back in the early-'90's,
they played the kind of defense it takes to win. Since Daly's departure,
they have not had a coach who has been able to teach or stress defense.
So they've always had to try to outscore opponents. That's one of the
primary reasons they have only one playoff appearance in the last six
years. To his credit, Scott has come in saying the Nets need to take
care of that end, first and foremost. They've already been hit with
injuries to Lucious Harris and Jamie Feick, who were expected to play
major roles. The veteran Kendall Gill, a streaky shooter, might have to
do a lot of scoring.
Projection
Fighting for eighth place. Lacking a proven rebounder at
center or power forward, they were the worst defensive rebounding team
in the NBA last season. Unless they first address that glaring weakness,
and unless Byron Scott gets them to buy into a sound defensive
philosophy, they'll be destined to finish in the lottery.
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