So what are our expectations for the west trip?

[FOMW]

Tuesday @ Lakers
Wednesday @ Sacramento
Saturday @ Utah
Sunday @ Phoenix

The Nets certainly have to be feeling very good about themselves. They have 72 hours until the next game, which is great considering the travel time and the fact that they just finished a back to back. Their defense is showing more consistency lately, as is their 3-point shooting. Devin is clearly playing at an allstar level and is scoring better than any PG in the league while also racking up some nice assist numbers. Vince is showing the maturity that I always thought would come while playing like a true franchise guy. Brook is growing by leaps and bounds. Yi is growing in fits and starts but growing nevertheless. Hayes and Dooling are giving consistent, great minutes off the bench and Ryan is not far behind. Simmons threw a game winning alleyoop inbounds pass last night and followed it up with his best game as a Net. We will likely get Boone back for Tuesday.

Is all that enough to beat the Lakers, maybe catch them a little overly-confident, lethargic? That's the game I want most, the one that stands to do the most for this team's confidence. If we beat LA or even play them really tough and close, it seems these players will TRULY start to believe that they can play with anyone, and that's at least half the battle to actually doing it.

Some intangibles for that game strike me: first game of the first west coast trip for the team and first real road trip for the rookies; Lakers the best team in the league right now; first California games for two prominent California-bred Nets, Lopez and Ryan (good nervous or bad nervous?); always a very physical (and occasionally volatile) matchup between Bryant and Vince (foul trouble for both will be key); two BIGS starting up front for the Lakers, more combined size than Nets have had to face (foul trouble therefore also very important for Lopez and Yi).

Sacramento is the game on paper that should be most winnable but may turn out to be the hardest simply because of the back to back and the fact that crowd always seems to keep that team competitive. It looks like we luck up with Utah and Boozer is out; not sure about Deron Williams. If he's still out as well, we should have a shot in that game. Phoenix would seem to be about as much of a reach as LA, but maybe Brook will have a career night against his brother.

I'm predicting 2 and 2 on the trip, a win at Utah and either a win at LA or Phoenix. I will be very disappointed if we come back less than 1-3.

 

[kobimel]

I'm actually going to see the Lakers game. I'll wear my Nets jersey but I'll probably regret it because:

a)Some Lakers fans are evil when it comes to other fans in the arena.
b)The Nets will probably get blown out (believe me, I've watched the Lakers a lot this season and they are nearly perfect).

Even if Kobe wasn't playing the Lakers would easily beat us. They're that good. Kobe is their main man but as a TEAM they're still good without him.

I can see us going 1-3 here, beating one of Sacramento, Utah and Phoenix. 2-2 would be a pleasant surprise. 3-1 would be incredible. 4-0 is impossible.

 

[Balla 15]

I'm going to go with 2-2. Losses: Lakers, Phoenix and Wins: Jazz and Sacramento. Nets always play well against Utah so that should be a winnable game, especially if Deron doesn't play. Sacramento should be a game they should win but can't underestimate them. Lastly, beating the Lakers is nearly impossible and Phoenix (especially Shaq) always owns the Nets.

 

[adisodes]

I also think we are going 2-2. Losing to the Lakers and the Suns are given, in my opinion. We always seem to beat the Jazz, plus perhaps Boozer and Deron won't be playing.

 

[JERSEYS Nets]

We're winning all four games, plain and simple

 

[Belarus]

OK, I smell blowout against Lakers. Lakers just are not as good as we are...
Seriously though, 2-2 would be a great result for us. But, for this to happen we have to play as hard as we can.

 

[MisterMontross]

Some fun in the sun for Nets players.

How they do, record-wise on the trip, will be determined on a game-to-game basis.

 

[Dumpy]

They'll lose to the Lakers, but if Boone can somehow play he'll obviously help against their big front line. It will be interesting to see if they just give up, or stick to their identity and keep up the energy.

Right now the trio of Devin-Vince-Brook is doing everything you could hope for. Simmons is starting to round into form as the fifth option on offense, doing a decent job defensively on opposing SFs (actually true), and scrambling for loose balls. The bench is looking great.

Right now it is the same keys for victory in every game:

--contain the opposition three-point shooting somewhat.
--hold opposition foul shots to 25ish instead of 32-33ish.
--get SOME production out of their starting forwards. If they can get 22-25 points and 15 rebounds from Simmons/Yi each game, they should be in good shape.

 

[soul driver]

we had a classic against the Lakers last year in L.A. I'm not expecting the same with this game, but I'd love to just stay competitive, even if we lose (which we will most likely)
Then again, we were not supposed to beat Tornoto or Detroit.

Utah was the "no light at the end of the tunnel" game last season. Huge blowout. Thankfully, I don't see that happening this year. If our guys are healthy, we have a very good chance to win this one.

Sacremento- should be able to win this one. Phoneix, let's hope we don't get blown out.

So a 2-2 road trip would be great, and we've left a .500 team, and we can come back a .500 team.

 

[TrueGM]

.500 would be acceptable - also use this trip to showcase players for potential trades

 

[Dark Defender]

I'm not very optimisitc about the trip.

I can see them going 0-4, 2-2 at best.

 

[Speci@l]

I'm gonna stay optimistic. I think the Nets will have a chance of beating the Lakers if they just ride VC and Devin Harris.

 

[isrus]

I'd be happy if we went 2-2 and stayed at .500. The 10-1 Lakers should have absolutely no problems with us unless we have some very high scoring players (multiple guys, not just one)

I'm counting the Kings game as a win for us, we need an average performance and i think we'll win it.

Utah can go both ways...It all depends on if some guys step up and we get that 3rd scorer, which Yi can be sometimes. I'm not sure if Deron Williams will be playing but he's a major factor in this game.

The Phoenix game should be a tough one. We can win it, but it's a long shot. I'm unsure whether we can guard Amare, and this is why the Nets will probably lose this game.

 

[xflavioVC15x]

I say 3-1 we beat the pistons which beat the lakers so that means we beat lakers =)

 

[isrus]

I say 3-1 we beat the pistons which beat the lakers so that means we beat lakers =)

I wish it worked that way

 

[CalamityX04]

tough trip....going in with some momentum and confidence... 2-2 is the desired result however I'm going to stretch it to 3-1...... sorry will post more but football is on... pardon the tiny post

 

[ffz]

win AT utah? thats pretty much impossible. Maybe we can win the sac game, but the other 3 would be a stretch.

 

[nets1]

well if they play on the level of the last 2 games they can go 4-0. I wonder if the west coast teams maybe a bit overconfident against the new, new jersey nets. When this team is on they're on, and a difficult victory for the other team.

The nets were on 3 of the last 4 games. I wonder what they will be in the next 4?
But if i have only the last two games to go by i'd say they have a pretty good chance of beating anybody...

 

[ffz]

its the lakers: the best team in the nba right now, the kings we should win, the jazz with the best home court advantage in the league, and the suns (the same suns that kicked our ass a few weeks ago). Lets not be too unrealistic here.

 

[xflavioVC15x]

win AT utah? thats pretty much impossible. Maybe we can win the sac game, but the other 3 would be a stretch.

Utah doesnt have williams or Boozer i think

 

[SportsTicker]

Fred Kerber of the Post wrote at the opening of the season that if the Nets were 5-11 after the west coast trip they would be in decent shape since they have an incredible stretch of home games in December. I would be very happy with 7-9, but that will be very, very tough to achieve.

Still, they keep surprising me. Other than the Cavs game (which may be similar to the Lakers game), the Nets are averaging 115 points game in the last 10 days (4-1).

 

[ly_yng]

Sacramento is the game on paper that should be most winnable but may turn out to be the hardest simply because of the back to back and the fact that crowd always seems to keep that team competitive.

Makes you wonder - if it doesn't look good in LA, whether it might make sense to throw an early hook on Harris, Carter, etc to save them for the more winnable game against the Kings?

 

[FOMW]

Makes you wonder - if it doesn't look good in LA, whether it might make sense to throw an early hook on Harris, Carter, etc to save them for the more winnable game against the Kings?

Definitely, especially Carter.

 

[Dumpy]

So the Nets are 6-6. It seems like the best people are envisioning them returning from this trip is 8-8, and obviously the worse is 6-10. How would this match up?

Every year the nets go on this thanksgiving weekend wester coast swing. Some years it is a four game trip; some years a five game trip. Here is the Nets' won-loss records when they RETURN from this annual trip (that is, not their record during the trip, but their season won-loss total on the day they return):

2007-08: 7-7
2006-07: 5-8
2005-06: 7-7
2004-05: 2-11
2003-04: 7-10
2002-03: 11-7
2001-02: 9-5
2000-01: 6-7

Thus: If you measure the start of the season NOT by total games, but by the time they return from this trip, if the Nets return 8-8 they will have their most successful start to a season since 2002-03. A 7-9 record would be roughly their AVERAGE start over the past five years; the average is 5.6-8.6. Their average record this decade upon their return has been 6.75-7.75.

As far as their won-loss record goes, the nets right now are no worse than their average team this decade, a decade where they reached the playoffs six out of eight years and the finals twice.

 

[ffz]

wow dumpy.. thats some ask the announcer stuff right there, but i dont think you can make much out of it because obviously you play different teams every year and the strength of the schedule is different.

 

[AhLian]

Yi will light it up against Gasol, Stoudemire, Boozer if he plays, and whoever the Kings use.

Believe it.

 

[Tang Man]

A 2-2 record would be a great achievement for the Nets on this road trip. However the team is starting to play some extremely good ball. Carter looks like he is back to his best, while Harris is having a career year. Brook Lopez is developing into a very promising young player. The Nets now just need Yi to be a consistent contributor.

 

[Dumpy]

wow dumpy.. thats some ask the announcer stuff right there, but i dont think you can make much out of it because obviously you play different teams every year and the strength of the schedule is different.

Thanks; I can't really think of a question to get out of it. they're just numbers. It's interesting, though, that in most of the years that everyone was so very optimistic, the team was no better at this point than it is now, a season that everyone was quite pessimistic about.

 

[Netted]

I'm hoping for 2-2.

 

[FOMW]

Thanks; I can't really think of a question to get out of it. they're just numbers. It's interesting, though, that in most of the years that everyone was so very optimistic, the team was no better at this point than it is now, a season that everyone was quite pessimistic about.

As you, I was always very optimistic about this season. 37-42 wins was my prediction, and if we come back .500 or better from this trip, I will feel confident saying 37 is too low. I may upgrade to 41-47. As long as VC and Devin stay reasonably healthy (knock wood), we are a definite playoff team. There is a special chemistry that you just feel about this combination of players and the way they are taking turns with breakout performances.

Brook is everything any team could want in a cornerstone center. 20/10+ seasons are in his future, and not that far away. In addition to the outstanding defensive presence he's shown since day one, he has demonstrated, on the few occasions we play through him, that he has an excellent BB IQ and will be an excellent post passer to cutters.

Everyone knew Devin was in for a breakout, likely all-star caliber year, but after his slow preseason, few would have imagined he would get such control of his turnovers and distribution decisions so quickly while putting up 4 games over 30+ in a 5-game stretch. What point guards, besides Paul, Nash, and Wade (who is functioning as a PG) are playing as well or better than Devin right now? And if you consdier both sides of the court, it's not a stretch to say he's currently performing at top 3 level in the league at his position, at least until Derron Williams and, perhaps, Tony Parker return to action.

Yi is a tad frustrating but only because you see the extraordinary level of talent he possesses in games like those against Washington, Miami, and the Clippers. His learning curve is steeper than that of any other youngster on the team, given not only the language/culture thing but the fact that he hasn't grown up in American-styled basketball. But he's already substantially improved his defense and rebounding from preseason, and I have confidence that, at some point this year, something's going to click and he's going to have a nice stretch of games that show what the future holds. And it will be awesome.

I'm getting carried away, no need to repeat all the praise for Ryan, Jarvis, and Keyon. And then there's Boone, who I think will be an outstanding backup center if he is given that role permanently. Hell, even Simmons is showing signs lately.

There's a LOT of reasons to be optimistic about where this team will be in April, and the 6-6 record thus far is just the start.