Thoughts (after Pacers)

[kobimel]

-Some of you guys seem to forget that the Nets are SUPPOSED to suck this season. And that means losses to crappy teams, like the Pacers minus their three best players.

-I loved Jarvis Hayes's hustle today. He needs to start over Simmons.

-Sean Williams was ok in his minutes in the 4th, he was obviously trying hard to prove himself and he did fine. His two jumpshots were a result of overeagerness to prove his worth to Frank, but he was completely open on both and he shot them with nice form. Only complaint I have about him is the lack of boxing out on numerous occasions, but then again nobody on the Nets did.

-Carter is scoring high numbers pretty efficiently and is the only one keeping this team afloat a lot of times. No need to trade him right now, we have a good enough base of young players that we need to focus on developing. We should wait until teams get desperate at the trade deadline if we do trade him.

-The team defense and rebounding were horrible and need a lot of work.

Those are just some quick thoughts. No need to panic, the Nets aren't that good and I think after the wins over the Wizards and Pistons some people's expectations went through the roof for some reason, causing disappointment when the Nets lose.

 

[nets1]

I'd like to see Ryan Anderson play a bit more. He is pretty consistant when he plays. Maybe a little less of Haskell. Even though Boone is playing just ok, i'd like to see a little more of Lopez. Get his minutes up from 12 to 20 again. He will benefit from the minutes.

Other than that without harris this is to be expected from such a young team.

 

[kobimel]

I think we'll see a dramatic drop in Trent's minutes when CDR comes back. I agree about Anderson, he's done well in limited minutes and deserves more playing time. He's been our best offensive rebounder at times IMO.

 

[nets1]

and when he gets his stroke working in the nba he will be a great scorer. He's doing well just getting his feet wet, but hes a natural born scorer.

 

[FOMW]

-I loved Jarvis Hayes's hustle today. He needs to start over Simmons.

Amen to that. My patience is really wearing thin with Simmons. He had the rep for being an excellent open shooter, especially for corner 3s. We've seen a few flashes of that, but he has mostly been disappointing as a shooter, and his poor clutch shooting (witness the end of the Miami game and the wide open 3 to end the half against Indiana that Vince set up for him, which barely scratched iron) is especially bothersome.

Hayes has REALLY impressed me with his shooting, not just from 3 but from a variety of locations around the court. He uses screens very well, and he's shown some ability to drive and finish. The rap on him was that he was a poor defender, but, judging him only on his brief Nets career, I disagree. He's deflected a lot of balls, hustled, mixed it up for some physical rebounds, and has generally done a pretty creditable job as an individual and team defender. His defense has impressed me more than Simmons', and the rest of his game sure has heck has impressed me more.

I'm less concerned with whether he starts than that his minutes well exceed those of Simmons ('cause he's earned at least that much), but Frank should give him a few starts anyway to see how that changes the dynamics of the game and the relative efficacy of the first and second units. Without checking stats right now, I'd bet Hayes has the best +/- of any player on the team and the question is whether that can be parlayed to even greater gains with the starters or whether it would effectively doom the second unit to be even more soundly outscored.

 

[nets1]

I think the best +/- went to Ryan Anderson with +4

 

[NOMAM]

Losing to the Pacers on home court who were missing Granger, Dunleavy, and Murphy - the Nets are not suppose to suck that badly. The Nets were down by 14 at one point.

Hayes should definately get the nod over Simmons.

I just can't figure out what is motivating Frank to play Hassell as much as he's playing and over guys like Ryan Anderson who are clearly better. Backup rotation should be: Dooling, Simmons, Najera, Anderson, and Lopez.

And what about Frank? Going back to the 05/06 season the Nets have always struggled buying into playing the type of defense Frank says he wants. Couldn't he surprise us this season and get these guys to buy in early into the season? Will Frank even manage to get through to them season?

 

[FOMW]

I think the best +/- went to Ryan Anderson with +4

I'm speaking about over the whole season, not just this game. Wait a sec . . . I'll go check and report back.

 

[JRon]

Simmons, Hassel, And Najera need to be sent packing. One of those type players is of service at the end of the bench and in practices, we do not three. They are abysmal and they are liabilities. Najera makes me want to puke every time I see him at the scorers' table. I don't care if Simmons needs to be showcased for a trade...the only thing being showcased is that he would be a great NBDL player. Enough is enough. I was prepared for this to be a growing pains season, but let's get on with it. I will deal with the rookie and young transgressions of Lopez, Anderson, Yi and Williams. The other three("vets")are turds. As wrong as I was about the Najera signing, I was right about the Hayes signing. So there was one positive note here: Jarvis Hayes rocks!

 

[kdub]

Yeah Jarvis was awesome. He always seems upbeat on the court. Oh yeah, his actual play was really good too!

I was definitely wrong so far about him. I thought his history of injury had made him a low impact player, but he is proving me completely wrong, play after play, shot after shot.

 

[rimsh]

Even though Vince says he wants to be on this rebuilding team, I can't help but feel for the man. Dude is putting up solid stats, all star stats even, and can't come away with a victory.

 

[MaxaMillion711]

simple. vince is ballin. rest of the team has no chemistry. pacers may lack the talent, but they play good ball and have some nice chemistry.

 

[bajills]

we are awful

 

[ViNNNsanity]

I think Hayes is our 3rd best scorer. He moves extremely well without the ball. Is always aware and aggressive offensively, while still being able to maintain good decisions. He plays within his game. Has a very % of hitting any shot when he's open. He can put the ball on the floor. Good speed/strength for an above average player. Has a high bbIQ and a good/and willing passer. As a 3rd option, he's becoming one of my favorite/most reliable players on the Nets. Only downside is on D, his man to man is pretty poor (actually very poor), but he's a great team defender.

Simmons is crap. How he got the starting role? Maybe because we need Hayes' energy off the bench. But he still doesn't get the min that he should, so maybe Simmons is doing a lot of sucking up (he looks like a suckup). But yeah, other than MAYBE hitting an open 3 at times...he does nothing else. I have no idea what some people saw in him during the preseason...cause he didn't do crap.

Najera had a bad game, but he's going to have more good than bad by the end of the season. He needs a little bit more time. That energy and hustle will not go to waste.

After Devin's performance against Detroit, if people still want Devin to be a pass 1st PG...then he will never be able to live up to his potential. Devin is of a new breed of PGs (very similar to D.Rose). He has to be aggressive, and his aggressiveness will open up opportunities for his teammates. He's one of the quickest/fastest PGs in the league, long wingspan, athletic, excellent handles, good shooter on/off the dribble, willing to drive, and can finish in traffic. He is near unguardable 1on1.

Great decision by Frank to run the dribble drive with Sean. We can really rely on Sean's superior athleticism to catch the ball and shoot 15fters. Where the hell is the pick n roll?

I love Boone's IQ and all, but I don't think he'll ever be starter material in the NBA. He's just too soft.

 

[networks]

Even though Vince says he wants to be on this rebuilding team, I can't help but feel for the man. Dude is putting up solid stats, all star stats even, and can't come away with a victory.

I wonder how people will feel if he starts dogging it and then asks for a trade.

 

[SportsTicker]

They're trying to do a deal. Kerber suggests they have talked to Memphis with "a stockpile of points" (Javaris Crittenton?), Golden State with "a stockpile of athletes" (Kelenna Azubiuke? Marco Belinelli? Al Harrington?) and Houston with "unused third-string point guard types" (Luther Head?)

Do you give up Sean Williams? Stromile Swift? Maurice Ager with cash, a TE and/or a pick? No one is going to take Bobby Simmons.

 

[networks]

I think Hayes is our 3rd best scorer. He moves extremely well without the ball. Is always aware and aggressive offensively, while still being able to maintain good decisions. He plays within his game. Has a very % of hitting any shot when he's open. He can put the ball on the floor. Good speed/strength for an above average player. Has a high bbIQ and a good/and willing passer. As a 3rd option, he's becoming one of my favorite/most reliable players on the Nets. Only downside is on D, his man to man is pretty poor (actually very poor), but he's a great team defender.

I am totally for Hayes starting. Frank is just going to be stubborn like he always is. 8 more games into the season is when you are going to hear Frank say - We may need to make some changes to the starting lineup. Idiot!!!! Do it now!!!! Hayes should start.

Simmons is crap. How he got the starting role? Maybe because we need Hayes' energy off the bench. But he still doesn't get the min that he should, so maybe Simmons is doing a lot of sucking up (he looks like a suckup). But yeah, other than MAYBE hitting an open 3 at times...he does nothing else. I have no idea what some people saw in him during the preseason...cause he didn't do crap.

IMO this is just Franks lack of understanding of his team. Simmons is a spot up shooter.

After Devin's performance against Detroit, if people still want Devin to be a pass 1st PG...then he will never be able to live up to his potential. Devin is of a new breed of PGs (very similar to D.Rose). He has to be aggressive, and his aggressiveness will open up opportunities for his teammates. He's one of the quickest/fastest PGs in the league, long wingspan, athletic, excellent handles, good shooter on/off the dribble, willing to drive, and can finish in traffic. He is near unguardable 1on1.

Totally agree with you.

Great decision by Frank to run the dribble drive with Sean. We can really rely on Sean's superior athleticism to catch the ball and shoot 15fters. Where the hell is the pick n roll?

I guess another year of having Frank figure it out only to wait for 2009/2010 season to wait for him to figure it out again. As much as I dont want to compare the Nets to the Knicks, the knicks are better because of D'Antoni. I am tired of watching Frank get out coached every night. This is painful.

 

[networks]

They're trying to do a deal. Kerber suggests they have talked to Memphis with "a stockpile of points" (Javaris Crittenton?), Golden State with "a stockpile of athletes" (Kelenna Azubiuke? Marco Belinelli? Al Harrington?) and Houston with "unused third-string point guard types" (Luther Head?)

Do you give up Sean Williams? Stromile Swift? Maurice Ager with cash, a TE and/or a pick? No one is going to take Bobby Simmons.

After seeing Sean yesterday, I am absolutely against trading him for another questions mark. I say we hold on to him an hope and pray Thorn and Kiki change their mind about Frank. I would like to see how another coach would work with Sean before I say trade his ass. Send Sean to the D-league and trade something else for a back up PG.

 

[Belarus]

They're trying to do a deal. Kerber suggests they have talked to Memphis with "a stockpile of points" (Javaris Crittenton?), Golden State with "a stockpile of athletes" (Kelenna Azubiuke? Marco Belinelli? Al Harrington?) and Houston with "unused third-string point guard types" (Luther Head?)

Do you give up Sean Williams? Stromile Swift? Maurice Ager with cash, a TE and/or a pick? No one is going to take Bobby Simmons.

NI, so you think there is a chance Nets make a trade to free up roster space and Sean is still a Net?? Also, how trading Ager solves our logjam of bigs?

 

[Netted]

Hayes has been great. As bad as Simmons has been I like Hayes coming off the bench. He can spell Carter and Simmons and come in and create a spark. If you switch Simmons and Hayes you won't get that.

Team was totally flat from the beginning. I blame the huge cavernous empty arena for that, but they better adjust and learn to deal with it fast. The one thing I hate about management is they don't realize how bad that arena is and how it impacts the product on the court. You put the same crowd in the Rock, or hell even the RAC, and you will see a difference because they are closer to the court. It's not about volume, but placement.

Sean's biggest problem is boxing out and rebounding. Absolutely horrible timing. I'm still dumbfounded about how a guy can have such great timing to block shots and be so bad in timing for rebounds.