What Went Wrong...?

[MaxaMillion711]

So I am just wondering what you think went wrong with this team this year. I am going to go back to at the beginning of the year, what everyone said.

*Jamal Magloire* - He was a big acquisition people said. We lost to cleveland in 07 because our lack of toughness and rebounding. Peter Vescey said this was a huge deal and he would really help the nets. And he never played with us...

*Nenad Kristic* - He was going to be the 4th scorer. ESPN said he will be the guy who hits outside shots and average around 14ppg. But he was awful for 7/8 of the season.

those are the 2 that stand out. ESPN firs take even said we would win the east and lose to the Spurs in the finals. Charles Barkley again said that we would come out of the east.

Hopefully you can help me understand what went wrong and how could all the pundits be so wrong?

 

[Dark Defender]

Personally I thought we were blinded by star power.

I blindly kept backing a perimeter oriented team that CAN'T SHOOT. The team was flawed from the beginning, what went wrong is Rod Thorn didn't see this years ago.

 

[User01]

No perimeter defense, no interior scoring, only 2 guys on our team were reliable on offense, chemistry issues, our captain didn't like the team. On a good day, Vince, RJ, Boone, Sean, Kidd, and Boki could score, and we'd get a team that had players that our guys could defend. Most of the time, if the opponent had a good wing scorer or a strong big man, and our offense wasn't at 100%, we wouldn't be able to win.

 

[Real]

Personally for me, from Game 6 of the NBA playoffs against the Pistons on it was all downhill from there.

 

[Universe]

Nachbar - we let House go so Nachbar would explode. Did absolutely nothing.

Magloire - we expected at least 7 and 7. 0 and 0 it turned out to be.

Krstic - who knows what the hell happened.

Kidd - he happened.

 

[BasX]

as an outside bball fan, listening to what ESPN and Vescey think is the first problem, and Barkley is hit and miss. Years like this just happen, but your going in a good direction with a lotto pick and DH

 

[cpawfan]

The Nets were a flawed team that relied upon the drive and will of Jason Kidd to be better than they should be. Even with that, the Nets projected to top out as second round playoff team.

The smart money was always on Magloire contributing nothing and the Nets had to rely upon Antoine Wright actually contributing more than defense in order for the bench to contribute.

 

[allnet5-21]

welll we had no scoring punch off of the bench. nachbar was our best bench player but he wasnt that 3 pt threat we wanted him to be. we let Eddie House go when we could have easily signed him. WTH Rod?! We got off to a great start (4-1) and then proceeeded to lose from that point on. Kidd lost his passion until he demanded the trade and then started putttin in effort, just look at our wins against the lakers and mavericks before he was dealt. to little to late i suppose. carter was never carter due to the new offense where RJ was the man and he injured his ankle which had him lose his explosion and therefor he stopped driving for a while. we make the trade for swift he would have been a great fit with kidd but then right after kidd got traded nd swift went to the bench. we got harris diop hassel and ager basically (van horn is a throw in) ager who knows he was a great shooter out of college but he never played. harris was showing his potential, diop was ok i suppose but not a great shot blocker or offensive threat, and hassell was i guess trent hassell he had his moments. there was no inside threat that we could use unless we utilized swift or boone. but swift lost out due to his bball iq i suppose and boone isnt really a post up player. krstic was never healthy until he had that one game in march nd self-proclaimed himself back. but he missed most of the season. i would explore brand for RJ for the low-scoring presence. then house is a free agent once again this off season lets try and re-sign him this time, he would flourish with all the kick outs we do and he could knock them down. if we have the opportunity to draft mayo we are going to do it and insert him into the starting line-up this way he can develop quicker while having nachbar or ager to back him up
pg: harris/williams/f.a.
sg: mayo/house/ager
sf: carter/nachbar/pick
pf: williams/krstic/draft pick
C: boone/ diop/swift

 

[#1_War_Poet_ForLife]

Kidd giving up, Nachbar's inconsistency, and Krstic being injured.

 

[JCB]

Lack of a pure outside shooter and Nenad not recovering like we had all hoped contributed to the downfall of the team this year.

 

[Claud]

Coaching. Lawrence Frank's decisions sucked and affected negatively our team about 95% of the time.

 

[killa kadafi191]

What went wrong was the Nets waited too long to make a move. This should have happen once they lost 4 straight games to the Heat again. VC should have never been given that much money. Plus the Nets always had an attitude as everything was okay. "we always start slow" "we will pick it up"

This team had no sense of urgency and it showed and still shows.

 

[Joey FistPump]

The problems with the original roster were numerous...partly due to poor roster decisions, bad offensive schemes and injuries.

Earlier this season we had both Marcus Williams and Nenad Krstic out with injuries and due to this fact we were very limited offensively...We really didn't have consitent scoring from the 1, 4, and 5 for most of the first two months...leaving the scoring pressure on our wings.

While RJ was consistent, Vince was dealing with injury and Boki and Antione were being schizophrenic with there scoring...we lived and died with there offensive output til almost december when Josh Boone and Sean Williams emerged.

After Boone and Swat were inserted into the starting lineup we recieved a big boost in our lineup, however we now faced an even more dramatic problem in depth as our second unit of DA, Wright, Boki, Allen and Collins was just AWFUL! Horrible offensive team and vastly overrated defensively.

The team was going nowhere, Frank was being inconsistent with his rotations (STILL A HUGE PROBLEM) and Jason Kidd wanted out...

The team was dead there...yes we were reinvigorated by the new additions to the roster, but faced a difficult schedule and lacked the time to gel...which was not made any easier with Frank's still inconsistent rotations...

This year was bad but the future is bright...

 

[ak30]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (killa kadafi191 @ Apr 12 2008, 06:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>What went wrong was the Nets waited too long to make a move. This should have happen once they lost 4 straight games to the Heat again. VC should have never been given that much money. Plus the Nets always had an attitude as everything was okay. "we always start slow" "we will pick it up"

This team had no sense of urgency and it showed and still shows.</div>

I agree with this.

The Nets got too cocky for their own good. They thought they could just show up for the last 20 games and make the playoffs. I'm absolutely thrilled that they will not make the playoffs this season. They, especially Rod Thorn, needed a season like this to knock them on their ass. Lets see if this franchise, not just the team, develops a sense of urgency.

Stop trying to be mediocre. Stop trying to just get by. Getting by is not good enough. A second round exit is not good enough. That is the mentality I desperately want to see from this franchise.

 

[Chutney]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (killa kadafi191 @ Apr 12 2008, 06:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>What went wrong was the Nets waited too long to make a move. This should have happen once they lost 4 straight games to the Heat again. VC should have never been given that much money. Plus the Nets always had an attitude as everything was okay. "we always start slow" "we will pick it up"

This team had no sense of urgency and it showed and still shows.</div>
Ironically, that attitude made them really similar to the Miami Heat the past couple seasons. At least you guys didn't fall that badly.

 

[killa kadafi191]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chutney @ Apr 12 2008, 07:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (killa kadafi191 @ Apr 12 2008, 06:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>What went wrong was the Nets waited too long to make a move. This should have happen once they lost 4 straight games to the Heat again. VC should have never been given that much money. Plus the Nets always had an attitude as everything was okay. "we always start slow" "we will pick it up"

This team had no sense of urgency and it showed and still shows.</div>
Ironically, that attitude made them really similar to the Miami Heat the past couple seasons. At least you guys didn't fall that badly.
</div>


True but they have a ring. No matter how bad they fallen. They were champions no one can take that away

 

[Jizzy]

chemistry issues, no shooting, teammates didnt want to play with each other, team copped out on frank

 

[pegs]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ak30 @ Apr 12 2008, 07:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (killa kadafi191 @ Apr 12 2008, 06:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>What went wrong was the Nets waited too long to make a move. This should have happen once they lost 4 straight games to the Heat again. VC should have never been given that much money. Plus the Nets always had an attitude as everything was okay. "we always start slow" "we will pick it up"

This team had no sense of urgency and it showed and still shows.</div>

I agree with this.

The Nets got too cocky for their own good. They thought they could just show up for the last 20 games and make the playoffs. I'm absolutely thrilled that they will not make the playoffs this season. They, especially Rod Thorn, needed a season like this to knock them on their ass. Lets see if this franchise, not just the team, develops a sense of urgency.

Stop trying to be mediocre. Stop trying to just get by. Getting by is not good enough. A second round exit is not good enough. That is the mentality I desperately want to see from this franchise.
</div>

Cockiness is one of RJ's greatest attributes. Just saying.

 

[Lavalamp]

Luke Walton totally agrees.

 

[insider]

First off, the Nets' lack of a pure center. Jamal Magloire was acquired for that reason but wasn't able to fill that void. Second, Frank Lawrence. I'm really surprised that the guy is still around. I saw him as a temp. Retaining Frank was a mistake. He simply can't get the job done. Third, Vince Carter. He has been under performing for the longest time. And what does Thorn do? He gives Carter a 60 million dollar extension. Which brings us to the next and most important factor of the Nets downfall. Jason Kidd. Kidd carried the Nets on his shoulders. He brought New jersey to places they have not even dream of getting to. All he asked was a decent supporting cast. Thorn instead denied Kidd of an extension and gave Carter a huge contract. A slap in the face. Thorn says no to the teams best player and hardest worker, and gives a raise to Carter, whos effort starts and end the moment he gets dressed. And he expects Kidd to be motivated by this? Say what you will regarding the trade. But at the end of the day, fact remains, that Jason Kidd was the best thing that ever happened to the city of New Jersey since Julius Erving.

 

[Moo2K4]

I think the word "everything" basically sums up the Nets season. They never used their FA acquisition in Magloire, Krstic couldn't get back to form in time, Kidd half-assed it most of the time, Frank made terrible coaching decisions as a coach, they held on to Kidd for too long as well. Basically....everything sums up what went wrong.

 

[Astral]

Comparing today's team to the Finals NJ teams of yesteryear, there is one big difference that many people glance over. Back then, Kidd was 31, and thus in his "prime". There was also Kerry Kittles, whose pesky defense was the reason for NJ selecting him ahead of Kobe.

What I'm trying to say is: Perimeter defense.

Boone and Williams will get dominated on the inside once in awhile, but they're good enough to hold the fort - almost. Kidd and Carter on the other hand, are just too slow laterally to defend the perimeter. Add in the fact that RJ's focus has shifted from defense towards shooting in the last few years, you have a team that has consistently got burned from the outside and off the dribble. I'm ok with Kobe getting 30 on us. I'm not okay with no name PGs having a field day with us time after time.

 

[Lavalamp]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Astral @ Apr 14 2008, 02:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Comparing today's team to the Finals NJ teams of yesteryear, there is one big difference that many people glance over. Back then, Kidd was 31, and thus in his "prime". There was also Kerry Kittles, whose pesky defense was the reason for NJ selecting him ahead of Kobe.

What I'm trying to say is: Perimeter defense.

Boone and Williams will get dominated on the inside once in awhile, but they're good enough to hold the fort - almost. Kidd and Carter on the other hand, are just too slow laterally to defend the perimeter. Add in the fact that RJ's focus has shifted from defense towards shooting in the last few years, you have a team that has consistently got burned from the outside and off the dribble. I'm ok with Kobe getting 30 on us. I'm not okay with no name PGs having a field day with us time after time.</div>
Well Kidd was on the 2nd ALL NBA Defensive team, and was 2 votes away from being on the 1st team. Raja Bell had 25 votes over Kidd's 23.

So last year Kidd was considered a Top 2 defensive player at PG. Top 3 among guards. Even if he is a little older, other than Kobe and Bell, he's the best defensive guard in the league.

 

[zєяσ]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Lavalamp @ Apr 14 2008, 10:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Astral @ Apr 14 2008, 02:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Comparing today's team to the Finals NJ teams of yesteryear, there is one big difference that many people glance over. Back then, Kidd was 31, and thus in his "prime". There was also Kerry Kittles, whose pesky defense was the reason for NJ selecting him ahead of Kobe.

What I'm trying to say is: Perimeter defense.

Boone and Williams will get dominated on the inside once in awhile, but they're good enough to hold the fort - almost. Kidd and Carter on the other hand, are just too slow laterally to defend the perimeter. Add in the fact that RJ's focus has shifted from defense towards shooting in the last few years, you have a team that has consistently got burned from the outside and off the dribble. I'm ok with Kobe getting 30 on us. I'm not okay with no name PGs having a field day with us time after time.</div>
Well Kidd was on the 2nd ALL NBA Defensive team, and was 2 votes away from being on the 1st team. Raja Bell had 25 votes over Kidd's 23.

So last year Kidd was considered a Top 2 defensive player at PG. Top 3 among guards. Even if he is a little older, other than Kobe and Bell, he's the best defensive guard in the league.
</div>
Please dont use all defense teams as support for your arguments. They are more like popularity contests than actual rewards of defensive skills.

 

[Astral]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Lavalamp @ Apr 14 2008, 09:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Astral @ Apr 14 2008, 02:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Comparing today's team to the Finals NJ teams of yesteryear, there is one big difference that many people glance over. Back then, Kidd was 31, and thus in his "prime". There was also Kerry Kittles, whose pesky defense was the reason for NJ selecting him ahead of Kobe.

What I'm trying to say is: Perimeter defense.

Boone and Williams will get dominated on the inside once in awhile, but they're good enough to hold the fort - almost. Kidd and Carter on the other hand, are just too slow laterally to defend the perimeter. Add in the fact that RJ's focus has shifted from defense towards shooting in the last few years, you have a team that has consistently got burned from the outside and off the dribble. I'm ok with Kobe getting 30 on us. I'm not okay with no name PGs having a field day with us time after time.</div>
Well Kidd was on the 2nd ALL NBA Defensive team, and was 2 votes away from being on the 1st team. Raja Bell had 25 votes over Kidd's 23.

So last year Kidd was considered a Top 2 defensive player at PG. Top 3 among guards. Even if he is a little older, other than Kobe and Bell, he's the best defensive guard in the league.
</div>Kidd is a good defender.

The question is what is he good at? The answer is that Kidd is an excellent team defender. He's one of the best when NJ needed to frustrate Bosh in the playooffs last year. But Kidd could not (physically) stay in front of an average NBA PG. I'm not talking about ultra fast PGs like Paul or Ford. I mean an average run of the mill NBA PG today. If Kidd had Tim Duncan on his team, his defense would have been absolutely invaluable. Without that consistent last line of defense, Kidd's perimeter D was just absolutely atrocious. Even in his prime, Kidd could not stay in front of the fastest PGs because of his size (6'4" /210).

 

[footswalker]

At this point Kidd is better at defending two guards than points, and Dallas has him defending 2s a lot. Kidd had some very good nights where he held Billups and a couple of other pgs scoreless last year, and I think that's what got him all those defensive votes, and it obscured the big picture that he had lost a step or two defensively.

Astral makes a great point, their perimeter D was abysmal this year. Teams could drive and kick so easily, which led to them giving up so many open 3s. Teams absolutely made it rain on them this year. I don't know what happened to RJ's D, it was bad. Sometimes he's looking to leak out early, so he's not in there for defensive boards. The fact that he can't average at least 5 boards is inexcusable. He's an athletic forward who plays almost 40 minutes a night, he should get 6 boards in his sleep.