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).
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?
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.
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.
Yi will light it up against Gasol, Stoudemire, Boozer if he plays, and whoever the Kings use. Believe it.
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.
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.
I'd say 47 wins is a bit too much, but if the team continues to play well and everyone stays reasonably healthy as you said, a .500+ record is something we can and should aim for. And Steve Nash is definitely not playing as well as Devin Harris right now. Only ones I would say are on his level or higher are Wade, Rose and Paul. This team is very solid, we have one of the best backcourts in the league (maybe the best the past few games), a frontcourt full of potential and a bench some teams (especially rebuilding teams) could only hope for. Only problem is our SF position, but Hayes has been great and Simmons is improving.
they were good the second half, or maybe the nets just played well the first half. I can see phil jackson sayen at halftime, this team is half rookies, treat them like it..... The rookies did nothing in the second half. But still, the lakers are good, but the nets held their own for at least a half. That to me is a small victory, and the nets can build from that.
