<div align="center">Denver Nuggets @ New Jersey Nets Fri, December 16, 2005; 7:30pm Contential Airlines Arena/ Yes Network <u>Denver's Starting 5</u> PG: Andre Miller SG: Greg Buckner SF: Carmelo Anthony PF: Kenyon Martin C: Marcus Camby <u>New Jersey's Starting 5</u> PG: Jason Kidd SG: Vince Carter SF: Richard Jefferson PF: Cliff Robinson C: Nenad Krstic</div> Team Outlooks Coming In........ The team outlook of New Jersey can be described with one simple word, pathetic. Their current win loss record of 9-12 is pathetic for a team that displays one of the league's most talented trios. And most importantly their effort on the court has been pathetic especially in their last two outings against an Gilbert Arenaless Wizards squad and a struggling young Bobcats franchise. The Nets effort on both ends of the court or lack their of...seems to be showing signs of dis-interest. The problem the Nets and the front office make have to start looking at is does this dis-interest come from players not feeling comfortable with the make up of the team or has the faith in Coach Lawerence Fanks, being the coach to lead the troops to the next level back to legit contenders ran out? Do players no longer believe in the system he is bring forth? either way, if the effort level of the Nets doesnt pick up you can expect some changes sooner then later. But as for now, the Nets hope to bring a little energy and effort at home against a quality Nuggets team. Denver comes into the matchup with similar dissapointments so far in the 05-06 season. Expected to be a serious contender out west, Denver has really yet to show such signs, so far this season. Yes they have suffered from the early season injury; particularly K-Mart who has already missed 6 games in and we are barely 20 games into the season. But the biggest loss comes in the form of Nene Hilario, who is out for the rest of the season. But the Nuggets have more than health concerns...Some wonder. if Coach George Karl has already lost the focus of his players in the locker room? Karl's coaching style has been known to turn away teams in the past, most recently his last coaching stint with the Milwaukee Bucks. But the Nuggets did have a covencing 101-85 win against the Bobcats earlier this week. And are now looking to keep the ship going in the right direction, a win against New Jersey will do just that. <u>Teams Last Matchup</u> Friday, is the 2nd and final matup of the season between Denver and Jersey...their first matchup took place late last month in Denver. A game that the Nets took 101-95...But Denver was without star foward and teams leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who left just a minute into the contest after turning his ankle. Without Anthony on the floor the Nets perimeter wings didnt have to concern themselves with the defesive end and having to contend with Anthoy's scoring ablities...that free'd up Carter and Jefferson to just focus on the offensive end. And both had strong performances in the W, Carter 6-13 for 25 points and Jefferson 9 of 14 for 24 points. The only real bright spot for Denver in the matchup was the play of their frontline Kenyon MArtin 24pts and Center Marcus Camby recorded a double -double 10 pts and 10 rebounds. <div align="center"><u>Key Matchup</u> / Richard Jefferson / Carmelo Anthony</div> The games premier matchup comes at the small forward spot...as Richard Jefferson has a tough defensive assignment trying to cover 3rd year scoring forward Carmelo Anthony. Anthony has an arsenal of ways to score, he can score in the post or finish on the break. And if you sleep on his shooting ablity he can bury the 18 footer. All that adds up to an expected long night at the office for Richard Jefferson. Jefferson, is New Jersey's best wing defender but he has found himself at the opposite end of some big nights from some of the league's best scorers already this season, most notebly Tracy Mcgrady's 35 performance and Micheal Redd's 41 point performance. So Jefferson's defense has to be sharp in a matchup against Anthony, who is coming off a 43 point performance against the bobcats. Anthony also had a 40 point perfromance in a win against Maimi last friday. One thing Jefferson can do to give him a better edge in trying to control Anthony on the defensive end, is attack Melo on the offesive end. Carmelo's defense is the weakest part of his game, so if Jefferson can establish is own offensive stamp on the matchup attacking Anthony off the dribble...then Camelo may find himself back on his heels. The best way to play against an excetional scroer is to make him work on D. <u><div align="center">Other things To Watch</div></u> [imgl]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/kenyon_martin.jpg[/imgl] The return of Kenyon Martin will definately create a bit of buxx through out the Continetial Airlines Arena. Martin is making just is 2nd return to Jersey since being trade to Denver during the 04' offseason. But this return maybe even more impactful then his first. Right now, the Nets are really feeling the loss of Martin....their current frontline lacks everything that he brought to the table. The athletism, energy and the pshyical toughness that left when Martin went to Denver has yet to be replaced on the frontline. And becuase of that many feel New Jersey has fallen from contender status in the East. [imgr]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/vince_carter.jpg[/imgr] With the Nets strggling, the trade rumors and talks have begun...and the name you are hearing the most at the moment has to be Vince Carter. While Jason Kidd's name has also come up, his contract and what he has meant to the Nets organization over the last 5 years makes getting equal value for him almost impossible at this point. That leaves Carter's name as the most talked about in trade discussions. Carter has had some spectacular prefromances this year, most recently against Cleveland...but the consistency isnt there. So its time for Vince to prove how bad he wants to stay in Jersey playing with Kidd and Jefferson. Also Carter, due to his effort level late in his carreer in Toronto, has the reputation of quiting on his team once he no longer wants to be in a certain place or the trade rumors start to surface. So watch Carter's body language and effort level, it might tell you alot about what is going on behind the sences now in Jersey. Enjoy the game..........
Wow what an exciting game by the Nets. It was a really exciting game. Let's start with the big three. Carter really set the tone early. He was pratically on fire but cold off later, but still finished with 34 pts and 12 rebs. Great game for him. Jefferson played key roles in many plays, such as scoring or passing the ball to other teammates. He finished with 21 pts. Kidd played really great game, he got players involved and made shots when it was needed. He finished with 15 pts 16 assists and 7 rebs. Great game for him. Now the bench player of the game is Scott Padgett. 19 mins and 15 pts. He played great, making 3 pointers when it was needed. He shot 5-5 from the stripe. He was a major key to today's victory. Now the Nets played and will need to play like this or better against the Warriors. The Nets won these game and they need to keep this streak going. Nets should follow this game with a bad game.
